Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1921-08-10
HAUGEN WARS ON
SLACK PACKAGES
Iowa Congressman . ,pld Punish
Users of Deceptive C.<,1 ;ners.
He Has New Bin H.,
d Approved. IT,
FOODSTUFFS PUT UP IN
DECEITFUL RECEPTACLES
Condiments and Breakfast Foods as
Well as Bottled Goods Packed
To Fool Consumer-Hau-
gen Bill Makes
Transportation
Illegal.

Washington, ID. CAS- one step
toward reducing the high c,et of liv-
ing, legislation prohibiting "slack.
filled packages" of foodstuffs is ex-
pected soon to be enacted by the
senate passing the Haugen bill,
which has been approved by the
yhouse, and is now in the upper
chamber for consideration.
Representative Haugen, chairman,
of the house committee on agricul-
ture, has for the past three sessions
of congress sought to get this meas
ure for the protection of purchasers
of package and bottled edibles passed
into law. He has now succeeded i'm
getting the house to approve the bill,
but he has not yet convinced the SEN
ate committee on agriculture that
the measure should be ratified and
go to the president for signature.
The act would prohibit the trans
portation of package foodstuffs that
are not completely packed or which
are deceptive to the prospective pur-
chaser. The first type of fraudulent
package to be eliminated from the
market are those containers used by
manufacturers in marketing spices,
pepper and other condiments, oat-
meal, rice, macaroni and like ar
ticles.
Z, o. .sss~'--.c< AZ Mr.. Haugen
lsssr.ii, "are partly filled with food, in
some instances to but one-third of
their true capacity. They are de-
signed to mislead the consumer as
to the quantity of food purchased,
and to exact from him a price based
on the apparent rather than the
true quantity of the articles thus
packaged. This type of package not
only tends to the deception of the
consumer, but to promote unfair
competition, since that portion of the
trade dealing with honestly-flled
packages of food is detrimentally af-
fected by the competition of the
package which is slack filled"
The second type of fraudulent
package to be eliminated by the Hau-
gen bill is that which is contrived to
give the purchaser a false impression
as to the quantity, quality, size, kind,
or origin of the food contained
therein. Included in this type are
the following: Bottles with inverted
bottoms, designed to falsely indicate
a greater quantity of food than is
actually present; bottles made of
thickened glass for olives, preserved
whole cherries and strawberries, es-
pecially designed to magnify the
size of the contents, and to conceal,
in the case of olives, the interstiees
between each, thus giving the pur-
chaser a false indication both as to
the quality and amount of the con-
tents.
"We have been trying to get this
legislation on the statute books for
a number of years." Mr.. Haugen said,
"and now we have progressed to the
extent of getting the house to ap-
prove, and need only the ratifying
action of the senate to make it eff
fective. | am hopeful that the SEN
ate will give it's attention to the bill
within a short time, as it will be a
long step forward in reducing the
cost of living and honesty in busi-
ness if it is enacted as passed by
the house"