Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-27
New Standard Container
Act Operative Soon
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

Several State laws and numerous nlu-
nicipal ordinances will become dead let
tiers on November ! and the fruit ana
| vegetable hamper with the pinched-
| waist effect will become as obsolete as
similar style Of feminine apparel. On
that date the penalty clauses OF the
United States container act OF 1928 Will
become operative.
No longer will the bushel of fruit and
/ vegetables and its fractions and null
tiples be judged by the weight OF It's
contents, sundry laws and regulations
| to the contrary Notwithstanding, nor
will it depend upon various other fac-
tors, some Of them fantastic, as test
of legality. for Congress has decreed
that bushel of these commodities shall
contain 2,160.42 cubic inches.
It required many years for Uncle
Sam to awaken to the confusion exist
ing in these measures, and a bill to
straighten out the steadily increasing
| tangle before Congress almost continu-
ously for eight years, but when Con-
gress acted finally 1t went long way.
Being based upon the weights and
measures clause of the Constitution,
this 1928 standard container law takes
| precedence over any conflicting state
law or city ordinance, differing in this
| respect from the standard container act
of 1916, which applies to other forms
of containers and which Is based upon
the interstate commerce clause, and
hence cannot affect containers used
| wholly In interstate commerce.
] For many years there has been bat
, tie of wits between buyers and sellers
of fruits and vegetables, in which some
States and many municipalities have
interviewed, mostly In an effort to bring
order out Of chaos, but in few In
stances apparently to give advantage to
latter, there is q large Eastern city
which has an ordinance requiring that
a bushel of fruit or vegetables shall be
a container "heaping FULL" which re-
suited, quite naturally, in orders from
shippers for baskets which might be
piled "heaping" without actually con-
tanning more than bushel. More nu-
merous are local regulations defining
the bushel by weight. All such are now
void, at least In the opinion of the So
licitor OF the Department OF Agricul-
ture, and it Is to be doubted that in
view of the authority vested in Congress
| by the Constitution to make uniform
weights and measures whether a serious
court test will be made OF the container
act. y,
Inns new COnCalner law, enacCeQ In
the Spring of 1928, but with It's penalty
clauses effective November /, 1929, es-
tablishes standard sizes for hampers
and round-stave baskets, including
straight side or tub baskets, and for
splint or market baskets for fruit and
vegetables.
It requires manufacturers to submit
specifications for such containers to the
Department of Agriculture for approval,
| forbids the manufacture, sale or ship
ment, or use Of those which do not COM
| ply with the act, or Of their parts; pro-
vides for regulations by the Secretary,
and tolerances of sizes he may direct,
and it sets forth penalties of seizure
| of non-approved containers and prose-
cution in Federal Courts with maxi
mum fine of $500 on a misdemeanor
charge; very Importantly. the act omits
| the word "wilful" in its penalty clauses,
thus giving sweeping authority for con-
firmation Of goods or prosecution Of per-
sons. It provides for marks Of approval
on containers II the manufacturers de-
sire to use them, and relief Of whole
salers or retailers from prosecution for
possession Of non-approved baskets II