The San Francisco call., 1910-10-10
FORTUNES MADE
in SHORT Weight
Burmester Tells How Dishon-
esty Causes Loss of Mill
lions to Consumers

Henry A. Burmester. a well known
has been for long time an ardent
advocate Of home industry, in an address
before the Ingleside Improvement club
in Ocean View avenue. discussed the
subject of Honest Weights and Meas
ures for California" He explained that
his purpose in addressing the club was
to interest all improvement organiza
tions in the matter of having a com
mittee appointed that should have for
its purpose the framing of a bill to be
presented to the legislature at its next
session.
This" he said. should be framed
after the Clement I. Driscoll law of
New York. which provides that each
package should bear upon its face the
exact weight and the exact measure
of the contents We have a law to
protect the consumer in regard to the
quality and purity there is In pack
age, but here we have no law that
protects the buyer in the amount he
calls for and has a right TO expect
he will have served to him and which
he pays for. When such a law is
framed-and the members of the i'm
provement clubs are the ones who
can have it properly doneIt will be
introduced by Senator R. j. Welsh, who
recently had little experience which
set him to thinking. At the request of
his wife, he brought home a spool of
domestic silk and one of cotton marked
200 yards.
DISHONEST DECEPTION
''The wife, expressing some doubt as
to the correctness Of the number Of
yards, took q measurement and found
that each was short q little less than
one half what the figures conveyed.
He Investigated further and discovered
that just in front Of the figures was
~ in characters so small that they
could not be read without strong
glass. That Is a deception on the pur-
chaser
I'm England such practices are not
permitted and to prove this q spool
of English made cotton was purchased
and measured 1t bore the words war,
ranted 200 yards, end it was found to
contain seven yards more than the
guarantee. You may say this is a small
matter, but let me tell you that it is
these small matters that count. If only
half a nickel is made by dishonest
practice in every sale in this city it
means ap average Oh $0,0UU,UvU a year
paid for by the consumers for what
they do not receive
SHORT IN WEIGHT
1T is not only in thread, but in every
thing, canned goods and packed goods.
A customer calls for can of goods,
and pays for what he supposes is one
pound of the article he calls for, but
he never gets more than 13 or IA
ounces, for cans, presumably made to
represent a pound or two pounds
weight as to the contents. are made
in sizes i, 2. and 8, and persons buy
under the impression that they are
getting one, two or three pound pack
ages. but they do not.
yThen with other goods that are put
up in pretty and attractive cartons
None of these contain the exact weight,
but the purchaser has to pay for the
fancy. decorative outside, which costs
less than two cents, anywhere from 10
to 80 cents.
"As to liquids, 1t is a most remark
able fact that such as are classed as
1uxuries' are q full quart in what, is
known as quart bottle Other liquors
in quarts or pints are all short of the
true measure and by this shortness
somebody makes immense profits
DUE TO LACK OF LAW
And why is this so? you may ask.
It is because it is the custom of the