The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22
SHORT MEASURES OF COAL
SWindliHg of Customers Who Pur.
chase by the BuSheI.
Systematic Imposition of Small Deal
er> on Poor Pcople-HOncst Weight
-ENpcricnce OF Newspaper Re
porter and Scale Inspector.


A bushel of coal rs sold at 1900 of the
small shops in Chicago. is fve-eighths Of q
bushel At 200 places it is three-quarters
and at of these small shops. according
to the best information obtained by the
city sealer's office a bushel is a bushel
Even one Of the chosen three is suspected
of having smaller baskets.
A reporter for the Tribune" secured the
company of William Wickert. deputy in
spector Of weights and measures, and went
forth last week on a general tour of in
. vestigation in order to obtain information
for the general public. The investigators
were provided with a standard bushel bas-
ket a wagon for the storage Of coal taken
as evidence and the general appearance OF
men in hard luck. whose purchases Of fuel
1 were of necessity in small quantities. The
investigation was confined TO those poorer
districts in which the people are forced by
poverty to buy coal in "bushel' or has
ket' quantities and thus to pay higher
prices for it than Weather citizens.
/ The start was made on the North Side.
At first the standard basket was placed
alongside Of the alleged bushel baskets in
which coal was kept on the sidewalks 1t
4 was found in twenty-three cases that the
baskets displayed were of the five-eighths
! size. Two of three-quarters size were
found but no standard bushels were to
I be seen. In each case the reporter had
gone ahead and had asked the price Of a
bushel Of coal. For chestnut the price had
been from % to 50 cents
Where do you want it delivered" was
the next question.
4 have an express wagon here and can
take it right along" was the reply.
I'VE do not sell coal by the bushel but
by the basket" was added by the dealers,
who had become frightened by the threats
Of the City Sealer to prosecute for short
measure
Not until the shop at 81 Chicago Avenue
was reached was there found a dealer who
was willing to sell coal by the bushel and
deliver it to the wagon. He was an Italian
and his name was Cliff. With much conf
dence he emptied his fve-eighths Of a
bushel Of coal into the standard bushel
basket and took his pay. For long time
the City Sealer had been trying to catch
Cliff, but had been unable. Prosecution will
follow.
The coal was taken to1tested scales and
weighed There were just iifty-two
pounds. At the rate it was sold for Gild
was getting S12 a t0n Tor chestnut coal. .
His price however. was lower than that Of
most of the dealers who were visited dur .
ing the day. Some.ac Of them we're getting
from Sl4 to S16 a ton.
Deputy Inspector Wickert was e,ated
with the success that bad followed the at
tempt to bring Gilh who runs several
places along Chicago Avenue. into line, and
he thought the trip would result in trap
ping many other dealers in short measures. .
But in that he was disappointed. One after
another disclaimed selling coal by the
bushel the instant the customer offered his
money in payment for a bushe OF coal" I
In the poor neighborhood on Desplaines
street the dealer owned up frankly that h.
gave short measure.
An Admission OF Injustice
ANY one can see that amt a bushel
basket" he said. we may call it d bush
el but it amt"
why don't you sell by the bushel2" he
was asked
Cant afford to. People won't pay
enough to get full measure. That fellow
across the street cut the prizes and we cut
cur measure to meet his cut. Yes, we
may call it a bushel. but it amt. and
that's all there is to it,
This man was selling chestnut coal at
Sl4 a ton but most of his trade was done
in soft coal at about double the market
prices by the ton.
All along Desplaines and South Halstead
Streets it was the old story of three-quar-
tiers Of a bushel in a basket and the in
ability of a customer to buy a bushel of |
coal and take it along with him great
deal Of ingenuity was shown in the con-
struction Of baskets. which looked large !
when not directly compared with one of |
the standard size. The general price of /
coal sold in this way ranged from Sl4 to /
SIG per ton. Soft coal W. from So to Sl2 /
per ton.
These estimates were made by the dep /
uty inspector from the baskets displayed 10 /
front of the places He said the amount /
delivered was seldom so large as was shown /
ia the sample baskets. He also said that .
where three-quarter baskets were displayed /
in front of the places fye-eighths were /
used in the delivery Of coal, thereby ef-
fecting a neat profit TO the dealer The |
purchaser was powerless TO detect the
fraud. as he was unable TO swear to the
difference. whatever his suspicious might
be
what is the price of your coal by the
bushclo ' was asked a dealer iu South Hal
sted Street
Thirty and 30 cents" was the reply
What makes the difference" was asked
THE size of the bUshel." was the limo
cent reply.
I'm take your largest busheI." said
the inspector.
The dealer quickly explained that he
only sold by the basket and that he meant
he sold the largest baskets for 50 cents.
He never really sold 10y the bushel
Basket -. BushcI sales.
In the poorer ueighborhoods of the South