New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-01
ENLARGE, NOT ABOLISH
The Department of Weights and
Measures Should Be Retained.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: "The Journal Of Commerce" Of March
% has an article calling attention to the fact
that Commercial organizations throughout
the state are conducting a vigorous campaign
to defeat the Woods bill providing for the
abandonment of the State Department OF
Weights and Measures and its Incorporation
IN the Department Of Agriculture as bu-
reau."
As a daily reader of The New York Tribune
taking an i.,erest in your campaign advocat-
ing honest advertising, which hear applaud
ed by my friends on all sides, my mind runs
20 the possibility of newspaper Of as high
standing as The Tribune taking up depart
ment and encouraging its readers to con
tribute matters covering reflections on
weights and measures.
If all the people were taught 10 weigh,
measure, count or gauge everything they buy
and be educated to the penalties they accept
by careless purchasing without insisting on
proper weight and measure and the proper
delivery thereof, it would open one OF the
most profitable fields for newspaper work that
has ever been attempted in the history OF
this country.
As it is now, the people have grown with
trade customs" to careless manner of pur-
chasing and they have been taken advantage
Of on all sides. The honest merchant who
sells by proper weight and measure IS re-
hected on by the cunning of his competitor
who finds way of fitting cut price, showing
q. 1. - Col t1rafOhts and meas
ures There are laws for the protection Of
the people. If all The people were better
educated it is a safe gamble that our repre-
sentatives. either at Washington or Albany,
would rot take Liberties in pigeonholding the
few.laws there are for the protection OF the
people in this vital department.
Personally the subject seems to grow on
NE The more ! see the more earnest pc
come and the more emphasis Is placed on
the subject as being one of the most impor'
tan. TO the peonle of this country. IL can be
corrected. and 1t will be corrected If 1t IS only
opened to the daylight, but il seems that the
intent is rather to keep it in the dark, "a
there are some interests in this state that |
feel are protected by the efforts now made
to nigeonhoe the State Department OF
Weights and Measures in the Agricultural
Department, so as to lose sight Of the work
that has been done and can be done
hardly feel that Governor Whitman re-
allies this. but the more daylight there Is on
the subject the more deliberate will be the
work Of those attempting tc destroy this de-
partment Il may be that through their care
less handling Of goods they are not educated
and simply feel that department that costs
the state $4,000 cannot show saving, but
they do not know that the weekly reports
show a saving Of millions of dollars per week
and that instead of cutting down this depart
ment il should be made ter times larger.
The Brooks bill has many good points IN II,
and in the short time it has been enforced
great good has come to the people. Let Us
progress with it and make further corrections
and at the same time give more latitude to
the State Department Of Weights and Meas
ures as well as the city departments. En-
courage this department all We can, as the
sooner those who are serving the people with
pretended weights and measures (rehectng
on the honest merchant) realize the effects OF
this department the sooner we will strike a
level Of the greatest good for the greatest
number. NATHANIEL T. MGRANE.
New York. March 80, 1915.