The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-11
ODD DEFECTIVE
 FOR THE CITY.
Woman Uncovers Frauds by
 Merchants
IN CASE FALSE WEIGHTS
Miss Alice Gallagher Looks to he Little More Than Young Giri--List of Bewares for House.
 wives


 To look at Miss Alice Gallagher no one of short dresses. Nor could any one pos sibly imagine that she had been for sew eral years a private detective and was now employed as an inspector of weights and. measures for the city of New York. Yet it Is perhaps this very appearance of youthful ingenuousness that has made her so valuable in the work of uncover ing the fraud of grocers, butchers and marketmen in New York.
 It is the duty of Miss Gallagher to in vestigate complaints received at the bu- reau of weights and measures. For in- stance, if a. housekeeper reports that a certain delicatessen store has been sell Ing her short weight eatables, Miss Gal llagher makes it a point to verify or dis prove the complaint Sometimes the lat ter is groundless, and the housewife has an imaginary grievance. Occasionally, too, an enemy who bears a grudge to- ward dealer takes this method of get ting square. Nine times out of ten. how ever, the complaint is justified. and when
 
 sure to be sooner or later, punishment is meted out in the shape of a fine in keep ing with the offense-
 To ascertain the truth of such com plaints there is but one way--for Miss Gallagher to become a customer for the moment. To accomplish this feat re- quires tact and good judgment and rare- ly does the shopman suspect the trap that the innocent looking young woman Is setting for him.
 Miss Gallagher buys her butter and cheese carefully, commenting upon prices qualities, etc, as glibly as any house. wife, but taking pains to emphasize the quantities desired, nearly always repeat ing the quality and price, something like this:
 Let me see, how much is that Two pounds at 40 cents pound, 80 cents?'
 The dealer acquiesces and proceeds to encase the purchases in wrapping paper, Miss Gallagher turns back the lapel of her coat and shows her badge. saying:
 "I am an inspector from the mayors office of weights and measures. May verify the weight of this purchaser Of course the dealer acquiesces; the woman inspector steps behind the coun- ter and with her own standards, which she produces from her small, unsuspicious looking hand bag, tests the scale and also verifes the weight of her purchases.
 Every Woman Inspector
 Every woman should be a self-appoint- ed inspector" says Miss Gallagher, who also contends that if women would do their duty and report every case of cheating the city would be brought back that much sooner to a standard of hon esty.
 My own experience as a housekeeping shopper has been a valuable lesson to me and l am glad to give a few points to other housewives. In buying butter, for instance, always see that your butter dish is free from water and that the clerk does not give you 13 instead or ID ounces. Unless you wake up this same clerk, who has found you such an easy mark will systematically rob you on every purchase.
 Another trick is that of the butchers clerk who has been ordered to make his own salary trimming customers. This man often wears a diamond ring conspic- uously. When he places the meat on the scales his hand Is weighed also. Natur- ally the public is trimmed every time he holds his hand on the scales.
 When you enter a grocery store and see boxes and canned goods packed high In front of the counter you may be sure that there is a reason for it. You ask for pound of butter, and the suave clerk goes to the butter department behind the boxes. He weighs and wraps your butter, and you take it for granted that you get the pound or two pounds for which you asked. Nine times out of ten, however. you get only IS, Ii or 10 ounces The tray, too, is weighed with the butter, and as i. varies in weight from one-fourth of an ounce to an ounce and sometimes more, your loss is still greater
 Imagine what such losses mean to the housewife in the course of a year. No wonder she must stretch her pennies to the limit of economy. No wonder either that Mir. Grocer or Butcher can buy a new automobile and perhaps house or so on the savings of his dishonesty.
 All Should Have Scales
 Tn the good old days pair of stand ard scales and also accurate measures formed part of the wedding outfit of every young housekeeper. It should be the same today. In fact, at this partic- ular time when we inspectors are bend ing every energy to overcome the present dishonest tendencies, we need the co-op- eration of every housekeeper.
 ''In this way housekeepers will soon have list of short weight dealers who have used them as victims. Thus tho dealers will learn that customers want what they pay for and not what the dealers choose to give them"
 Here is list of "Bewares' which Miss Gallagher says should also be needed by the purchasing public:
 Beware of bargain day. or you may De a short weight victim.
 Beware of package goods. You usually pay for the pasteboard or tin box
 Beware of the milkman who uses leaky dipper.
 Beware of the iceman who fills your re- frigerator with perforated chunks of ice.
 Beware of measures in which the bot tom has been raised. Beware of the plat form scales which have objects of all sorts on them.
 Beware of the dealer who dfspenses your quart of beans in a liquid quart measure, instead of dry quart meas ure. You will lose several ounces every time by this method, as may readily be seen by little arithmetical conputa- ton.
 Beware of liquid measures which are dented in order to defraud. Beware of weights that are lead filled. zinc or brass, hollow, lead plugged or rusty. Also beware of the knob weight and that with the knob broken of. Beware of rubber bands around the beam and base of scales; of the dealer who folds paper bags under the scoop of scales, or who uses weights to give | If ounces instead of IS. Couldn't Understand It
 From the Chicago Record-Herald. | "This stock" said the promoter, Ifs fully paid up and nonassessable."
 well. If it's fully paid up, replied the man who was inexperienced in such mat ters. ''I can't see why you want me to