Bisbee daily review., 1912-04-26
MANY SCALES
 THAT ROB
 CONSUMERS

The bureau of standards of the de partment of commerce and labor. has just issued an interesting report of it's work during'the past year.
 An investigation of trade weights and measures conditions throughout the country, for which congress made special provision. has practically been completed and will form the subject of the report. Every state in the Un- ion, with the exception Of Arkansas and Ok ahoma has been visited, and inspections in the two mentioned will soon be made.
 During the two years this investiga- Ion has been in progress. S.630 scales nave been tested, of which 3,607. or AIS per cent were incorrect. The number of dry and liquid measures tested was 6.0SS. of which 2,OIS, or aT- proximately 33 per cent were incor- rect. Of the incorrect apparatus found a large proportion of 1t discriminated against the consumer and. consequent ly, furnished the strongest argument for the inspection services by the states. The investigation has attract ed the widest attention and has res ulted in the enactment Of the states of either laws to render sufficient the old weights and measures laws or else entirely new laws. During the year the legislators of the 35 states gave consideration to bills to either establish weights and measures laws or amend those a ready in the statute books. and 2j states passed important legislation on the subject. The indica- tiCns are that all of the states are thoroughly alive to the importance of the matter and that within a few years every state in the Union will Lave provided means to guarantee the integrity of the weights and measures
 sed in trade.
 To insure uniformity in the state laws, a model law was drafted by the bureau. and this law with the minor notifications to suit local conditions, has been adopted in a number of states. The bureau also drafted a model weights and measures ordin- anca for municipalities for which there was urgent demand. A list Of apparatus suitable for state and city sellers was also prepared in response to numerous requests for advice as to the proper equipment for such ci-
 cials. The bureau has also rendered aid to the states in the establishment of their inspection departments, some times by detailing an expert in the work and sometimes by correspon- dence.
 An investigation to determine the variation Of the weight of food prod ucts Tut up in package form, with time and under diKerent atmospheric conditions was conducted. The res ults will be of great value in estab- fishing permissible variation in the weights of such commodities in case the net weight law is passed by con gress, and they will also be of much assistance in answering many ques- tions that will arise in the condition of such a possible law.
 The time has now arrived when the power granted to congress to fix the standard weights and measures by paragraph , of section s of Article 1 Of the constitution of the United States, should be exercised.
 A demand for the standandizing Of packages. barre.s, boxes, crates, bas-
 
 al legislation. The attempt to correct some of the evils of the state legiS- iatIon, which compels merchants oi the Union doing an interstate business to conform to the different states, has only complicated the situation. what is needed is-1. X national law dehn- ing and fixing the usual weights and measures that may be used in every day trade. 2 A law fixing the size of the more common shipping units, such as barrels, bales, tOt cottonl boXes, baskets, (fruiD etc. .. 4 law requiring the net weight, measure or numerical count to be plainly stated upon the outside of all commodities put up in sealed packages. Also law to eliminate the manufacture and sale of apparatus designed to iacl4l- tate fraud.
 During the past year an exten- slye investigation into the subject Of electroIysis has been in progress. This subject is one of great practical importance not only to the engineer ing interests but to municipalities and the general public. Damage to water and gas pipes and other under ground structures by stray elcctic cur rents has long been source or ser ious trouble. and although much worh has been done by private interests with the view of mitigation the evil Q great deal of inyestigationai work remains to be done before remedial measures can be applied of invesuga- tiouaI work remains to be done before remedial measures can be applied with satisfactory precision.