The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-11-08

that a ticket showing the net weight
must accompany each load Of coal and
be given BY the driver to the purchaser
upon delivery. This ordinance stopped
the practice Of delivering an order Of
say twenty tons in four or five loads
with a bill covering the entire amount
with the last load Formerly, If an in.
spector stopped one of these loads the
driver would say he did not know how
much was on the wagon, as it was part
OF a delivery of ten or twenty tons
The inspector was helpless, because il
he weighed the load and any short
weight had been delivered previously,
it could always be made up later on.
Now, when an inspector stops a wagon,
he must be given a ticket showing the
weight Of that particular load. II he
finds the weight to be short, or If there
is no ticket, card is given the driver
for his Hrm, asking them to explain why
the ordinance has been violated If no
satisfactory reason is Forthcoming, a
suit is sent over to court.
A number of small dealers formerly
drove into wholesale yard and ordered
500 pounds OF coal Ii stopped by an
inspector they would tell him they did
not have money enough to buy a ton
and that the other 200 pounds would be
delivered later on. OF course no ticket
accompanied the load, so no case could
be made out, but If they were not
stopped the 1900 would have been de-
iivered for ton.
During the last session Of our legisla-
ft,H j haI ra4. a..
weights and measures introduced. One
was to revise the weights and measures
laws and make them more comprehen-
sive This measure, called up in the
dying hours of the session, lost by
three votes. The second, which passed,
was an act giving power to city com-
ellis and presidents and boards OF trus.
tees in villages and unincorporated towns
to pass ordinances requiring the sale
of various kinds of dry commodities by
weight instead of measure A large
number of peddlers and dealers buy their
potatoes, etc, by weight and then turn
around and sell them by measure. In
the case of potatoes, they get sixty
pounds to the bushel and make FIVE
pecks out Of it by selling by meas.
ure.
The third bill introduced was what
was commonly called the met bill" and
provided that all goods sold in original
packages should bear the net weight,
the net measure or numerical count OF
the contents conspieuously displayed on
the outside. For some reason it was
not reported out of the committee.
This bill is very much needed. and
its lack is a most important defect in
the laws intended to insure to the public
honest weight and measure. After the
manufacturer has attained a certain pop
ularity for his product, he apparently
tries to get the maaey he spent in adj
vertising by cutting down the size of
the package. lie is careful, however, TO
preserve the same general appearance.
Sometimes, if the weight was at first
one pound. he calls IL "size one" after IL
is reduced. In North Dakota, where
there is net weight law similar to the
one rejected in Illinois, the gross weight
in ounces for canned goods has increased
Gin spite of the fact that prices for food
products have very materially increased
and we might expect slack filings were
not our law being enforced" as is PERU
nently pointed out in the official state
report.
The national pure food law does not
give adequate protection in regard to the
weight Of goods IN original packages,
because it merely requires that the
weight or measure shall be given cor
rectly, If stated at all.--By John Kiel-
lander. city sealer Of weights and meas
ures in Chicago.