The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-04-03
WOULD CREATE CITY
AND COUNTY SEAL[R
Of PUBLIC WEIGHTS
DR.. BROWN WILL ASK APRIL
TERM OF COUNTY COURT TO
MAKE APPROPRIATION.
WOULD PAY FOR SELF MANY TIMES
State Department Weights Gives Sta
tistics Showing the Great Benefit
and Advantage of Suhc Plan-Es-
Inmates He Would Save $4,000.

A representative of the Tennessee
department of weights and measures
will appear before the Maury county
court at the April term to ask for an
appropriation to establish and main
tain the position of county sealer of
weights and measures.
According to the estimate of the
department, there are approximately
800 retail stores in this county. AS
practically every commodity is sold
by weight or measure, every store
has in daily use scales, measures etc.
1t is estimated that at least three
fourths of these scales are incorrect,
not always through purpose and in
tent, but often through negligence
and ignorance. Allowing that there
are scales in each of the 300 retail
stores Of the city and county, and
that each pair of scales weighs only
ten articles per day, then there will
be approximately 5000 weighings
made per day.
Experience in other states having
weights and measures laws shows
that the average balance in mercan-
tile use which is never tested will vary
from one to three ounces on the
pound. Estimating that each balance
in Maury county varies only two ounc-
es per pound, there would be varia-
ton Of 5000 onces per day, or 49,
121 pounds yearly. 1t is considered
that most of the necessaries of life,
such as sugar, coffee, tea, -four, meat,
etc, ange in cost from to 80 cents
per pound, and the greater part of
them over fifteen cents, it would ap-
pear that a reasonable average for
such cost would be 1871 cents per
pound, making a total per annum vari-
alton in Maury county alone of $751;
OILS.
The salary of an expert sealer
would be $1,000 per annum. AS there
are as many stores in Columbia as in
Maury county, it is safe to say that
the board of mayor and aldermen,
who now have the matter of a city
sealer under consideration, would
share the expense of sealer with
the county and constitute him city
sealer of Columbia and county sealer
of Maury county.
Added to the annual salary, the
equipment, which, when purchased,
would be permanent and of no further
expense, would cost approximately
$400. This would make $500 per year
for the county with an addition of
5000 for the first year.
Now in the matter of taxes, this
$500 on 10000 families would be only
6 cents per annum per family. But
this expenditure, based upon lowest
estimates, would save these 10000
families no less than $4,000, or s1.3O
each. This would be saving Of $1.24
per family per year in the county.
The sta tie department of pure food
and health proposes to put the mat
ter of establishment of this new posi-
ton squarely up to the county court
at the April meeting. DR.. Brown and
his assistants believe that such man
would pay his salary many times
over in the course of year. They
do not place all the blame upon the
merchants or believe that they are all
dishonest, but for the lack of proper
scales and weights, they are in the
great majority of cases giving under
weights to their customers.