The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-04-05
GETTING HONEST WEIGHT

The Senate saved the legislature
from making a serious mistake by
killing the House bill designed 10 cur.
tail the activity oil the department Of
weights and measures. The Vermont
weights and measures depai tment
isn't perfect but ii has done great
work in correcting errors so that the
people get what they pay for.
One dishonest dealer in town not
only defrauds the public, but also eth
er men in business for they have 70
compete with him and dishonest com
petition is mighty discouragins.
Some idea of tho tremendous frauds
that the department OF weights and
measures is helping overcome is
shown in the March nun.
Der of the National Geographic
magazine in an article on the govern
ment Bureau OF Standards. An ex.
tract from this article is as follows
THE Bureau is endeavoring 10 Sc
cure throughout the States uniform
legislation on the subject ri 1Gr
standards aud also the establishment
of nationwide system OF inspection
Such system would be able to IN.
force the use of honest weights and
measures in daily trade. the need tor
it is realized that considerably MOI e
than 100 million dollars is taken each
year from the pocket OF the ultimate
consumer by the retailer who, often
quite innocently. uses dishonest
weights aud measures
During the period form 1909 to
| 1913 the Bureau undertook 10 test
some OF the commercial weights and
measures OF the country. and the
revelations made thereby were startl.
ing 1t was found that A out of
every 100 scales tested were incor-
rect--nearly one-half of the dry meas.
ures and more than a fourth OF the
liquid measures. Some one has estI
mated that the total loss to the oeorlc
as a result of this inaccurscy OF
weights and measures would y,
enought to build ten OF the Biggest
battleships atioat every year.
when the investigation started
there were only four States in the
Union which had efficient systems oil
inspecting weights and measures
Such were the revelations that todav
"a States and most of the im99rtan.
cities of the country have efficient in
O.
other States are expected soon to fall
into line.
''Fhe Bureau of Standards is striv
ing to have uniform State laws for
weights and measures enacted IN all
of the As States. II wants pound to
be pound everywhere and a busl,el
bushel. Atpresent ii is not always
so. A bushel of potatoes may he
more than bushel in one State and
less than Il hushel in another depend
ing upon the number of pounds each
State says shall constitute bushel.
False measures have habit Of
running away from progressive laws.
Not long ago hundred thousand
milk jars were condemned for short
measure by the sealers of a certain
State. These jars We're hastily col.
lected and sent to another state,
where the laws were more lax IIece
they were soon overtaken by n sim.
liar fate and were hurried off to q
new locality and are probably still on
the move"
After reading the foregoing maya.
zine article Nermonters may well be
proud that this state was one Of the
first to establish an efficient depart.
ment of weights and measures L.
was one of the many creditable acts
of the legislature of 1910 and has been
worth to the state many times mo'e
than the cost of any two sessions OF.
the legislature. 1t Is fortunate for
the people Of Vermont that the i'll all
.yised attempt to cut the departm snt
appropriation in half did not succeed
The funny thing about it is thar some
men were led to support the bill or
the ground that it would be economy
In truth the two bills to draw the