The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-12-01
MEASURE AND
WEIGHT TABLE
ON STATUTES
FACT Is NOT GENERALLY
KNOWN TO PEOPLE
BUT HAVE :
BEEN
Law Over Half Century Old Has
Failed to Attract Attention
Until Present
Time.

I'm II state are aware that there is
on the statue books of the state a
law to regulate the weights and
measures used in this state and which
makes it the duty of the county audi
tor to test all weights and measures
and seal them whet, they are pre-
sented to him for Tat purpose. This
law has been on the books evey since
1852 but no N has ever paid any
attention to it. Now, however. H e.
Barnard state food and drug COM
missioner says he is going to ask the
coming legislature to pass a law
which will be effective along that line
and which will replace the old.
He regards this as necessary in or
der to have an established and uni
form standard for the ~regulatiol of
transactions that take place 9yery day
among the people of Indiana in which
articles r bought and sold by weight
and measures. The number of such
transactions every day is beyond
computation and it is highly import
ant to have a fixed standard of
weights and measures FOR the enforce
ment of honesty among dealers and
the protection of buyers.
The subject is one that calls for
government regulation. To permit
individuals TO adopt their own
weights and measures would be as
absurd and mischievous as to permit
every man TO coin money of different
values. 1t would cause confusion,
general dishonesty and universal
wrangling, There must be a standard
for all and il must be established
maintained and enforced by govern
ment. Weights and measures have
been a subject of concern among men
from the earliest period of human
history and a matter of legal regula-
tion among all civilized nations. 1t
was a subject of legislation long be-
fore the christian era and is referr-
ed to many times in the Bible where
we read Thou shalt have a perfect
and just weight "Thou shalt not
have in the bag divers weights, ga
false balance is an abomiaation to
the Lord but a just weight is His
delight" and again "Divers weights.
are an abomination unto the Lord,
and a false balance is not good.''
Warnings and denunciations ON the
subject are frequent in the Scrip
lures and history shows numberless
efforts to regulate it by law.
Tables of Weights.
At present no two countries have
exactly the same standard of weights
and measures and of course different
languages have different names for
the units and Subdivisions. In all
countries the national standards are
in the custody of the government or
of some authorized body. In Great
Britain they are i'll the custody of the
board Of trade. These standards, bas-
ed ON scientific and mathematical
principles and adopted by law, are
carefully guarded. Every nation has
its own institution or department for
standardizing measuring instru-
ments of various sorts. The impor-
ance of standardizing is apparent
when il is remembered that in the
manufacture Of fine machinery meas
urements of the 'one-ten-thousandth
Of an inch are used, and in optical
work the millionth of an inch.
Similar precision exists in other
branches of modern industry and in
a nation of a hundred million of
a slight variation in weights
and measures in daily use may work
great injustice. The units of weights
and measures in the United States
are practically those used in the col
onies prior. to the formation Of the
government and were of course bor-
ioNcu iTOIH EuSidliu.
Action of Congress
Our ounces, pounds tons, quarts,
bushels, pints, gallons, inches.
feet, yards, etc., are practically the
same rs those used by the American
colonies two or three hundred years
ago. The constitution gives congress
power 'to fix the standard of weights
and measures" but congress has not
materially changed the standard in
use when the constitution was adopt
I'd. From the beginning of the gov
eminent the standards constructed of
metal were in the custody of the sec
-etary of the treasury. In 1885 con-!
yress passed a point resolution direct:
nc the secretary 'to cause a COM
,iete set of all the weights and meas
Tres adopted as standards to be de-
ivered to the governor of each state
n the union or such person as he
nay appoint for the use of the states
respectively to the end that a uni
'orm standard of weights and meas
Tres may be established throughout
he United States" In pursuance of
his resolution copies or duplicates
f the standard weights were sent
o each of the states for safe keeping
nd reference but it seems those sent
o Indiana can not be found.
Besides their value as standards
hey had considerable money value
eng of fine material and workman
hip and it is surprising that they
hould have been lost. Their loss
caves the state without any official ]
r established standard for the deter
lination of correct weights and
leasures in case any question should
e raised. There is a duplicate set of
ne standards in every United States
--xu-o hnuco crl H.. -