The Daily Missoulian., 1913-06-05


will look well upon his counter. and
at the same time be so inaccurate in
| weight as to excite the positive indig-
| nation of the first sealer or weight
inspector who visits his store. The
scale is promptly confiscated and the
dealer Is not reimbursed for the
money it cost him. There is a proba- :
bility 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 clamor
against incorrect weights and the
number of inaccurate scales upon the
market, the poor dealer stands as a
man between two fires either of
which may be sufficient to consume
him.
For the protection of the dealers.
the conference of weights and stand
ards, the membership of which in
cludes the official sealers of most of
the larger cities, as well as state and
national officials Interested in the
subject of weights and measures, are
recommending the enactment of ma
tional law providing heavy penalty
TOT the manufacture and sale of scales
or measures which fall short of the
correct standards. 1t is known to
the government officials dealing with
TINS matter that many scales are sold
Whlch 90 not bear the name of the
maker because they are known to be
Inaccurate and the manufacturer, hav-
ing a good reputation, does not desire
to endanger 1t. 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 market with in
struments he knows to be incorrect
ana the credulous dealer who buys
tnem pays the penalty. At present
there Is no law penalizing the manu-
facturer of short weight scales.
1t Is also claimed that scales%are
commodity in which it is especially
desirable that the manufacturers
name should appear, in order that he.
ana not the man using them, may
pc held responsible for their defects.
II dealer buys a scale bearing the
manufacturers guarantee he is pro-
tected. This is a matter in which the
better class of scale manufacturers are
becomlng much interested. At the last
conference Of weights and measures.
representatives of the more important
scale manufacturing firms were in
attendance and evidenced their desire
to bring the standards of their instru-
ments up to the required accuracy.
both for the protection Of the dealers
VINO rely upon them and for their
own business credit. The testing of
scales by the bureau of standards has
become an important feature of it's
work, All of the scales used for any
public work under the direction of the
United States government are tested
gratuitously. but the services of the
bureau also are available to any
manufacturer willing to pay a small
fee to have an instrument tested
one of the matters brought to the
notice of the officers Interested in
false weights is that scales are pur-
chased with reference to their attrac-
tive appearance rather than to their
SCIENTIFIC accuracy. A plain, undeco-
rated instrument in many cases will
weigh more accurately than a highly
decorated affair sold at higher price.
The sealers in cities and counties can
De trusted in most cases to deter
mine the value of a scale before its
purchase and the trif1ing fee which
a dealer may pay to secure this pro-
lection may be we'll expended
frequently scale may change its
register after a period Of use, and for
TINS reason it Is desirable that the
sealer inspect it each three months. az
Is required by the new laws passed
IN some of the states. This frequent
inspection is as great a protection to
the dealer as 1t is to the buyer as
1t reneWs the seal testifying to the
accuracy of his scale. In the matter
OF measures there is little if any
variance from use, but great Diff
ference exists in the contents of
measures supplied by different manu-
facturers and 1t behooves the dealer
to know that he is securing those hav-
ing the required number of cubic
inches. What the standard requires
ments are for each sort of measure
can easily be ascertained, either from
the official sealers in locality where
they exist, or through the state de-
partments of weights and measures.
The matter of barrels. baskets and
other wrappngs constitute another
means by which the dealer may be
imposed upon by the manufacturer.
The contents of barrel has been
bill introduced in congress by Repre-
sentative Tuttle of New Jersey con-
tains the dimensions of the standard ,
barrel and dealers can assure them
selves that they are securing this not
only for their own use, but that goods !
purchased by them for retailing in |
quantities are delivered in |
barrels measuring up to the required |
capacity. The barrel fixed in Mr. |
Tuttle's bill is designed for fruit
vegetables and other commodities
other than cranberries. Just why these
last should be exempted was not ap-
parent to the conference of weights
and measures which indorsed the bill I
last month. The length of the stave
of this proposed standard barrel is
2s1s inches. Its diameter at it's head |
should be 17A inches and the distance
between the heads 26 inches. The cir
of it's bulge should be GA
inches. Any barrel having capacity
of 1855 cubic inches should be recog-
1ized as standard. Whatever it's FORM
The question of uniformity in the
and weights between the
Of tafo ic ,;.,1,