Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1912-11-08

s. l,N,JAk. many states putting
iC&@.M the supervision of
TXzlk Iy1 this particular
Sz branch Of work I'M
der defined depart
ment of state government.
There are numerous ways of cheat
ing in the use of scales, regardless of
the size or make The art of scale
building has advanced rapidly in the
last quarter century, but investigation
by various departments of weights
and measures, both national and state,
has disclosed the fact that the inven-
tive minds of those whose unfortunate
mental arrangement leads them to de-
fraud their fellow men, has kept pace
with this advance.
The most astounding fraud ever
perpetrated was that OF the famous
sugar trust fraud, in which the United
States government was robbed of
many millions in import tax duty, by
the use of small piece of umbrella
steel to throw the scales out of bal
ance. But with most cases of decep-
ton, the perpetrator becomes over
confident, and through carelessness
leaves a slight clue, which eventually
! leads to discovery.
Rubber bands have been employed
to throw scales off correct balance,
but as these are hard to apply they
are not so commonly used.
A common method of cheating is to
overload the scale counter weights
with lead and throw the balance to the
credit of the scale owner
But the most pernicious and in
genious of these is device recently
discovered by the department of
weights and measures which is under
the jurisdiction of the railroad and
warehouse commission of Minnesota.
This is a small piece of tempered
steel weighing 1872 of an ounce, and is
used In scales for the purpose of add
ing to or shrinking the weight of an
article. 1t can be carried in the vest
pocket and placed in position on the
scale in q few seconds. 1t has the
advantage to the user of being re.
yersible, that Is to say he can take
more in buying or give less in selling,
than the just and proper weight The
device is in the nature of a false
knife-edge or pivot. 1t has small pro-
lection on one side, which when ap-
piled to a scale with the projec-
ton towards the back end of the
scale beam the effect will be to make
q load weigh less than correct. and the
reverse is true when applied with the
projection toward the front end OF the
scale beam
These devices are made so that the
use of them on scale does not af-
feet the beam action whereby an OBJ
server could tell that the scale was
not weighing correctly as they allow
the beam free action.
The percentage of error in the use
of this device would differ, depending
upon the make of scale and the null
tiplying power of the scale beam. All
scale beams have not the same meas
urements, and on one scale the effect
was 2ta per cent either in excess or
deficiency, depending upon how the
device was placed, and on another
scale the effect was per cent either
way On some of the new type stock
scales with full capacity beams, hav-
ing no CONFERENCE.-The, the effect
would easily be 10 per cent of the
lead
These figures are based upon che
assumption that the scale would be
put into perfect balance after the de-
vice was inserted, but If by neglect or
- -. ~
anced after the device was put under
the fulcrum pivot of the beam, the
effect would be to give false weight
of about 200 pounds on any size load
in addition to the 21s, S, or 10 per cent
as the case might be.
If one Of these devices were used
on scale beam for fraudulent pur-
poses, it would undoubtedly be insert
ed in the loop from the rear of the
beam, and thus could not be seen from
the position in which one stands to
do the weighing, hence the necessity
of looking into the beam loops from
the rear OF the beam to prove that
such device is not being used
At a large stock shipping point in
Minnesota many complaints had been
received relative to the weights over
a certain stock scale. On investiga-
A.sian Of the scale 1t was discovered that
l ffslhese "shrinkers" was in use.
Il NSion Immediately started
R|llS & out to trace 1t up.
y h of the investi-
81 n pdeavor to find
243{ ~ the trail led