New-York tribune., 1906-07-22

fact that seemingly refutes those who declare
that New York is hot place in summer
A rough and ready method Of calculating the
weight Of a piece Of ice is afforded by the fact
that cubic foot Of this substance weighs ap-
proximateIy -. p pounds. Any housewife who
possesses a tape line can therefore roughly de-
termine how much ice she is getting. First
measure the breadth length and height OF tho
cake. and the three results being multiplied
viii give the number of cubic inches. II this
answer be- In turn, multiplied by 033, the ap-
prOximate number of pounds will result For in
stance. cake Sx9x1O inches contains I20 cubic
inches This. multiplied by .O33. gives 23@4
pounds, the correct weight Of such a piece OF ice
If a violation of the law seems to have been
committed the injured person has. in theory two
remedies He may either report the infraction
of the law. together with the proof TO the bu-
reau. which has its headquarters in the City
Hall, or he may institute a civil suit for dam
ages.
The practical difficulties. however. in the way
of applying this remedy manifold In the
first place the householder does not always know
how much the iceman claims 10 have delivered
until the end Of the month. BY this time the
Ice itself is, in the natural course of events. a
thing of the past Secondly unsupported testi
mony as To the weight of the Ice is of little or
no value; and thirdly, each individual amount
Of which the householder is cheated is of so
little value that complaint seems scarcely worth
while
If the housewife who suspects that she is be-
mediately on the arrival Of ice weigh it. or
measure it and figure out it's weight she
would AT least have the satisfaction of learning
port to the Mayors Bureau OF weights and
Measures might not be without result. But it
can scarcely be denied that the amount OF ice
PAID Tor by the people of the city is far in eX-
cess of the amount they receive. For other
commodities such as milk rigid and effective
inspection is enforced. When imposed by
the ice dealers the fact is hard to discover and
If discovered the remedy is too expensive for the
poor and too troublesome and unfruitful for the
rich. Where lies effective remedy?
One answer seems TO be in licensing and in
specting the service. as the city's milk supply
is regulated. OF course. the task would be a
difficult one. but that II would not be too diff
cult TO be carried through is the opinion of Pat
rick Derry, the chief of the Bureau of Weights
and Measures During the last week and since
the present agitation has been in progress, some
seven hundred ice scales have been inspected by
his bureau. Out of them a hundred or more
were found faulty. some to extent that seems
almost impossible. For instance one specimen
was on 10 pounds in 100
This activity on the part Of the bureau would
have been more timely had 1t been more vOlun-
tary, and more convincing If the hundred viola
tions discovered and the many promised
had been scattered over the last year instead
of discovered in a single week. Such a burst Of
zeal seems to indicate that satisfaction of a
passing popular outcry rather than systematic
and steady enforcement of the law is athe goal
aimed at
The small dealer, whose usual habitat is a
cellar II he hawks ice around the street has ia
take out pedler's license but the Bureau of
Licenses disclaims any Jurisdiction over him
further than the power to revoke his license II
he cheats a customer in the amount of change
etc, and as he rarely If ever pretends to sell by
the pound. and generally sells "1O-cent peces'
or '2O-cent pieces of unknown weight. the Bu-
| him.
THE real cause for the whole situation" said
| close observer yesterday, lis in the public
| which appears to be Indifferent. and the rea
| remedy is in its hands. If people object strenu-
ously enough to being cheated the cheating will
! stop. whether the means employed to stop it be
a commission or. better still, insstent and con-
| tinuous objections to the process the part
| Of those cheated