Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-05
WEIGHTS and MEASURES.
III.-Protection for the
Dealers.
By Frederic J. Haskin.


HI By Frederic J. Haskin. HI
While most of the legislation looking
toward the Standardization OF weights
and measures seem to be directed against
the seller it must not be inferred that
the interests OF the dealer are overlooked
1t is well known that in many OF the in
stances of false weights being proved
against the dealer he may be quite in
nocent of any dishonest intention. He
| has used the scales and measures fur
| nished to him. for which. in many in
| stances, he has paid good price. and he
| has. personally. no means of testing their
| reliability. When he is convicted OF Civ
| Ing short weight or measure he may be
| made to suffer unjustly in two ways.
If his conviction becomes known. and
| there is tendency TO have SUCH occur
| rences given as much publicity Is pos
sibie for the protection of the buying
public. he suffers loss of public conti-
dence a quality absolutely essential TO
his business and FOR which no financial
| rating is equivalent Many dealers
throughout the country have been forced
into bankruptcy within the past hVe
years as a result In many cases these
dealers had been as greatly imposed upon
as the customers who received short
measure or weight His second loss Is
in the cOnfiscatfon of his scales.
The average dealer has no means OF
knowing when the scales he purchases
are accurate. He has only the makers
word for that. 1t is quite possible for
him to pay a hundred dollars or more
for fine looking instrument which will
look well upon his counter, and at the
same time be SO inaccurate in weight as
to excite the positive Indignation of the
Wei q ma
visits his store. The scale is promptly
confiscated and the dealer is not rem-
bursed for the money it cost him. There
is probability amounting to a certainty
in some of the more progressive states
that he may also be heavily fined for
having an incorrect scale in his pos
session. With the public cJamor against
incorrect weights and the number of in
accurate scales upon the market the
poor dealer stands as man between
two fires. either of which may be Suf-
fcient to consume him.
For the protection Of the dealers the
the membership
Law Nav PenaliZe of which includes
the Manufacturer. ers Of mos, Of
the larger cities as well as state and
ject Of weights and measures are recon-
mending the enactment of national law
providing a heavy penalty for the man
ufacture and sale of scales or measures
| which f.. short of the correct stand
ards. 1t is known To the government Of
ticias dealing with this matter that
many scales are sold which do not bear
the lame of the maker because they
|
manufactured. having a good reputation,
does not desire to endanger it. At the
same time he does not wish TO lose the
sales called forth by the demand for
| cheap scales, and so he floods the mar
ket with instruments he knows to be
incorrect and the credulous dealer who
buys them pays the penalty. At pres
| ent there is no law penaliZing the man
ufacturer of short-weight scales
| Ii is also claimed that scales are a
commodity in which it is especially de-
sirable that the manufacturers name
should appear in order that he, and not
the man using them, may be held re-
sponsible for their defelt If dealer
buys a scale bearing the manufacturers
guarantee he is protected. This is a
matter in which the better class of scale
manufacturers are becoming much in
terestoI.
Al the last conference Of weights and
measures representatives of the more
important scale manufacturing firms
We're in attendance and evidenced their
desire 10 bring the standards of their
instruments up TO the required accuracy
both for the protection of the dealers
who rely upon them and for their own
bust SIS credit. The testing Of scales by
the bureau Of standards has become
important feature of its work. All of
the scales used for any public work
der the direction of the United States
government tested gratuitously, but
the services OF the bureau also are
available to any manufacturer willing
to pay small fee TO have an instru-
ment tested
one of the matters brought to the no
tice of the officers interested in false
weights i
Scales Are Purchased that scales
on Their Appearance. chased with
reference to their attractive appearance
rather than to their scientific accuracy.
\ plain, undecorated instrument in many
cases will weigh more accurately than
highly decorated affair sold at higher
price. The sealer in cities and counties
can be trusted in most cuses to determine
the value of a scale before its purchase,
and the trifing fee which a dealer may
pay to secure this protection may be well
expended.
Frequently scale llay change its reg
| lister after period of use and for this
reason it is desirable that the sealer IN
spect it each three months. as is required
by the new laws passed in some of the
states. This frequent inspection is as
great a protection to the dealer as it is
TO the buyer, as it reneWs the seal test-
| flying to the accuracy of his scale. In
the matter of measures there is little if
any variance from use, but a great diff
ference exists in the contents of measures
supplied by different manufacturers. and
ii behooves the dealer to know that he
is securing those having the required
number of cubic inches. What the stand
ard requirements are for each sort of
measure can easily be ascertained either
from the official sealers, in a locality
where they exist. or through the state de-
partment of weights and measures.
The matter of barrels. baskets and other
wrappings constitute another means by
which the dealer may be imposed upon by
the manufacturer. The content of bar
rel has been varied in the different states.
but the bill introduced in Congress by
Representative Tuttle of New Jersey con-
tains the dimensions of the standard bar
rel and dealers can assure themselves
that they are securing this not only for