New-York tribune., 1912-04-07
THE HONEST POUND
What Passage Of Brooks Bill
Means to the Housewife.


passage Of the Brooks bill on the last day
Of the Legislatures session the average
busy housewife probably has not had time
TO acduaint herself with its exact signifl-
cance 10 herself Perhaps she does not
even know how much the measure was
needed.
According TO the new law, which, how
ever. does not go into effect until June Of
next year. all meat, meat products and
butter must be sold by weight, and all
other products not in containers by weight.
measure or numerical count, such weight.
measure or count to be marked on "A label
or tag attached to the goods. Vegetables
are an exception TO the rule. They may
he sold BY the head or bunch. The bill
also establishes a standard barrel-somc-
thing that has been needed. All contain
ers OF foodstuffs must have a statement
on the outside as To their net contents.
This covers not only the goods sold in
packages hut those in bottles and cans.
Little glass jars and packages contain
Ing fancy cheese, jams and other good
things will after the law goes into effect
have the amount that is contained within
registered on the label. The chatting dish
grocery to buy little jar Of fancy cheese
will see that she is paying at the rate
OF - or 50 cents a pound for it. aud the
housewife who buys her preserves in glass
Jars and wide mouthed bottles will realize
that they cost her - or > cents a pound.
\ good many factories have for some
time past been marking their packages
with the weigh; OF the contents. Now all
Will be compelled to do 1t. and thereby
manufacturers and tradesmen who want
To give honest weight and measure will be
protected az Well as the consuming public.
Many OF them have. In fact, expressed as
much qualification as the housewives over
the passage OF the bill.
At pure food show last fall the Bureau
Of Weights and Measures exhibited quart
bottle Of vinegar beside a quart measure
Of vinegar. The amount in the bottle was
considerably less than that in the meas
ure And the price for these bottles of
vinegar is usually higher than the price
for the quart measure. The grocer in
variably sends one Of these bottles OF vine
gar when the housewife orders a quart of
the fluid, unless she sends her own demi-
John for II, and in making. pickles and
other good things for winter housewives
usually accept the bottles as the equiva-
lent of the quarts called for by the recipe.
Then they wonder why some old family
rule seems to have lost its virtue
While some brands of Taislns sold in
packages contain exactly a pound, other
brands in packages of exactly the same size
and style and at the same price weigh less
than a pound. Housewives when making
cake save themselves the trouble OF weigh
ing pound Of raisns by stirring in one
of these packages, and then they wonder
why the cake is not az good as It used to
be Yet heretofore the manufacturer and
grocer could not be blamed because they
did not state that the package weighed Il
pound, and there was no law to compel
them to do So
II Is the same way with cereals In the
midst OF rising prices these packages still
sell as they did ten years ago, at 10 cents.
but In most cases the contents have slowly
dwndled. An up-to-date l5-cent package or
cereal can In some instances be completely
hidden inside the l5-cent package OF ten
years ago The only change the average
housewife has noticed is perhaps the tact
that she Is now buying these goods more
frequently than she used TO, and she as
sumes, perhaps, that the taste OF her fam
fly for cereals has developed.
Goods done up in fancy packages nave
alwavs had a facination for the housewife,
especially the inexperienced one. But the
folds OF these dainty wrappings and inter-
Innings are likely to take up so much space
,r4, not q large amount OF room Is left for
the supposed contents Of the package, IN
nocent young brides may hereafter know
iust how much they are buying ana "ha'
their husbands are paying for.
II Is expected that the action OF New
york will lead to a similar enactment on
the mart OF the federal government for as
Ls,emblyman Brooks has pointed out the
Nav York market controls the attitude and
ao,,or ~ most American manufacturers