Evening star., 1901-08-12
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
PROTEST AGAINST ESTABLISHING
SCHEDULE OF FEES.
Contention That Congress Never Con-
ferred Such Power on the COmmfs-
sioners-Question of Standards.

Mr. Henry E. Davis has written a
lengthy letter to the District Commission
ers entering protest on behalf of sundry
merchants in the District to the recent
order of the Commissioners establishing a
schedule of fees for inspecting and seallng
glass bottles or jars used for the dis
tribution or delivery of milk or cream TO
customers Mr.. Davis declares that If Con-
gress intended to confer upon the District
of Columbia the power to fix standard
of weights and measures, the provision Is
undoubtedly unconstitutional, inasmuch as
the Constitution, by clause 8 of section g.
article 1, In terms confers upon Congress
itself the authority to fix such stanoaro
and it cannot be delegated Maniiesliy.
however" he declares, Congress did not
intend to confer such power upon tne ,,is
trict of Columbia as appears from the LIS
tory of the legislation on the subject.
Mr. Davis quotes from the legisla.lv,e
acts from 1920 down to date. he also cans
attention to the interesting fact tnat oon
gress has never exercised it's constitutional
power to fix a standard of weights anu
measures. Standards for use in the Gus
toms houses have been adopted py the
Treasury Department, but the Iact re-
mains he declares, to this day that .heIe
has been no congressional adoption OF any
such standards. except by the autnor I'd I'd.
tion of the metric system, the hNils ol ny
standard of the troy pound for coinage anu u
the defining and establishing OF lLe Units
of electrical measure.
'It is to be Observed says Mr. Davis,
that the sealer of weights and measures Is
not given power to fix any STANDARDS WIZ. ,.'t
ever His duties have no legislative, pu'
only an administrative and executive char-
acter 1t follows inevitably that any meas
ure which the sealer of weights ana MEAS.
ures is authorized to try ana prove mus us
conform to a measure in recognized use
throughout the United States, and fGrtneI
that such measure must be OF mateflal
susceptible of stamping. A glass bottie vi
jar cannot be such measure lot the Ino So
elusive reason that it is impossible to make
glass bottles or jars of uniform size OF lo
stamp them when made.
Discusses Tolerance.
Mr.. Davis claims that the tolerance Is
sued by the sealer of weights and meas
rres fixing the amount of fluid bottles ana
lars should contain. involves plain ad-
mission that It is impossible to make
glass measure which can in any proper
sense of the word be called a standard
Mr. Davis claims that the regulation Is
without the authority of the COMMISSION
ers to make. Any other contention, IL Is
declared would of necessity Involve the
wholly indefensible proposition from the
standpoint of both practical administration
anu legal authorization that the Commls-
sioners or the sealer of weights and meas
ures could set up variable as against
fixed standard and that the extent OF
Tolerance" which in its nature is flexible,
may be between any two extremes set py
either the Commissioners or the sealer or
weights and measures, which is the same
as to say that the standard for pint
may be contracted so as to hold only gill,
or expanded so as to hold a quart.
"If glass bottles, in which milk is sold,
are to be inspected and stamped, argues
Mr.. Davis, why are not the glass bottles
in which liquors are sold similarly to be
treated, and, if they are so to be treated,
what escape is there from the obligation
on the part of the Commissioners and the
sealer of weights and measures to have
every bottle in the groceries and reStau-
rants subjected to inspection and sealing
before their contents may properly be
soId?''
Mr. Davis also argues that If the word
measure is to be given such broad def
ni,ion, the sealer of weights and measures
would have to inspect boxes in which
berries are sold, sacks in which flour is
He says it is beyond doubt that Congress
used the word measure in the ordinary
commercial sense.
Alleges Oppression.
Mr.. Davis declares that if the regulation
is carried into effect 1t would prove op-
pressive in the highest degree and says:
"1 lie larger dealers in milk IN the Dis
trict of Columbia require for the purposes
of their business from 10000 to $4,000 bot
ties or jars a year, and such is the per-
centage of breakage and loss that response
BILE dealers declare, and their books show,
that their entire stock of bottles and jars
has to be replenished each year. In the