The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-06-21
SENTENCE ON MILL IS
DEFERRED UNTIL MONDAY
COURT GRANTS REQUEST
OF JUDGE WILLIAMS.
Every Concern in Country
Guilty as Local One,
Says Auditor.

. Judge e. T. Sanford Saturday
morning passed judgment until Mon
day in the case of the Mountain City
Mill company, on request of the de-
defendant company's counsel. r.
II. williams, one of the milling COM
pany's lawyers, could not attend court
Saturday morning and Judge San
ford concurred in his request that
judgment be withheld. until Monday.
The jury in the case returned a
verdict Friday morning of guilty on
three counts of the indictment charg-
ing the company with delivering
short weights in grits and flour to
various firms in Savannah, Ga. There
were eleven counts in the indictment,
but the second, fourth, sixth, seventh
and eleventh were dismissed by
Judge Sanford on recommendation of
District Attorney w. T. Kennerly.
According to evidence, the short
age was in shipments to Blumenthal
& Sons, Joseph Lichensteih, and Cas-
sells & Co., all of Savannah. 1t was
found that the actual shortage In
signed to Joseph Lichenstein was an
average of as ounces per "a pounds
and on another shipment of -four to
Blumenthal & Son 1t was 7.S ounces
per "a pounds. The shipment to
Cassels & Co. was grits, which
showed a shortage of 10 ounces per
bag, or only six-tenths of 1 per cent.
The seventh count, which was dis
missed, charged the company with
adulterating -four and was found by
the court to be in error.
Penalty In such cases is a mini
mum fine of $40 and a maximum fine
of 5000.
Mill Issues Statement.
w, v. Mullan, auditor for the
Mountain City Mill Co., Saturday
made the following statement regard
ing the case:
1.-THE government can make case
of short weight against an -four or
corn mill in the country any day 1t
desires. Our equipment for manu-
facture and weighing Is as up-to-
date as other mills and there is no
difference In our method Of manu-
facture. Wheat and corn contain
from IL to Is per cent. moisture and
the government recognizes the fact
that 1t is not practicable to reduce
the moisture Of -four below 10 IL per
cent and grits from 10 IL to Is per
CENT IL mas DtCu oilO"il
that these products when subject to
heat will lose considerable in weight.
BY actual test 1t has been shown that
12-pound sack of -four, when sub
jected to a temperature OF 70 to 80
degrees will lose ten ounces. An
other test made during the last sixty
days demonstrated the fact that an
other 12-pound sack, under normal
conditions as have existed during
this period, lost six ounces OF per
cent. Of its weight. A sack of grits
lost two pounds and ten ounces In
side of thirty-seven days, While the
shortage in the government case only
amounted to ten ounces. In view OF
the varying climatic conditions it Is
impossible to guarantee the weight
of mill products for as short a period
as one week. particularly when ship
ped in closed box cars, which, partic-
ularly during the spring and summer
months are excessively hot. Our ex-
perience during the past three or four
months has been that If stored grits
or meal in our warehouse for week
or more, 1t was necessary to open up
each sack and put in from one to two
pounds in order to bring the sacks
up to the original weights. When
shipment Is made direct from the mill
we do not know what the climatic
conditions will be, and 1t is entirely
possible for mill products at any time
to lose as much as ten ounces on
sack Of grits and four ounces on a
sack of flour, even though 1t left the
mill carrying the required weight or
IL -lzA