The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22
SHORT MEASURES OF COAL
SwindliBg of Customers Who Pur.
chase by the Bushel.
Systematic Imposition of Small Deal
er- on Poor Pcof,Ie--Honcst Weight
More the Exception Than the Rule
-ENpericnce OF Newspaper Re-
porter and Scale Inspector.

a bushel of coal. as sold at 1900 of the
! small shops in Chicago. is ive-eighths OF a
! bushel AT zee places it is three-quarters,
| and at of these small shops. according
! to the best information obtained by the
! city sealers office a bushel is a bushel.
/ Even one of the chosen three is suspected
! OF having smaller baskets.
/ 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-
Z ket, a wagon for the storage of coal taken
as evidence and the general appearance OF
men in hard luck, whose purchases of fuel
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 il than wealthier citizens.
Tie 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
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
be seen. In each case the reporter bad
gone ahead and had asked the price of
/ bushei of coal. For chestnut the price had
been from % to So cents.
Where do you want it delivered?" was
the next question.
81 have an express wagon here and can
take it right along was the reply.
We 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
bushel of coal into t.! standard tuslei
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 tootested scales and
weighed There were just fifty-two
pounds. At the rate it was sold for Gill
was getting S12 con for chestnut coal.
His price. however, was lower tlan that or
most of the dealers who were visited dur
ing the day. Some'scf them were getting
from Si4 to SIG ton.
Deputy Inspector Wickert was e,ated
with the success that had followed the at
tempt to bring Cliff who runs several
places along Chicago iAveuue. 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 bushel of coal"
In the poor neighborhood on Despiaines
street the dealer owned up frankly thai he
gave short measure. : A-
An Admission OF Injustice.
ANY one can see that amt a busAel
basket" he said. I'VE may call it bush
el, but it amt
why don't you sell by the bushel?" he
was asked.
Cant afford to. People wont pay
enough to get full measure. That fellow
across the street cut the prizes and we cut
our 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
prices by the ton.
All along Desplaines and South Halstead
Streets it was the old story of three-quar-
tiers of bushel in a basket and the in
ability of a customer to buy a bushel of
coal and take 1t 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 Sli to
SIG per ton. Soft coal WIS from IS to $l2
per ton.
These estimates were made by the dep
uty inspector from the baskets displayed in
front of the places He said the amount
delivered was seldom so large as was shown
in the sample baskets. He also said that
where three-quarter baskets were displayed
in front of the places five-eighths were
used in the delivery OF coal thereby eff
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
bushel?" was asked a dealer in 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.
'IH take your largest bushel." said
the inspector.
The dealer quickly explained that he
only sold by the basket and that he meant
he sold the largest baskets for 80 cents.
He never really sold by the bushel.
Basket w.. BusheI sales.
In the poorer neighborhoods of the South
Side tire same short measure was found /
only in a more exaggerated form. Nothing
better than three-quarters baskets were
to be found along Clark and State Streets !
in the districts inhabited BY the poor and !