The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-27
PUT ON RED COATS
Grocers Complying With the
New Can" Law.
As a Rule They Do Net Like
Measure.
Do NOT UNDERSTAND.
Provisions Have Been Misstated
in Trade Papers.
Purpose Is to Avoid the Usual
Accidents.

the last session of the legislature by
Representative w. A. S. Bird of
Shawnee county has caused the mer-
! chants of Topeka and probably others
| of the state considerable uneasiness
| on account of provisions which 1t is
| supposed to contain but does not. The
! bill will become a law as soon as
published in the statute book, which
will probably be some time in June or
not later than July.
| The law is for the purpose of pro-
tecting customers from their own or
| their grocerymen's mistakes in put
J ting gasoline in coal oil cans or vice
versa. Hardly month passes that
| the newspapers do not contain har-
rowing tale of death or the destruc-
! ton of property on account of lamps
| being filed with gasoline by mistake
| for kerosene.
| The grocerymen s as rule have
| been unfriendly to the law on ac-
count of the fact that many of the
| trade. papers have miSStated its. pro-
visions The bill provides that all
! gasoline cans must be painted red
| and that the word gasoline must ap-
pear on them in large letters and that
the grocerymen must not place gaso-
! line in any receptacle other than cans
so marked and painted. The penalty
/ is a fine of not less than SIS or more
| than $25 or imprisonment, but does
| not make the merchant liable for
| damages occurring as a result of an
] explosion occasioned by a mistake be-
| ing made.
| Several of the merchants of Topeka
| have already prepared for the law and
| have provided red cans as the law
provides though it does not go into
effect for a month or so yet. When
understood the law is admitted to be
good one by the merchants though
q number of them had prepared to
quit selling gasoline in which there is
L f7lIf
1 of danger rather than take the risk
| of becoming liable for damages in
cured by the carelessness of their
! clerks.
/ E. L. Hfndman. of the Hindman Gro
| Gerry company said: while we realize
! that the law does not go INTO effect for
some time yet, we have completed all
/ arrangements for complying with the
| thing which suggests gasoline a bright
red, including the big storage tank
rand the tunnels used in filing the
smaller cans. During the many years
we have had but one bad accident on
account of getting cans mixed. Eight
or ten years ago one of the prominent
| ladies of the city sent her darby 70
the store for gasoline with which TO
| clean dress, and brother Claude filled
! the can with oil and as a result the
! ladies dress was ruined and we had a
| rof on our hands. The darby claims
| that he asked for gasoline and Claude
| insists that he called for kerosene, ana
! the feud is still on and probably will
be as long as they both live
/ A. L. Green, of Green & Son, said !:
I'VE have not yet made arrangements
| to comply with the law. but regard it
as a good one and will have all of our
cans painted to conform with the pro-
| visions of the law before it goes into
! effect, unless we decide to discontinue
! the sale of gasoline
E. Montgomery, secretary of the Re
| tail GrocerS' association, said: This
I bill was introduced at the request of
/ the grocers' association but my UNDER
/ standing is that it was so amended as
to make the grocers liable for damages
! occurring from mistakes made by their
! clerks. If this is not the case it is
| just what we want. Many of the mer-
! chants of Topeka contemplated discon-
! tinuing the sale of gasoline because
/ they feared the clause in the law MAX
ing them liable for DANA ges, and the
| profit made on gasoline would not JUS
| tify the risk taken"
| Il don't see where any great good can
! come of the law" said c. w. Myers,
for 1 am convinced that a majority of
| the mistakes are made by the ustonl-
! erS who come into the store and ask
! for gasoline when they mean OIL Then
4 that they are not mistaken, they get
! 'chesty' and inform US that they ara
! able to ask for what they want, but / am
/ in favor of any law which will protect
this class of customers at that"
d. J. Dickinson of the Shawnee
Grocery company said: Il have made
/ arrangements to paint not only my
own cans but those of my customers
/ and am not buying gasoline cans that
are not marked and painted to con-
form with the law He then point
ed to a long row of bright red cans
which are probably the first of their
kind to arrive in the city.
81 have notified all of my custom
=! ers o. the law" said D. w. Dibble,
who owns a grocery store in North
| Topeka as we'll Ole on this side of
| the river. Shortly after it passed the
| legislature 1 instructed all of my or
| der ard delivery men to tell our Gus
| to paint their gasoline cans before we
could fill them and watched for re-
1 suits. So far I haven't seen a red
] can in the bunch which have been
! brought to the store. Then what are
i we going to do about filling jugs and
/ bottles? 1t looks to me like the
easiest way out of it will be to dis
continue the sale of gasoline"
I H. Often of the Exchange grocery
on East Sixth avenue, who has a
large country trade, said: 1--WE are
| getting in shape to comply with the
| law and I guess that we will be COM
! PEELED to add a paint department to
| our store and paint the cans brought
in by the farmers before we fill them.
We have a large sale in the country
| on gasoline and cannot well afford to
| line in the city where the people can
use gas which is much more con-
/ yenient as we'll as chea per-
1--WE have painted our cans red to
i conform with the law passed at the
i last legislature said F. o. Morns OF