New-York tribune., 1909-09-12
ICE AND COAL DEALERS.


A year or two ago the local authorities conducted
a campaign the retail Ice and coal Dealers It
found that the purchaser OF the small cubs Oe
ice and the barrel or box OF coal was being habit
ually svindled- In the case Of the ice the wetghs
OF the tongs was included IN the bin and IN hUn-
dreds Of cases it found that the scales wsrs
wrong Indeed. even one who buys coal by the ton
is not certain OF obtaining fun weight Sixty-nlns
coal wagons were stopped by the inspectors Of tho
Bureau OF Weights and Measures and the contents
weighed. They.w supposed to contain nS1a tons.
AS matter OF fact there was a total shqrtage Oc
seven and oue-half tons One wagon, supposed to
contain four tons. was short $50 pounds. or more
than q ton. Another four-ton load short 1270
pounds, A two-ton load was short 500 pounds
Most housekeeperS are aware that IN purchasing
all kinds OF canned fruit and vegetables there "a
absolutely certainty of getting ones moneys
worth Thousands OF OF tomatoes. peaches
pears. apples. beans, peas and other kinds OF frie
and vegetables are daily sold IN every part Of the
city which when opened are found to contain fully
one-thrd liquid. This is not the fault OF the mer-
chant who sells them. He buys pig in a bag just
the public does. The fault lies with the packing
houses which put these goods Up for sale. Former
" these unscrupUlOus packers deceived the public
with authorizations and substitutes The passage 0r
the pure food law BY Congress made that method
OF fraud TOO dangerous to be profitable. Now they
exerting their ingenuity in defraudns the pub
lie with short weight in such manner that the de-
ception cannot be easily proved. The city charter
frauds OF this kind. and city ordinance passed
that would prevent the general sale within the city
OF short weight proprietary articles
"--Eo Is still another phase Of this short wsighs
and false measure evil that the law does not regu%
late at ALL Huge quantities Of market garden
stuff and produce sold the city markets
and in the large produce houses This stuE comes
in from all parts OF the surrounding country and
IS sold In any siZs or kind or package meas
There is absolutely no recognized standard
for many varieties OF this kind OF stun. and sha
public has 70 trust its eyes in making purchases.
1t Is possible. for instance. 70 among hundreds
OF fruit and vegetable dealers and 20 have half a
dozen different prices quoted for crate Of t0n1s-
toes OF the same quality and In crates that are ap-
parently the size The reason Is that thsxs is
recognized size Of crate and the honesty Of tns
dealer is the only guarantee ths purchasing pUnlIa
has to go by. The Is true IN regard to ths
sale OF potatoes by the bag. apples By the barrel
and berries by the box crate. Absolutely no ef%
fort has been made to standardize the measures by
which this sort OF produce Is offered for sale Tha
best dealers admit that the OF sNindIlnzf
that goes on continually IS almost incaIcuIabI1 IE
is the poor, those who obliged to buy IN snail
quantities.. who suffer most from the tniquftoua
scale This Is indicated by the fact that out ur
2651 violations found IN 1907 throughout the ert-rs
city 1857 were ths East Side n Manhattan
Practically the same conditions exist IN East Nszs
NovIr R-oo