The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1914-02-06
Meme, Meme, Tekel, Upharsin. v

Meme, Meme, Tekel, Upharsn.
George Mckinley, once an employe Of the
Pennsylvania railroad but now Richmonds new
INSPECTOR of Weights and Measures, sessns to be
making good on his job. If he can keep up his
present pace with unabated enthusiasm the
''Panic Proof" town will awaken some fine morn
ing to find itself in possession of another such
shark of Justice as the famous lsadoTe Wulfson
of Indianapolis.
Mr. Mckinley made the right kind of start in
the beginning Instead of jumping into his Of
flee without preparation and knowledge, as
politician would do, he went first to Indianapolis
and there sat at the busy feet of Wulfson who
initiated him into the wiles and ways of trapping
dishonest dealers
Some may incline to smile at this not very re-
munerative job of Inspector of Weights and
Measures and may be in the habit of talking OF
it in rather light-hearted manner but those who
have given some attention to the work will have
a different view of it. The city that has not an
efficiently organized and managed department OF
Inspection of Scales, Weights and Measures, is a
city that is weak in the knees.
After years of experience, DR.. Fritz Reich
mann as New York State Inspector of Weights
and Measures found that lack of close inspec-
ton in community adds at least per cent to
living expenses. This is to say that if mans
grocery and fuel bill, for instance, is $500 per
year, he loses every year 49,
Some might argue that incorrect scales will
favor the consumer as we'll as the merchant.
However much we may want to believe this, re-
cords show otherwise. Of all incorrect scales
and measures recorded by the New York State
Department, four-fifths were found which had a
habit of favoring the merchant. Thus II we
make the deduction which must be made where
the scale or measure has given the consumer the
benefit, the aforesaid man with $500 grocery
and fuel bill will have net loss per year of $7.20.
The most advanced cities have not yet awak-
ened to the Importance of the Weigh master IN
it's body polite. Even such town as Des Moines
is woefully in arrears in this kind of work. The
United States Bureau of Standards went into a
grocery store there one morning and weighed
.hirty-seven packages done up for delivery. OF
these thirty-four were short weight, averaging
1.5 per cent below. Thus if these packages aver
aged in cost 25 cents apiece, the money loss to
the consumers on this one delivery $127.
During 1911 the city of Philadelphia made a
most careful survey of the whole town and tested
all scales, weights and measures. To it's horror
the Quaker City discovered that of all these
measuring appliances, no less than 90 per cent
were incorrect.
But this is not to be interpreted loss to
consumers only; the merchants also suffer be-
cause they must buy from each other.
Of course, we are not insinuating that in
vestgations would reveal that condition here
I'VE do not believe that 90 per cent of Richmond's
merchants would Intentionally defraud their Gus
toners. No doubt the proportion here is far less
than that Nevertheless it cannot but be believ
ed that there is enough of fraud going on here tt
make the earnest activity of our friend Mckinley
welcome to all concerned. We believe he woulc
even be warranted in securing the cooperation
of the United States Bureau of Standards be-
cause it's weights and measures are to the com
n1erce Of the city what his principles to the
character of Just individual will be
weak individual whose principles weak, sc
will a city be inevitable weak in it's business
which does not have an inflexible standard o1
measurement.