Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1900-04-28
our ABLE CRY SEALER.

People who buy potatoes. apples,
onions, beans and other commodities
by the bushel.' half bushel, peck or
quart measure shortly will he assured
Of getting their full amount Of all sta
pies sold by those measures. Having
followed up the disclosures made In
the Tribune of April City Scaler
Quinn decided that the majority Of the
measures in use in the city fail to con-
form with the standard established by
the state statute. that nine out Of ten
In capacity IRE short several cubic inch
cs Of what they should be, and that as
a result the people annually are mulct-
ed OF several hundred thousands of dol.
lars.
Notices were sent during the day Ia
factories making measures to supply
the Chicago market that further In.
voices shipped to this city must be Of
statute size or they would be con.
demned. A large factory ut KOkomO,
Ind, which has been making measures
that have received the approval Of the
City Sealer's Office, was sent notice
to the same effect. Announcement will
be made also to grOcers that II their
measures now In Use. and which have
been stamped 20. X" by the City Seal.
er. do not conform to the style pre-
scrlbed by the statute they will have to
be discarded.
The City Sealer came to the decision
to order o change In the standard vt
city measures Immediately after noting
the facts brought out during the hear.
ing of the case Of Feilchcnfeld Bros,
313 55th street. accused before Justice
Martin In the Harrison Street Police
Court OF selling staples from peck
measures containing fifty.four cubic
inches less than the standard peck
measure defined In the state laws. The
neck measure used by Feilchenfeld
Bros. was produced In court bearing
the STAMP OF the City Sealer. Measure.
mcnts before the court showed II to he
o inches in diameter and ~ inches
deep. containing 403la cubic inches.
This Is "a 55.1OO cubic inches less than
the statute requires. No blame was
attached to the grocers, however. city
Sealer Quinn said, rs the measure was
as large as those used In nearly every
grocery store In the city and conformed
10 n standard that had been used anu
certified as correct In the city Tor the
Inst fifteen years. The case was dis'
missed.
The regulation half-bushc. measure
as prescribed by statute, shouid ~
fourteen inches In diameter by seven
inches deep, containing LOO c"oic
inches. Examination Of half-bushe'
measures taken mt random from gro
cerIes In all parts of the city shows
that they range from 12X0 inches, CON
tanning 1,Ol7 cubic inches, to l3iaX'h
inches. containing 1,O37 cubic inches.
The twO.Quart measures were FOUND
to contain 40, 123, and III cubic
inches. when each should hold 1874 l-2o
cubic inches. Quart measures were
found to hold 90, GO and 5S cubic inches,
when each should contain 81 ID cubic
inches.
The difference in any one ease Is
small, City Sealer Quinn said, but rs II
shortage of few cubic inches In each
measure amounts to n vast total In the
course of n year 1t should he remedled.
Contributing TO the small gains af-
forded dealers by using these false
measures Is the fact that In most cases
the staples sold by measure are bought
by them In weight The lawful weight
of n bushel of potatoes is sixty pounds.
a dealer buying 5000 pounds Of pota'
toes from the car receives 100 full
bushels. Selling them i'm measures at
precisely the price Il bushel paid for
them by weight the dealer makes II
profit estimated at ~ per cent. The
lawful weight of peck of potatoes Is
fifteen pounds, but the ordinary Chi
cago peck measure of potatoes weighs
n trilc less than thirteen pounds
These small gains of the dealers. while
no hardship to the average purchaser
amount in year TO enormous figures
Nothing can he said against the gro
GERS who have been using these meas
ures," said the City Sealer. "Thcy are
entirely innocent In the matter The
fault, If any, lies mt the door of The
City Sealer, and | am willing to take
all the blame, II blame there be In The
matter The standards now used by
the City Sealcr TO determine the cor
rcctness of measures have been used
however, for the last fifteen years
They do not conform to the standard
prescribed by the statute, but until tho
Tribune took up the matter that fact
had not been discovered.
Cause for complaint has been found