Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-08
THE ART OF SKINNING

= EFT us take off our hats to Arthur
Let's. head of the Broadway de-
IL partment store, who has ordered
the dry goods sold over his counters
marked with exact measurements in
place of the misleading marks put upon
them by manufacturers. Mr.. Let's is
leading the way in a return to old
fashioned honesty. He has served no
tice on jobbers that he wants the same
kind of marks on goods he buys.
Investigations made in New York re-
Gently as to weights and measures have
had such amazing results that one who
reads them may be pardoned for dis
trusting all dealers and wondering how
long and how much he has himself been
a victim of the short-weight artist.
Bed sheets sold in department stores
and establishments where it is usually
expected a reputable standard would be
maintained were clearly marked as of
a certain measure, but when tested
with a tapeline were found to be from
two to five inches smaller in both
length and breadth.
Butter marketed by one Of the big
gest concerns in the United States was
plainly labeled lone pound" two
pounds" and five pounds Actual
weighing showed that the one pound
package was an ounce short, the two
pound two and a half and the five
pound more than three.
Fruit Jars marked to hold one quart
in plain letters were found to hold a
gill or more less than that amount.
Milk bottles held less than the pint
or quart marked thereon, and in the
case of cream the bottles sold as half
pints averaged five to a quart the
dealer gaining the price Of a bottle in
every five sold.
Berry boxes had the bottoms so fitted
that they could be pushed up in man
ner to make the box hold but pint
and a half.
Potatoes, pears, ounces and dry
fruits and vegetables were sold in bar
rels that contained less than three
fourths of a standard barrel.
An instance of how the poor are ruth
lessly robbed was found in the case of
charcoal. Charcoal sells in f1ve-pound
bags, three bags for cents, in certain
sections. 1t is used to heat the kettle
in a hurry on hot evenings and enor-
nous quantities are sold. The dealers
entered into a combination with the
merchants who supplied them, and the
result was that the charcoal bags
weighed only three and a half pounds,
though plainly marked five. Coal was
sold in bushel measures that were two
quarts short, and 25-pound pieces of
ice, the size mostly favored by the fiat
and tenement resident, when placed on
true scales were found to weigh only
eighteen to twenty pounds.
To illustrate the wide prevalence OF
cheating, it is only necessary to say
that in SO4 places visited in Manhattan
and the Bronx 80 per cent Of the scales,
II per cent of the weights and 50 per
cent of the capacity measures were in
correct, the resultant shortage caused
being anywhere from per cent up to
rs per cent. Results in other boroughs
were not quite as bad, but substan-
TALLY so.
This is appalling, and might be at
tributed to peculiar conditions obtain
ing in a vast city, but such is not the
case. In the small cities of Pough-
lleepsie and Matteawan the same cheat
ing was found. In the former, for eX-
ample, only four stores out Of thirty
seven had correct scales, and they were
not incorrect to the detriment of the
seller, either.
What would be the result of as
thorough an investigation in Los An
geIes as has just taken place in New
York? is the natural question that
comes to mind when reading of these
revelations That the tricks of the
New York dealer have been learned
outside of the metropolis there is no
reason to doubt. There has of late been
much discussion as to the causes Of the
increased cost of living. Here, 1t ap-
pears. is one that does not puzzle the
simplest mind. It's cure is perhaps
equally simple. Keep a scales and a
yardstick at home and use them.
If a dishonest merchant has been tax
ing from 10 to 25 per cent off the pur-
chasing power of your dollar you can
-. 1. ,.ark zVan