Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-15
LOS ANGELES HERALD: WEDNESDAY MORNING APRIL

thought advisable to place upon It,, ac'
cording to circumstances, viz, IN tness
different rolls, four different weignJs' a
roll must mean approximately zo' 20 oS
or 81 ounces.
court of Los Angeles the president oil
one of the largest butter supply houses
of this city admitted that it is the Gus
tom of the butter trade in this city to
curtail the weight of the standard roll
so as to allow an extra profit or cent
ner pound or 2 cents per roll, or an
average of about 1-S per cent extra
| nrofit over and above the legitimate
nroft derived from the conduct of the
business.
"Permit me to indulge in a few
denres: Allowing but one pound of but
ter consumption per inhabitant per
month the extra profit thus derived
would be $2500 per month or $4,000 8
year.
"The city sealer has been placed in a
uuandary by the use of the words
ssouare' and roll in the sale of butter
upon this market. If these can be In
terpreted as the public so understand,
/. e., that square means 16 ounces, no
more no less, then our present or
dinance would seem to be sufficient and
is being violated, and we believe this
office can produce evidence sufficient to
convict. But if the construction cam
not be maintained then we would re-
spectfully. recommend an ordinance re-
curing this commodity to be sold In
terms of pounds and ounces.
City ordinance 10, 449, with respect to
coal, hay, grain, bran and other ami
mai fodder. is being practically ignored
throughout the city.
Coal and Fuel, Too
''In few instances do we find that the
actual weight Of these articles is fur
nished the consumer, an effort being
made in the case of hay to forestall
prosecution by the use of the words tag
weight when accompanied by men,
orandum called for by said ordinance.
"All the dealers in these commodities
have, so far as interviewed, admitted
this practice, and advise that they have
had the assurance that this ordinance
would not be enforced for the reason
that there was no adequate means pro-
vided for doing so by the city; meaning
thereby that there were no public
weighers or public scales in the city
where weights might be verified, espe-
cially where the amounts We're great.
We are unable to learn from whom they
derived this information.
"All the ice wagons of the city have
been equipped with scales and were
tested by my predecessor, some being
of an approved spring balance type and
capable of weighing correctly within
two or three pounds of their capacity,
but no apparent effort has been made
to conform to the ordinance requiring
the delivery of a tag showing actual
weight of ice, and as the prices vary
according to quantity and in different
districts apparently we have been un-
able to check the weights, but in few
cases we were able to learn the prices.
Ice Men Grow Surly
Special requests for weighing of ice
are seldom made, the consumers IN
forming this Office that when such re-
with bad grace and frequently abuse
and only result in poor service there
after. so that the majority of con-
srmers prefer to submit to possible
short weight than to make such a re-
quest
1--WE further find that the bakers of
the city are placing upon the market
loaves of bread containing from 101a to
Is ounces retailing at 8 cents per loaf
and from % to 2S ounces retailing at 10
cents per loaf. This fact leads to con-
stant complaint from the poorer class
of citizens, who during these times need
every protection our laws may be able
to afford them, and likewise leads to
unjust competition among dealers who
are disposed to handle a standard loaf
of bread.
Asks for Bread Standard
with these ideas in view we sug-
eested the creation of a bread standard
b. the city council, which standard
might be changed with the price of
by the publication of
proper notice in the newspapers OF the
city and the filing in this office of a
notice of such change of standard.
This office regrets exceedingly that
If is compelled to make such report,
which at best must be unsatisfactory,
but with an average of ten business
nlaces to visit each working day of the
wear. with an average of forty to fifty
scales to inspect each day, the or
dinances to explain, the fees to col
lect, clerical work incident thereto TO
be performed, it is exceedingly difficult
to find time to accumulate evidence to
and to attend court in the pros
ecution of such cases, much as We
would like to do so.
Wants Deputy
1.-THE aforesaid facts existing, there
fore, we would respectfully recon-
mend:
q. If it be the desire that these or
dinances be strictly enforced by this
office, believing ourselves competent so
TO do, that the ordinances before men
toned be so amended that the fines col
lected for viol8tions thereof may re-
vert to the credit of the sealer OF
weights and measures fund.
-. That there be appointed deputy
sealer of weights and measures-tem-
porary If thought best to see results-to
work under the supervision and d1rec-
ton of the sealer of weights and
measures that one man may be dele
gated to this branch of the work. We
believe that If too much is not ex-
pected from us in the way of revenue
the office can still, with this increased
force. be made self-supporting and that
the aforementioned ordinances may be
strictly enforced without drawing upon
the general fund"