St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-04-06
Short Weight Frauds.

Short Weight Frauds.
With the cost of living at its present
high rate the frauds perpetrated on the
public in the giving of short weights and
measures should receive special atten-
ton. The extent to which the public is
defrauded is very little understood. fit
could be realized it would seem as
though the purchasing public would de-
mand protection. The organization of
the bureau of standards and the annual
meetings of tn state sealers of weights
and measures are aiding in getting the
matter before the people. The state re-
representatives. have been meeting in
Washington at their own expense and
are earnestly studying how to give the
purchasers the means to get what they
pay for. They have discovered that the
federal law is deficient and that most of
the state laws are inadequate or very
poorly enforced. Vermont has been re-
presented in this work by P. F. Hazen of
this place. The late Sen. Ross of this
village also was a strong influence in
getting the bureau of standards estab-
Eshed. While Vermont has some law on
this subject it is not enforced at all Gov.
Prouty has become interested in the
matter and has promised to call con-
ference to consider what should be done
in Vermont.
The extent of these frauds was forcibly
shown by DR.. F. Reichman, superinten-
tent of weights and measures of the state
of New York. in an address recently de-
livered before the womens clubs of thrt
state. He says that the short weight and
measure evil exists in three forms, faulty
apparatus, faulty use of correct appara-
tus and goods put up in packages with
out any indication of the quantity.
Here are shown some fagrantly false
scales; the peddler's and ragman's spring
scales with sliding fronts, adjustable
springs, bent points, that will show
whatever the thumb and index finger of
the manipulation desires; computing
scales with false computations; weights
made lighter by every possible means;
dry measures with adjustable bottoms,
false bottoms, raised bottoms, double
bottoms, with sides cut down or relapp-
ed. false bottoms and sides; ice cream
pals from to Is per cent, short; butter
trays that are so light that the manu-
facturer cannot sell them; short milk
bottles; flake" milk dippers; Short"
"snide," and shallow snide'' berry box
es; liquid measures with holes in the side,
etc. These are but samples and thou
sands upon thousands are still in use
daily defrauding the poor-daily COM
uniting worse moral crimes than picking
pockets.
Following are some of the specific
cases mentioned:
Picture cord, 10 feet short in 25 yards;
thread and yarn IS per cent short; braid.
ribbon and tape. from to 10 per cent
short; toilet paper of less than 500
sheets, when sold as 1000 sheets; wall
paper, from to 10 per cent short;
writing pads, from to 10 per
cent short; some havoring extracts 25
per cent short; -four when you pay for
the bag that cannot be made into bread
at the price of -four; butter prints from
butter in crooks 10 to 80 per cent
short; lard sold in No. 8, No. and
No. 10 pals. but not 3, 5 or 10 pounds;
coal sold to the poor at $3.50 per ton;
wood in the stacked barrels, and kind
ling in short bundles; matches sold to
the customer as boxes of 500 and not
holding 400; paints and oils shy in
quality and quantity; the list could be
extended ad infnitum through the whole
list OF articles that are put into our
bodies, on our bodies, over, under or on
the side of us, indeed whether it be for
ourselves, our dogs, horses or cows or for
our stoves, furnaces, or our streets.
One particularly weak feature is our
present pure food law which does not re-
quire that the quantity of goods in
package shall be honestly given on the
outside of the package. 1t was i'm
possible to get that feature incorporated
into the law at the time it was passed
but the time has come when the people
should demand it.
The state conference which the govern
or has promised to call should result in
putting new life into the law Vermont
already has, making the Office of sealers
of weights and measures one of some i'm
portance and securing close scrutiny of
the law for the purpose of making
necessary changes.