Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-06-30

IN Baltimore city and elsewhere in the
country.
81 am told that the manufacture Of
glassware is not such n fine and exact
art that the glass manufacturers can
produce vessels Of equal and uniform
capacity, and under this section each
container would have to he weighed and
marked separately as to weight or meas
ure before it is filled, as we'll as after.
or the packers would be- constantly lay
ing themselves liable for n statement
which. in the nature of things. would
be a technical violation of the proposed
law.
II am crcdibly informed that varia-
tlons occur in weight or measure from
evaporation and consequent shrnkagc
A statement might be correct when
made and incorrect six months later.
REQUIREMENTS TOO SEVERE.
This paragraph is vitality defective
in three respects: First. il imposes on
large and important class of our pop
ulation duties and obligations which are
onerous and foreign to them, and which,
as the paragraph now stands, do not
compensate the consumer with any
corresponding benefits; secondly. the
word package as used in this section
conveys no such legal Specification Of
the term as would render il possible to
enforce the penalties provided for u
violation of this part of the supposed
law: thirdly. there is no national stand
ard OF weights and measures, none
having ever been established by Con-
grcss, nor is any provided for in this
bill.
Section 5 Of this bill provides that
the term food rs used herein shall in
clude all articles used for food, drink,
confectionery or condimcnt by man or
other animals. whether simple, mixed
or compound. This provision is so com
prehensive. so all-embracng, that in it's
application it affects the business opera
tions of large class of our people and
all kinds of articles of food and drugs.
IL includes the products of our fisheries.
the products of almost every garden
and farm in the land and every modi-
fication of the natural products, when
these products enter into interstate
commerce. II affects every farmer.
every fisherman, every canner, every
prcscrvcr or modiiicr of foods. as well
as every other person who may become
the shipper Of any article of food ms de-
fined in this bill.
THE INTERESTS OF MARYLAND.
The State of Maryland alone, with
n population of little over 900, 600,
exported last year upward of 1000. 600
bushels of oysters in cans. buckets and
barrels. There were preserved and ex-
ported by the farmers and Gamers of
that State about $50, 900, 900 tins of
agricultural products, including vege-
tables and fruits of every kind and de-
scription grown in the State of Mary
land and the surrounding States. Food
products and the modification thereof
gave to the carriers in Maryland a great
er amount of freight than any other
class of commodities. Hence the in
terest of the people of our State in this
measure
Mr.. Gill then quotes Pennsylvania
legal decision to support his contention
that the term package" would apply
to the larger carrier. and not to the
small units contained in it. He con-
tended that the law was too ambiguous
on this point. Continuing. he said:
NO STANDARDS YET ADOPTED.
There is. in my judgment, graver
difficulty to be dealt with in this para
graph for fair trade by weight and
measure one more organic than the
defect which have just been discussing.
Congress has never fixed standard of
weights and measures for the United
States, notwithstanding its constitu-
tional authority TO do so. Hence this
weight-and measure paragraph is utter
ly void and valueless, and should be
stricken from the bill
WOULD MAKE ENDLESS TROUBLE.
THE wide and almost universal differ
ences between the various State stand
ards of weights and measures would
breed endless confusion. A Maryland
shipper of bag of potatoes labels it
as containing one bushel. which must
weigh 56 pounds in Maryland. He ships
it to commission merchant in Virginia.
where the same bag of potatoes, mark
cd n bushel. to be correctly marked.
should weigh 60 pounds In Virginia
the sale of this bag of potatoes, as
marked IN Maryland. would be illegal
and fraudulent.
'If marked by weight, what weight
would he compulsory. avordupois on