El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-07

{
measures of various commodi-
/ ties when taken by bulk. have brought
! about a strong sentiment in favor Of
I having al products usually sold by
( dry measure sold by weight instead
| The difference between an even ana "a
neaped measure. or between a measure
I Illled loosely and the same measure
| packed tightly. materially affects its
value, even granting that the measure
/ itself be of the standard requirement
I rms matter is one of the most diff
cult to regulate of any problem CON
I nected with the subject of weights
and measures, and it is generally con-
ceded that no measure can be used to
produce the degree of accuracy and
uniformity given by standard scales
or. balances
Government Fixes Standard.
The United States government has
I fixed the custom for weighing i'm
ported grains by the bushel in order
] TO assess the duty upon them. Sixty
l pounds of wheat, Sc pounds of corn or
rye. As pounds of barley. % pounds
OF oats, so pounds Of peas and A.
pounds Of buckWheat, aVOirdupOis
weight, shall be estimated as a bushel
according TO q law passed in 1866 All
duties imposed upon impOrtations OF
these products are based upon weights
rather than bulk measure. 1t should
not be assumed that these weights all
represent a volume equivalent TO the
, united states standard busheI OF
4 zl5O.42 cubic inches. On account Of the
variations in the densities of commo-
ulLes In different localities il is i'm
possible TO fix with any degree of ac-
curacy the weight of a given volume
These weights are obtained from the
averages of the product in different
localities for a number of years.
Since the weight of a given volume
OF such commodities as apples. pOta
toes. shelled corn and corn in the ear.
coal. and many others can only be
LiNed approximately il has become
necessary TO have an understanding i'm
all business transactions as to which
bushel is meant the one represented
by the volume Of 2150.42 cubic inches
or the number of pounds called a
Dusnel which may vary materially in
the different states. Practically al
wheat transactions are made upon the
basis Of weights and each year the lis
OF oIher commodities having a fixed
Welght per Dushel is being increased
Dual System Causes Confusion.
This constant friction caused by the
dual system Of weight and measure
was the subject of q considerable pOr-
ton Of the time Of the conference OF
WelShts and measures which convened
las month at the bureau Of standards.
\ resolution was passed reCOmmending
InaJ all laws specifying legal WEIGHTS
OF legal weights for other dry meas
ures of all volumes be repealed and
Inat such laws be enacted as will in
sure the sale OF all commodities. usual
~ so sold, upon a basis Of weight OF
numerical count
While the conference has no official {
power, IL is composed of the men most [
closely In touch with all plu-ses of the /
condltlon governing weights and I
measures.
The bin introduced by representa- I
i've futile Of New Jersey. regarding I
the standard size Of a barrel viii fall /
ShoIt OF the requirements of this reso- I
luuon- Notwithstanding that it has Z
mr. Hm--
cause il only gives the capacity re-
CURED In cubic inches with no refer
shce 70 weight The New England /
dealers claim that Maryland and Vir- /
glnia farmers ship short weight bar
rels into the Boston markets, although ]
massachusetts, has a law requiring DO
tato barrels 10 contain a certain num- I
per OF pounds The question Of the i
weight OF goods sold in their original !
packages viii be covered in most cases I
move ever, by the new national net
weight law.
Much Fraud in weighing.
me possibility Of being cheated IN {
buying by weight is in the opinion OF I
many people. even including officials I
dealing with the matter. quite as great {
II not greater than in buying by bulk. /
An officer from New England recently
made an Investigation OF the scales Of !
nucksters and junk dealers who were
selling by weight and in every in
stance round them incorrect The junk
and scrap iron almost invariably have
scales which are over weight so that
Dag or rags which really weighs .
pounds may be paid for as 10 pounds,
because Of the defective scales.
In a number of communities buck J
sJers VIII 90 through a farming region Z
collecting butter. poultry and other Z
produce which they weigh upon their
own scales, thereby securing from 20
10 90 percent more than they are paw
ing Tor Sometimes these hucksters
are sklltul enough at scale manipula- I
lion 10 change their weights so that
they can sell the produce in town from
the same scales. so weighted as to
give their customers as great a Pc
centage short weight as they took IN
over weight from the people from
whom they purchased the products.
only the most rigid system of inspec-
ton and a fixed penalty for every kind
OF fraud perpetrated in weights and
measures viii give protection to the
entire public
Deceptive Match Boxes.
The question of numerical count is
one regarding which a striCter enforce
ment OF the law is required. Ii has
been found that in boxes supposed to
contain 200 matches there is an ave-
rage shortage of at least 80. Tire
Sealer Of weights and measures for the
city Of indianapolis has been making
an INVESTIGATION of this matter during
the last year. He estimates that the
people Of the United States are being
deIrauded Of more than S2,OO0,OO0 each
year in matches alone.
People who can least afford to paw
TOT eXtoruon buy coal by the busheI I
instead Of by the ton There is no way
TO regulate che amount in a busheI In
some cities an ordinance provides that
q Dushel of coal must be "heaped up" Z
Gut, especially i'm the case of soft coal I
10 Is easy to pack two or three large
Jumps in the bushel basket and heap I
mp coal on top so that the basket looks
1eapinE full but there are holes un-
derneath that reduce the quantity of
coal paid for by at least one-fourth. :
Chicago now has an ordinance requir-
ing all coal 10 be sold by weight and /
lsld system of inspection of the scales
Of coal dealers is a protection to the
consumers from the loss by short
How Coal Buyers Are SvvIndIde.
Tn a number OF states. and i'm most
,lues, there are legal enactments pro
'lding that all coal over 100 pounds
must be sold by weight Quantities
ess than 100 pounds are sold by tbs
basket which vary in size. Last win q
Ter q. city scaler in Providence. stopped ,
4 driver who was delivering two has
Eerg of coal a