New-York tribune., 1909-05-05
ROB POOR OF MILLIONS
SHORT WEIGHT CAUSE.
Reichmann Says Fraud amounts to
$50, 900 900 in State.
IBy Telegraph to The Tribune J

.
have 70 buy their food supplies in small quantities,
robbed Of about S200e1oOo last year by reason
Of short weights and small measure. according TO
estimate made TO-DAY ny Fritz Reichmann,
State Superintendent of Weights and Measures
OF that loss about slooooeGo came from the people
in New York CITY IN spite oc The municipal bureau
of weights and measures. f whose head Superin-
tendant Reichnlann mas not "ery complimentary
opinion.
The people Who lose most through faulty
weights and measures" he declared to-day. are
the very poor. who have TO buy in small Quantt-
ties This state Is far behind its neighbors that
Il naturally becomes the dumping ground Of short
weight and short measure goods. Russia. which
We consider barbarCus country. is so much bet
ter governed than New York State in respect to
It's weights and measures, TO make us blush.
Primarily the reason for this great defrauding
or customers by dealers $ not dishonesty. in
Superintendent Reichmanns opinion. but the inn
..erfect laws, which leave each municipality 10
work out its own uestiny. with merely general
supervision the of q sadly handicapped
state department Thus dealers in one city supply
ing retailers in some other city with different
regulations weights and measures, per
h2ps negligent inspection no inspection. may
unintentionally per1vtrate fraud, which the re
tail dealers would pass along intensity.
TO be sure" -Ir Reichmann continued
There IS much dishonesty. deliberate and in
tentional, in every large city and many small ones
and it is guard against this that the sealers Of
weights and measures have 70 watch constantly
BERRY BONES SHORT MEASURE
y stopped a consignment of six hundred thou
sand berry boxes 10 New York City the other day
from Of upstate cities the Superlntend-
ent added They were short measure The con-
signor said they 10 be used for the wagon
trade"
The staggering statistics which he produced TO
the total annual loss from fraudulent weights and
measures compiled by taking twenty food
stufrs. the average proportion Of loss found by the
departments tests and the average consumption
yearly of the twenty articles chosen.
They twenty average commOdites-hour.
bread, meats. eggs butter coffee. sugar beans,
the like" said he Those figures, too are con-
servative If anything, the amount would be larger
rather than smaller
To take one example He estimated that dried
beans the consumer raid for some $4,000 worth Of
beans more than he received in the course OF a
year What purported TO be . quart of dried beans
was purchased by one Of the inspectors in gro
store for . cents The beans and the bag con
tanning them were weighed and found 10 weigh
3 3-32 ounces. The bag weighed go Of al ounce
leaving for the beans - 1915 ounces \ correct
quart Of beans is supposed 10 weigh exactly ~
ounces Thus on that purchase jlts customer re-
ceived 93s cents worth instead OF the j. cents
worth for which he paid Superintendent Reich
continues follows:
All kinds Of tricks used by dishonest meg,
chants. Those merchants who are not dlshonest
Intentionally may have faulty scales pl he,
measures 81 @lllcIl uH AlloM t i 1,seG
the worse il becones-for the custoner-uLeSSs II II
never viii ask for test if he has to pay ICES lof
TaT n some Towns fIere Is the fee system:
others the municipal sealer OF weights ana heis-
The city treaslry: in others again. there is
straight salary basis, and no charge is naae I0E
in others absolutely none.
BAD CONDITIONS IN SYRACUSE.
We went to Syracuse time ago and found hor-
psi department Of weights and measures, with a
salaried head, who said he never had done any,
done anything but draw their salaries Things
see the errSr Of his WAYS couple Of deputies were
added TO his staff Now thar same man Is one m o.
the most active ana best men IN the S'Is- ,bt It+
tells that his working day IS limited 10 elsnI
ing after viostors Of the law and does It ] went
Tonkers some time ago. and there was hardly
Now they have a good inspection there, and the
merchants are running pretty much the level
customers know ne difference 0etWen e' ors aI9 f
lima beans. say. in q lqlid qvart measure. & ne :
stealing about J" p"r cent II ven fsH i.i ioI i,I
on that fass, ana thus he drives them out q bust
- seer SefS - u aT 'rcc W or I an o7Ince ana half
l. 'i,eenf maxi much difference on ter-pound
roast, but half pound or pound Of meat Tor
the poor it tells heavily. And spring scales
there are as many WAYS 10 manipulate them as
there makes OF scales. Take dry measures.
Here sur,rinte1deut fteicliI-ann exhibited some
quart" measures which ne had eonfiscated They
were cut down around The edges and battered The
superintendent added:
one fellow told me his measures had worn down
that way when ] protested against the short
measure. told him to buy measure with a metal
band the top. = few days after that I
stopped IN again. he had the TueasuT. with the
metal band all right. but he had taken of the
band down the measure and then replaced the
band He said he didn't expect me back Here's a
scale which is 4 great favOrite with juukmen- Tt'S
made in Germany, but they don't dare use them
hold Il by. If you hold ring and hook,
on this side II reads 81 pounds. say. and the
other side so pounds. Il be jUggled splendidy-
OTHER STATES HAVE GOOD LAWS.
All our neiFhborng states have good laws,
Canada northern border has probably the
most rigid law the world. II inspector stops
wagonload Of bread and in the load finds one loaf
weight coufscstes the whole load. gives II
some charitable institution and prosecutes the
baker. Massachusetts has probably the best
weights and system in the United States:
Rhode Island has excellent system Connecticut
now has a bill under consideration which
likely 70 pass: New jersey has good system.
Pennsylvania also. and Ohio. too. Thus, If any
manufacture dealer has short weight parcels or
short measure goods taev find their wav into New
distributing point FOR short weight and short
measure stuff while upstate trying pre-
vent the sending Of short weight short measure
goods there.
Our dealers. a result, either through ignorance
dishonesty, rob the small consumers. It's purely
Pougnkeepsie- grocer, who q splendid
ample Of the working Of this situation. He had
come from nelghbOrlDE state, where they have
good system and good inspection. For time, he