Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1909-05-12
Staggering Statistics as TO the Annual Loss Of the Poor
by Reason Of Fraudulent Weights and Measures
# Amounts to Year in New York State Alone
-Cne CONSIGNMENT of 100000 Berry Boxes
Found Short Measure

purchase the customer received nine
and one-eighth cents worth, instead
of the twelve cents worth for which
he paid. Superintendent Reichmann
continues as follows:
''AIl kinds of tricks are used by
dishonest merchants Those mer-
chants who are not dishonest fnten-
tionally may have faulty scales or i'm
perfect measures Of which they know
nothing because they are not tested.
The longer set Of scales is used the
worse # becomes-for the customer
unless 1t is tested and repaired. But
the average merchant never Will ask
for test # he has to pay fees for
that test, unless his customers COM
plain of him. Now, in some towns
there is the fee system In others the,
municipal sealerOf weights and meas
ures has salary and collects tees
which go into the city treasury I'M
others. again, there is a straight SAL
ary basis, and no charge is made for
tests. In some cities there is a rigid;
inspection; in others absol oluteIy none.
Bad Conditions in Syracuse
..sWe went tn Syracuse a time ago
and found horrible conditions pre-
vafIfng. There was municipal de-
partment of weights and measures.
with salarfed head, who said he.
never had done anything much, be-
cause his predecessors never had done
ANYTHING hut draw their salaries.
Things were stirred up; this superin-
tendent was made to. see the error OF
his ways, couple OF deputies were
added to his staff. Now that same
man is one of the most active and
best men in the State. He tells me
that his working day Is limited to
eight hours, but that he wants to
work overtime in getting after yiola-
tors of the law and does It. I went
to Yonkers some time ago. and there
was hardly straight weight or pro-
per measure in the town. Now they
have good inspection there, and the
!, merchants are running pretty mucn
on the level.
But it's so easy to beat the game.
How many customers know the differ
ence between dry and liquid meas:
ure? Yet If a grocer sells quart OF
lima beans, say, in liquid quart
measure, he's stealing about fifteen
per cent. It's very easy for him to
undersell competitors cent or two a
quart on that basis, and thus ne
drives them out Of business or into
his own habits. A butcher, say,
keeps several sheets OF paper on his
scales. The paper weighs, perhaps,
an ounce or an ounce, and half. II
doesn't make much difference on
ten-pound roast, but on half pound
or pound of meat for the poor woman
it tells heavily. And spring scales
there are as many ways to manlpu.
late them as there aIe makes OF
scales.' -,
"All our neighboring States have
good laws. Canada. on our northern
border, has probably the most rigid
law In the world. II an inspector
stops a wagonload Of bread and ~
the load finds one loaf short welgnt
he confiscates the whole load, gives II
to some charitable institution ana
nrosecutes the baker. Massachusetts,
has probably the best weights ano
measures system in the United States;
Rhode Island has an excellent sys'
tenn; Connecticut now has a bill un-
der consideration which seems likely
tn pass; New Jersey has 3 good sys-
tom. Pennsylvania and Ohio, too.