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 RESEARCH 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 Report No. 1 
 
 THE WEIGHTS AND 
 MEASURES SITUATION 
 IN PHILADELPHIA 
 
 A Report Setting Forth the Results of the 
 Lack of a System of Official Inspection 
 and Regulation, together with a Digest of 
 Existing Laws and Ordinances on the Sub- 
 ject and a Suggested Legislative Program 
 
 I 
 
 
 Submitted to the Mayor 
 March 3, 1911 
 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 
 REAL ESTATE TRUST BUILDING 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 1911 
 
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/BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 OF PHILADELPHIA 
 
 Report No. 1 
 
 THE WEIGHTS AND 
 MEASURES SITUATION 
 IN PHILADELPHIA 
 
 A Report Setting Forth the Results of the 
 Lack of a System of Official Inspection 
 and Regulation, together with a Digest of 
 Existing Laws and Ordinances on the Sub- 
 ject and a Suggested Legislative Program 
 
 Submitted to the Mayor 
 March 3, 1911 
 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 
 REAL ESTATE TRUST BUILDING 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 1911 
 
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 
 
 March 3, 1911. 
 
 HON. JOHN E. REYBURN, 
 
 Mayor of Philadelphia, 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 We are submitting herewith for your consideration, 
 in advance of general publication, a copy of a report upon 
 weights and measures conditions in Philadelphia. The 
 report contains the results of a careful investigation of'the 
 local situation, together with a discussion of existing laws 
 and ordinances on the subject, and suggestions for addi- 
 tional legislation. 
 
 Our study of the statutes has led to the conclusion 
 that, under existing laws, the city has authority to establish 
 a Bureau of Weights and Measures; this authority having 
 been conferred by the Charter of 1789, entitled "An act 
 to incorporate the city of Philadelphia" (n Mar., 1789, 16, 
 2 Smith's Laws, 467.) 
 
 The results of our study of the actual practice of deal- 
 ers with respect to weights and measures may be summarized 
 briefly as follows : 
 
 Tests (540 in number) were made of commodities sold 
 by representative dealers in all parts of the city. 
 
 Only one of fifteen tests of coal showed a full legal 
 ton of 2240 pounds, and this one was 141 pounds over 
 weight; two came within the legal limit of forty pounds. 
 The greatest shortage amounted to 393 pounds on a ton. 
 The shortage on the total amount purchased was over six 
 per cent. 
 
 Of 225 weight tests of groceries, 158 showed a short- 
 age, and 58 an excess; the average shortage being seventy 
 per cent., and the average excess being twenty-five per cent. 
 
 i/56563 
 
Of fifty measure tests of groceries, forty-six showed 
 a shortage, the shortage being thirteen per cent, on the total 
 purchases. 
 
 Of twenty 'tests of meats at the Reading Terminal 
 market, fourteen were short in weight; the greatest excess 
 on any tests being seven per cent., the greatest shortage, 
 twenty-one per cent. 
 
 Of twenty -tests of meats and provisions at the two 
 markets belonging' to the city, twelve showed a shortage, 
 an 1 viih t x \ o exceptions these shortages were on high- 
 priced commodities. With two exceptions also, the tests 
 showing an excess were on low-priced commodities. The 
 greatest excess was twenty per cent. ; the greatest shortage, 
 fourteen per cent. 
 
 Of ten purchases of bread, eight weighed less than a 
 pound, and none were sold by the pound as the law requires. 
 
 Of 200 samples of dry goods, 116 were short, and 80 
 in excess. 
 
 It will be noticed that these tests generally show that 
 the customer is at a disadvantage in purchasing articles of 
 every-day consumption. 
 
 The reason for this condition is two- f old : (i) The 
 lack of an administrative department or bureau to enforce 
 existing laws; (2) The presence on the statute books of 
 certain laws w r hich need to be amended or supplemented to 
 fit present conditions. 
 
 We submit for your approval, a tentative program of 
 legislation, embracing five sub-divisions of the subject : ( i ) 
 Standards and denominations; (2) The manner of sale of 
 various commodities or classes of commodities; (3) The 
 penalty for acts intended to defraud the purchaser, whether 
 through shortage, substitution, or misrepresentation; (4) 
 The manner of inspection by administrative officials ; and 
 (5) The marking of the net contents of containers in terms 
 of weight, measure, or numerical count. 
 
 Each proposal is independent in itself and, so far as 
 possible, each calls for amendments to existing laws rather 
 
 2 
 
than new legislation. Our aim has been simply to make 
 such suggestions as would tend to bring about the results 
 which, as shown by the acts themselves, past legislatures 
 have tried to effect. Not all of the proposed measures are 
 of equal importance. As to the desirability of the first, 
 relating to standards and denominations, there can be.no 
 question, for the law as it stands is clearly obsolete in 
 several particulars. The second, relating to the manner of 
 sale of commodities, we regard as eminently desirable. The 
 third, relating to penalties, is necessary if our laws are to 
 command respect. The fifth, relating to the net contents 
 of containers, is suggested because it deals with an impor- 
 tant branch of the subject, but this is a measure which may 
 well be deferred, pending action of congress. 
 
 The proposal which we most urgently recommend to 
 your attention is the fourth, relating to the manner of 
 inspection of weights and measures by administrative offi- 
 cials, for we believe that the experience of the last twenty- 
 eight years has fully demonstrated the need for a system 
 of regulation and inspection. As guides, we have the 
 legislation already in force in other progressive states, and 
 we have a so-called "model law" which was drawn up and 
 approved by the annual conference on weights and measures 
 held in Washington, in February of the present year. As 
 the delegates to this conference were state officials charged 
 with the enforcement of weights and measures laws in their 
 respective states, their recommendations deserve careful 
 consideration. 
 
 In several recent sessions of the legislature, bills relat- 
 ing to weights and measures have been introduced, and 
 several are under consideration by the present legislature. 
 The time is therefore opportune for a comprehensive con- 
 sideration o<f the whole subject. This being the case, it 
 would seem desirable that the particulars of the weights 
 and measures situation in Philadelphia be presented in some 
 detail, together with specific discussions of existing laws, 
 
and specific recommendations for changes and additions. 
 The purpose of the present report is to meet this need. 
 
 We have suggested that the City of Philadelphia now 
 has authority to establish a Bureau of Weights and Meas- 
 ures without additional legislation. But we venture to sug- 
 gest, also, that it might be well to defer local action until 
 the present legislature shall have had opportunity to act 
 in the matter. In default of such action, we would recom- 
 mend that Councils be requested to make such provisions 
 as may be made under existing state laws. We have in 
 preparation for submission at a later date, a tentative 
 draft of an ordinance and an outline of organization and 
 procedure for the proposed bureau. 
 
 In view of the general public interest in your plans for 
 the development of a greater and better Philadelphia, we 
 suggest that the facts presented in our report offer a timely 
 opportunity for incorporating in your program a plan for 
 the effective control of conditions that seriously affect the 
 interests of every member of this community, consumer 
 and honest dealer alike. We submit our proposal not as a 
 final statement, but as a basis for consideration; and in a 
 spirit of cooperation, we offer our further assistance and 
 support. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 
 J. D. BURKS F. W. POWELL 
 
 Directors 
 
LETTER OF HON. JOHN E. REYBURN, MAYOR 
 OF PHILADELPHIA, IN REPLY TO LETTER 
 OF TRANSMITTAL 
 
 March 4, 1911. 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH, 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 Your report on weights and measures conditions in 
 Philadelphia indicates that there is in this city a serious 
 situation which intimately concerns every individual, every 
 family, and every honest retail dealer. While there are 
 state laws sufficient to prevent much of the fraudulent 
 practice of retailers, there is no city official or department 
 specifically charged with the duty of enforcing such laws 
 as are on the statute books. It is evident that the public 
 interest demands effective state regulation and inspection of 
 weights and measures, supplemented by local regulation and 
 inspection. Since 1883 there has been no provision for offi- 
 cial inspection of this sort, and it is not surprising that some 
 retailers have become indifferent, careless, or fraudulent in 
 practice. 
 
 The evidence presented in this report makes it clear 
 that short weights and measures is an important contrib- 
 uting factor in the cost of living, and that the loss falls most 
 heavily upon those who are least able to bear it. 
 
 It is probable that city councils now have authority 
 under state law to establish a Bureau of Weights and Meas- 
 ures. Inasmuch as the present legislature has before it sev- 
 eral bills upon this subject, it seems desirable, however, to 
 defer local action until the present legislature has finally 
 disposed of the proposed measures. When the state has 
 taken action, provision should be made for a bureau or 
 division immediately under the supervision of the Mayor 
 to protect the interests of consumers and dealers through 
 systematic regulation and inspection of weighing and meas- 
 uring apparatus, and constant control over the manner of 
 their use. Very truly yourSi 
 
 JOHN E. REYBURN 
 
 Mayor 
 
PREFACE 
 
 As stated in its articles of incorporation, the con- 
 structive aim of THE BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL 
 RESEARCH is to provide the information necessary to 
 effective cooperation between citizens and officers of gov- 
 ernment. It is suggested that the problem of inspection 
 and regulation of weights and measures should receive at- 
 tention in the consideration of any comprehensive, con- 
 structive program for the city of Philadelphia. It is the 
 purpose of this report to present the results of an investi- 
 gation of the local situation, and to submit for discussion 
 such recommendations as have suggested themselves during 
 the progress of this inquiry. 
 
 As is set forth in the digest which constitutes a part 
 of this report (Appendix A), the laws at present on the 
 statute books are fragmentary and archaic. Nevertheless 
 an attempt has been made to provide for the protection of 
 the community against short weights and measures so far 
 as legal prescription is concerned. The chief fault has 
 been the neglect to locate responsibility for the execution 
 of these laws. In the absence of an administrative depart- 
 ment specifically charged with the supervision of weights 
 and measures, the facts contained in this report are sub- 
 mitted to the public, and by publication to those officials 
 whose positions qualify them to understand their signifi- 
 cance, and whose interest in providing for the needs of the 
 community will make them most helpful in seeking and 
 applying the remedy. 
 
 This is the first report that has been prepared for pub- 
 lication. Although the results of other inquiries, conducted 
 in the course of the last two years, have been regularly 
 
 7 
 
made available to persons in position of authority, the theory 
 has been that so long as a detailed statement of facts may 
 be useful in removing handicaps under which administra- 
 tive officers labor, publication should be deferred so that 
 each completed report may carry with it a record of accom- 
 plishment. Recognizing the fact that present conditions 
 are a heritage for which no one person is responsible, it is 
 thought that efforts of organized citizenship should be so 
 directed as to aid in constructive work and to stand behind 
 those who are seeking to improve the conduct of municipal 
 affairs. In other words, the assumption is that citizens and 
 officers are jointly responsible for providing the means 
 whereby those charged with the exercise of governmental 
 powers may become efficient in the discharge of their duties. 
 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 
 8 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER ^ PAGE 
 
 I. Introduction 1 1 
 
 . i. The state standards of weights and measures and what 
 
 became of them 1 1 
 
 2. Purpose and scope of this inquiry. 12 
 
 3. The findings of fact 12 
 
 4. What the subject of weights and measures means to the 
 
 community 14 
 
 II. The Reason for the Lack of Inspection of Weights and 
 
 Measures in Philadelphia 18 
 
 III. The Local Situation 21 
 
 1. Coal 23 
 
 2. Groceries and provisions 31 
 
 3. Bread 47 
 
 4. Candy 48 
 
 5. Dry goods 49 
 
 6. Milk 50 
 
 7. Conclusion 51 
 
 IV. A Suggested Remedy in Legislation 53 
 
 1. Standards and denominations 55 
 
 2. The manner of sale of various commodities or classes of 
 
 commodities 58 
 
 3. The penalty for acts intended to defraud purchasers, 
 
 whether through shortage, substitution, or misrep- 
 resentation 65 
 
 4. The manner of inspection by administrative officials 67 
 
 5. The marking of net contents of containers in terms of 
 
 weight, measure, or numerical count 79 
 
 Appendix A. 
 
 Digest of laws and ordinances relating to weights and 
 
 measures in Philadelphia 81 
 
 Appendix B. 
 
 Suggestions for national and state laws adopted by the 
 national conference on weights and measures at the 
 third annual conference, May 16-17, 1907 137 
 
 Appendix C. 
 
 Model uniform regulations for state legislation on the sub- 
 ject of weights and measures, adopted by the sixth 
 annual conference on weights and measures, Feb- 
 ruary 17-18, 1911 144 
 
I 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The State Standards of Weights and Measures and What 
 . Became of Them 
 
 On February 2, 1897, the Pennsylvania state capitol 
 building was destroyed by fire. In the basement of that 
 building was stored a set of standard weights and measures, 
 which had been furnished by the national government "to 
 the end that a uniform standard of weights and measures 
 may be established throughout the United States." This 
 set, like those furnished to the other states, consisted of 
 upwards of a hundred pieces. It comprised weights of 
 brass and of silver wire, ranging from fifty pounds avoir- 
 dupois to one-ten-thousandth of an ounce troy, and from 
 one myriagram to one milligram in the metric system ; a 
 yard and two meters ; and brass capacity measures, consist- 
 ing of one half-bushel, liquid measures ranging from a 
 gallon to a half-pint, and a liter and a decaliter in the metric 
 system. There were also three even-arm balances. 
 
 The secretary of the commonwealth is charged by stat- 
 ute with the care and custody of these standards, but after 
 the destruction of the capitol, the greater part of the set 
 passed out of the control of the state. Some of the stand- 
 ards were mutilated and partly destroyed ; others, it is 
 understood, were recovered; the rest passed into private 
 hands. How this was effected, is not within the scope of 
 this report. It is sufficient to say that until 1910 the brass 
 weights and the capacity standards, together with one of 
 the balances, were stored in a building which is within sight 
 of the state capitol. They were then sold as junk to a 
 Harrisburg brass founder, and most of them were melted 
 and recast in other forms. THE BUREAU OF MU- 
 NICIPAL RESEARCH, on September 28, 1910, bought 
 of this lot, the pound troy and the pound avoirdupois stand- 
 ard weights. At that time there were also available, the 
 
 I T 
 
twenty-five pound and the fifty pound weights. The pound 
 standards have been since identified by the national bureau 
 of standards as belonging to the state set. 
 
 Purpose and Scope of This Inquiry 
 
 Possessed of two of the fundamental standards, THE 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH undertook to 
 inquire into the weights and measures situation in Philadel- 
 phia, in order to learn to what extent the purchaser of com- 
 modities at retail receives the full weight or measure for 
 which he pays. It was first necessary to ferret out and to 
 classify the legal provisions relating to the subject, and 
 these were scattered through the statutes of the common- 
 wealth and the ordinances of the city. The result was a 
 digest (See Appendix A), which sets forth the law, and 
 singles out the public officials who are charged with its 
 enforcement. The next step was to procure two scales and 
 a set of standard weights and measures of Fairbanks make, 
 which bear the official seal of the New York City bureau 
 of weights and measures. Thus equipped, it remained only 
 to purchase throughout the city, commodities of a sort 
 which are in constant demand in every household, and to 
 test the accuracy of their weight or measure by means of 
 the sealed standards. 
 
 The Findings of Fact 
 
 Altogether, purchases were made from 494 dealers; 
 no two purchases of the same commodity were made from 
 any one dealer, but in a few cases several purchases of dif- 
 ferent varieties were made in a single store. Stores were 
 visited practically at random, it being the purpose to test 
 both large and small dealers in representative sections of 
 the city. The results of these tests are sufficiently striking 
 when stated in summary form. Of 200 samples of goods 
 bought by linear measure, 116, or 58 per cent, were short; 
 and of fifty samples of dry measure commodities, forty- 
 
 12 
 
: 
 
six, or 92 per cent, were short. Weight tests were made 
 of groceries and provisions, and of coal of domestic size. 
 Of 225 samples of groceries, 158, or 70.2 per cent, showed 
 a shortage; and of ten samples of fresh meats, six, or 60 
 per cent, were short. Fifteen tons of coal were bought from 
 as many dealers. Only one contained the 2240 pounds re- 
 quired by law, the shortage ranging from nineteen pounds 
 to 393 pounds. Expressed relatively, the shortage on the 
 total amount purchased was 6. i per cent. What this means 
 in dollars and cents cannot be determined, but it can be 
 safely left to conjecture. 
 
 From an administrative point of view, the facts are 
 quite as striking. There is no official in the city of Phila- 
 delphia who is specifically required by law to give attention 
 to the subject of weights and measures, except the market 
 clerks in the two market houses belonging to the city. In the 
 absence of state inspection and of a set of state -standards; 
 with the law in a fragmentary and chaotic condition, obso- 
 lete in some particulars and impracticable in others; there 
 need be no surprise that little has been done. It is true that 
 in May 1908 the city purchased a set of standard apparatus, 
 weights, and measures. This was first turned over to the 
 city commissioners, but subsequently placed in the custody 
 of the department of public safety, in order to provide 
 means for testing, for official evidence, the weight or 
 measure of any package which might be brought into court 
 in a case involving the question of shortage. If anyone 
 wishes he may take his scales, weights, and measures to 
 City Hall, and have them compared with the standards, but 
 there seem to be few who know of this privilege, and none 
 who have exercised it. 
 
 In the succeeding pages an attempt will be made to 
 show how this condition of affairs affects the consumer, or 
 in other words the entire community. The nominal price 
 will be considered in its relation to shortage, and from these 
 factors the actual cost of specific commodities will be deter- 
 mined. Throughout the report, excess and even weight or 
 
measure will be shown along with shortage, in order that 
 the whole truth may be known. 
 
 In the conduct of this investigation, THE BUREAU 
 OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH did not attempt to pass 
 upon the mechanical accuracy of weighing and measuring 
 apparatus, except to the extent that is possible for any 
 purchaser possessed of ordinary powers of observation. To 
 have engaged technical experts would not have been diffi- 
 cult; but without authority to make detailed examinations 
 of apparatus, it is apparent that no person, however expert, 
 could have detected anything more than the most obvious 
 defects. This being the case, it was necessary to look to 
 some governmental agency for assistance; and this was 
 found in the national bureau of standards, which in August 
 1909 conducted an extensive investigation in Philadelphia. 
 It is possible, therefore, to bring the findings of these two 
 investigations together in this report, and so present a true 
 and comprehensive statement of the situation. 
 
 What the Subject of Weights and Measures Means to 
 the Community 
 
 It will contribute to a better understanding of the sub- 
 ject, however, first to consider in a general way how closely 
 the inspection of weights and measures is related to other 
 inspection services already performed by the city and si ate. 
 and how closely it is related to two subjects of ackin mi- 
 edged importance, cost of living and standards of busi- 
 ness morality. 
 
 Experience has proved that the individual citizen can- 
 not protect himself in the purchase of food products and 
 many other necessities of life. This is particularly true of 
 the citizen of a large city, where conditions of living are 
 exceedingly complex. It is in recognition of this fact that 
 there have been established in Philadelphia and in other 
 large cities, systems of inspection of milk and of meat. 
 Some cities are enlarging their inspection services to in- 
 clude all commodities prepared or offered for sale as food. 
 
 M 
 
In Pennsylvania, the state department of health, the state 
 livestock sanitary board, and the dairy and food division of 
 the state department of agriculture are actively concerned 
 with the problem of protecting the health and lives of the 
 people by looking to the quality of food. 
 
 But there is need also to see to it that the quantity as 
 well as the quality of commodities be insured. The states 
 of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Kansas, the 
 District of Columbia, and the cities of Boston, New York, 
 Rochester, Newark, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Denver have inaugurated 
 systems of inspection of weights and measures. Vermont, 
 \Yashington, and Oregon have recently enacted laws on the 
 subject ; and bills are to be considered by the legislatures of 
 New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and California 
 during the present year. Pittsburgh has recently passed an 
 ordinance, but has not yet, begun the active work of inspec- 
 tion. This is evidence that the importance of the subject 
 is being widely recognized. Weights and measures enter 
 into practically every business transaction; and in the ab- 
 sence of an effective inspection service, a premium is put 
 upon dishonesty. Cheating by short weights and measures 
 has long been recognized as a criminal offence at the com- 
 mon law, but this of itself has not served to protect the 
 interest of the purchaser. It would seem almost as if pur- 
 chasers, alert to the slight possibility of receiving short 
 change, rather expect to receive short weight or measure as 
 a matter of course. At all events, they seldom look at the 
 scales or measures when they buy, or attempt to test their 
 commodities in their homes. Few families possess the" accu- 
 rate scales and measures necessary to intelligent manketing. 
 In fact, unintelligent marketing is one of the great causes 
 of short weights and measures. The desire to buy at the 
 cheapest price, and the disposition to object to any increase 
 in retail prices to correspond to increases in wholesale prices, 
 puts a temptation in the way of the retail dealer, who natu- 
 rally wishes to keep his trade and at a profit. The chief 
 
 15 
 
 294762 
 
sufferers are the poor, who purchase frequently and in small 
 quantities; for a slight shortage means proportionately 
 more on a small purchase. It is true that in most instances 
 the absolute loss is not great, but for a whole city over a 
 period of years the aggregate loss is necessarily enormous. 
 Furthermore, it is unnecessary. Some offences must always 
 be expected, however comprehensive the law or efficient the 
 inspection, but experience shows that they can be kept at 
 a minimum only by means of an active body of inspectors. 
 It has been stated upon competent authority that from 
 the point of view of the dealer, short weights and measures 
 are due to three causes: ignorance, negligence, and intent; 
 and further, that 95 per cent, is due to either ignorance or 
 negligence. It is submitted, however, . that ignorance or 
 negligence which results in loss to an innocent and unpro- 
 tected purchaser bears a close resemblance to dishonesty. 
 
 But admitting as we do that the average retail dealer 
 is honest, it is a matter of public concern that he be pro- 
 tected from the sharp practices of competitor^ and from 
 "trade customs" 1 which permit the manufacturer and the 
 wholesaler to include the weight of the container in the 
 billed weight of the commodity. Few retail dealers have 
 any technical knowledge of scales, and some have scales 
 which favor the customer and so cause them a loss on every 
 sale. There have been cases in which business houses have 
 lost large amounts because their own scales, used to weigh 
 incoming materials, have favored the person from whom 
 they bought. For the dealer who is susceptible to tempta- 
 tion qr positively inclined to dishonesty, there are unscrupu- 
 lous manufacturers of scales, who are willing to show him 
 how to* increase his profits by adjusting a screw or altering 
 a spring or a beam, or to include the weight of tin- wrap- 
 
 1 "The manner of sale of commodities is supposedly regulated by the 
 flexible term 'custom of trade.' Custom of trade should and does mean the 
 custom of the majority of honest and intelligent tradesmen. Such custom should 
 be respected and legalized for their protection. The dealer, large or small, 
 who uses the term as a cloak for dishonest practice should not benefit to the 
 detriment of the majority of his honest competitors. For these reasons the 
 manner of sale of certain commodities should be established by law." Report 
 of the New York State Superintendent of Weights and Measures, Jan. 16, 
 1911: II. 
 
 16 
 
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 "FW 
 
 
 
ping paper or other container in the weight of the commod- 
 ity without attracting the attention of the purchaser. But 
 here too, it must be said that most manufacturers of scales 
 are honest, and furthermore, that many of them are most 
 ardent advocates of public regulation and inspection of 
 weights and measures. The second-hand metal dealers 
 should not be overlooked in this connection. As inspection 
 becomes more strict in any city or state, or as regulations 
 bar out certain types of scales, large quantities of scales are 
 discarded in anticipation of the coming of an inspector, 
 but they are not destroyed; they are sent out of the juris- 
 diction and distributed in other cities and states where their 
 use is still tolerated. New Jersey has become actively in- 
 terested; New York has excellent laws and effective state 
 supervision; and throughout the state of Ohio there is 
 more or less activity. The application to Philadelphia and 
 to Pennsylvania is apparent. 
 
II 
 
 THE REASON FOR THE LACK OF INSPECTION 
 OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN PHILA- 
 DELPHIA 
 
 The public in Philadelphia is generally uninformed as 
 to the weights and measures situation in this city, where 
 there has been no inspection since 1883, when a law was 
 passed repealing all provisions for the appointment of state 
 sealers (8 Mar., 1883, P. L. 6.), thus making ineffective a 
 large part of the legislation relating to the subject. This 
 was done partly because of the sealers' practice of charging 
 excessive and illegal fees, and partly because of a mistaken 
 idea of a reform state administration. In the message 
 advising this action, however, Governor Pattison did not 
 propose that the work of inspection should be abandoned. 
 He objected to the sealers because their petty frauds upon 
 the dealers had made them obnoxious to the people, and 
 because he thought that their duties might be performed 
 by the police officers without extra cost to the city. "They 
 affect matters purely of police regulation," said he, "and, 
 in cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with hundreds of 
 policemen, the duties could readily be performed by those 
 officers without cost to the people" (Senate Journal, 1883: 
 241.) It has not required the twenty-eight years since that 
 message was written to demonstrate the fact that although 
 the inspection of weights and measures is a police function, 
 it requires for its effective performance, a separately organ- 
 ized body of technically trained men, such as are engaged in 
 the work of boiler inspection, building inspection, or sup- 
 pression of truancy. An attempt was made in 1895 to re- 
 establish a system of inspection in cities of the first and 
 second classes (26 June, 1895, P- L. 386.), but the law was 
 declared unconstitutional upon technical grounds (Com- 
 monwealth v. Brown, 7 Dauphin County Reporter, 235.) 
 Bills have been since introduced in the state legislature, but 
 
 18 
 
largely because of the mistake of attempting to adopt the 
 archaic and obnoxious fee system, no law has been enacted. 
 Cities of the second class (7 Mar., 1901, art. 19, 3, cl. 28, 
 P. L. 40, 44.) and cities of the third class (23 May, 1889, 
 art. 5, 3, cl. 31, P. L. 286, 292.) have charter authority 
 to enact ordinances ""to regulate the weighing and measur- 
 ing of every commodity sold in the city, in all cases not 
 otherwise provided by law ; to provide for and regulate the 
 inspection and weighing of hay, grain, and coal, and the 
 measuring of wood and fuel, to be used in the city, and to 
 designate the place or places of the same; and to regulate 
 and prescribe the place or places for exposing for sale hay, 
 coal and wood, and to demand and receive reasonable fees 
 for inspection, weighing and measuring, as aforesaid, and 
 for the regulation and stamping of weights and measures." 
 And boroughs are similarly authorized "to regulate annu- 
 ally the scales, weights, and measures within the borough, 
 according to the standard of the commonwealth" (3 Apr., 
 1851, 2, cl. 12, P. L. 321.) There is, however, no similar 
 provision in the laws applying to Philadelphia as the only 
 city of the first class. This is not without its advantages; 
 for in the absence of a body of inspectors already in- 
 trenched in office, and with no established procedure with 
 its defenders ready to offer objections to suggested changes, 
 proposed weights and measures legislation for Philadelphia 
 can be considered solely on its merits. 
 
 It is submitted that under existing statutes, the city of 
 Philadelphia has power to establish a bureau of weights and 
 measures. Section 16 of the act of March n, 1789, entitled 
 "An act to incorporate the city of Philadelphia" provides 
 that : 
 
 The mayor, . . . and . . . councilman, . . . shall have full 
 power and authority to make, ordain, constitute and establish, such 
 and so many laws, ordinances, regulations and constitutions, (pro- 
 vided the same shall not be repugnant to the laws and constitution 
 of this commonwealth,) as shall be necessary or convenient for 
 the government and welfare of the city, and the same to enforce, 
 
 19 
 
put in use, and execution, by the proper officers, and at their pleas- 
 ure to revoke, alter and make anew, as occasion may require 
 (2 Smith's Laws, 467. See also I June, 1885, art. 2, i, P. L. 39, 
 and art. 16, P. L. 54.) 
 
 That the general power so conferred upon the city is 
 sufficient to authorize the creation of a bureau of weights 
 and measures, would seem to be established beyond dispute 
 by O'Maley v. Borough of Freeport 1 (96 Pa., 24.) and 
 Philadelphia v. Brabender (201 Pa., 574.) 
 
 The subject, however, undoubtedly one of the most 
 important within the scope of municipal activity, is too 
 large to consider from the standpoint of a single city. 
 There are many laws on the statute books which do not 
 fit present conditions, and some of which were never practi- 
 cable ; and there are many conditions demanding remedy for 
 which there is no legal provision. Furthermore, there is 
 throughout the state, a growing recognition of the need for 
 a uniform and comprehensive law or series of laws which 
 will effectually promote honest weights and measures in 
 every city and borough. 
 
 1 "i. Where an act incorporating a borough confers upon the authorities 
 all powers necessary 'for the well ordering and better government of said 
 borough,' the power conferred is sufficiently comprehensive to cover every 
 regulation necessary for the government of the borough and protection of its 
 citizens, and the only limitation of this power is that it must he cxerci 
 a reasonable, lawful and constitutional manner. If these limitations are not 
 transgressed courts cannot interfere with the ordinances of such a municipality, 
 for the burgess and council will be left tft a reasonable discretion, and, for 
 the proper and wholesome exercise thereof they are accountable, not to the 
 courts, but to the people they represent. 
 
 "2. An ordinance of said borough requiring people to buy and sell coal 
 by weights and measures is reasonable, lawful and constitutional. 
 
 "3. An ordinance of said borough requiring the payment of five cents 
 per load for weighing coal bought and sold and the use of the borough 
 is not in the nature of a tax and is within the charter powers of the borough." 
 Syllabus. 
 
 20 
 
w w 
 n 
 
 IS 
 
 I I 
 
 ~ 
 
 nr. w 
 
 < & 
 
 r-f- C^ 
 
 O en 
 
 O 
 
Ill 
 
 THE LOCAL SITUATION 1 
 
 The working equipment used in the tests which arc 
 reported in this chapter consisted of the following stand- 
 ards and apparatus : a set of brass dry capacity measures 
 ranging from one half-bushel to one quart; a set of brass 
 liquid capacity measures ranging from one gallon to one 
 half-pint; a brass yard; sealers' agate-bearing even-arm 
 trip scales, sensitive to one sixty-fourth of an ounce, with 
 brass weights ranging from eight pounds to one-sixteenth 
 of an ounce ; a platform scale of 650 pounds capacity, grad- 
 uated to one- fourth of a pound ; a Chatillon spring-balance ; 
 a Gurley cubic-inch glass graduate ; a Starrett depth gage 
 of steel, graduated in thirty-seconds and sixty-fourths of 
 an inch ; and a Starrett pocket level. 
 
 The procedure, which was as uniform as practicable 
 throughout the investigation, followed along three main 
 steps: (i) purchase, (2) re-weighing or re-measuring, and 
 (3) recording the facts. As soon as a commodity or article 
 was purchased, a tag was attached for identification and for 
 the full record of the test. This tag bore a printed form, 
 providing for: the name of the commodity or article; the 
 quantity purchased ; the price ; the name, address, and busi- 
 ness of the dealer ; the name of the investigator making the 
 purchase, and the date and hour of the purchase ; the initials 
 of the investigator who conducted the re-weighing or re- 
 measuring, with the date and hour and the result of the 
 re-weighing or re-measuring; and the initials of another 
 investigator who checked this result, together with the cor- 
 responding details. There was also provision for the re- 
 cording of the type and make of scales, with the reading 
 both before and after the purchase was put on the pan; the 
 
 ir The tests upon which this chapter is based were conducted under the 
 immediate supervision of Mr. Paul E. Taylor. 
 
 2T 
 
type of capacity measure, with particulars as to whether 
 the commodity was seen to be scant, level, well rounded, or 
 heaping; and the type of linear measure, with particulars 
 as to whether the dealer was seen to give scant, even, or 
 liberal measure. (See illustrations on opposite page.) 
 
 In the case of coal tests, the method was necessarily 
 different. When coal was purchased in ton lots, it \vas 
 removed from the wagon and placed in a large can which 
 would hold about one-fourth of a ton. Whenever possible 
 the coal was shot directly into the can, and if the coal had 
 to be carried, it was emptied into this can bag by bag. The 
 coal was weighed on the platform scales by an investigator, 
 and the result verified by another investigator, or by the 
 driver himself. After a deduction had been made to rep- 
 resent the tare weight of the can, the result was recorded 
 both upon the return part of the delivery slip, when one was 
 received, and upon the memorandum of the investigator. 
 From this memorandum was prepared a full report of the 
 test. When coal was purchased by the bucket, the bucket 
 was weighed when full and when empty, on a spring bal- 
 ance, and a memorandum and report prepared as above 
 described. The spring balance was not sealed, but it was 
 tested by means of the sealed weights. 
 
 Three investigators were regularly engaged in the in- 
 vestigation ; holding interviews, making purchases, and 
 conducting tests. Some of the tests were checked by other 
 members of the staff under proper supervision. 
 
 The national bureau of standards report, the essential 
 parts of which are reproduced in this chapter, was prepared 
 by two experts who conducted an independent investigation 
 in Philadelphia in August, 1909, These men have made 
 investigations of the weights and measures conditions in 
 cities in all parts of the country, as regular members of the 
 staff of that governmental bureau to which scientists, engi- 
 neers, and manufacturers of instruments of precision, look 
 for the final word concerning matters of physical measure- 
 
 22 
 
BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 

 
merit. Their findings cannot be successfully challenged, 
 therefore, whether upon grounds of prejudice, improper 
 motive, sensationalism, or incompetency. 
 
 Coal 
 
 It was not necessary to make tests in order to deter- 
 mine that the condition of the retail coal trade is most 
 unsatisfactory both to the consumer and to the honest dealer. 
 Interviews with dealers uniformly brought out the infor- 
 mation that competition is keen, that prices cannot, be main- 
 tained, and that profits are so low as to make the giving of 
 short weight only too general. Few of the dealers inter- 
 viewed were disposed to talk freely, but one volunteered 
 the statement that if a customer wanted a ton of coal at $6, 
 he would take the order, but he would very likely give short 
 weight. The Philadelphia coal exchange recommends 
 schedules of retail prices, but these prices are not generally 
 followed, even by its own members. The customary prices 
 are fifty cents below those recommended for coal of do- 
 mestic size, and twenty-five cents below for pea coal, and 
 some dealers sell at twenty-five cents below the customary 
 price. Throughout the retail coal trade it is understood 
 that certain dealers give short weight ; for when it is known 
 what facilities are available for handling the coal in bulk 
 and what it costs at the siding or wharf, it is only natural 
 to conclude that a dealer who cuts rates unduly must either 
 lose money or deliver short weight. 
 
 In addition to the large dealers, most of whom have 
 yards with pockets with direct access to rail or water trans- 
 portation, there are others who buy from the large dealers 
 and sell by the load. They are called "loaders," for they 
 sell by the load and not by the ton, in an attempt to protect 
 themselves from the possibility of prosecution for giving 
 short weight. They will buy from the yards a load con- 
 taining about a short ton of 2000 pounds, or even a smaller 
 quantity, and the person who receives the load is left to 
 assume that he gets a full ton. Their business is principally 
 
with the poor, who pay at the rate of $2 down, and the bal- 
 ance in installments of a dollar a week. As might be ex- 
 pected, collection of the last two installments is difficult and 
 uncertain. It is not surprising, under these circumstances, 
 that the "loaders" are generally suspected of sharp prac- 
 tices; but while an attempt has been made within the coal 
 exchange to put a stop to the sale of coal to "loaders" or 
 to peddlers in less than half-ton loads, 1 it has not succeeded 
 because of opposition of some of the members. 
 
 Peddlers buy from the yards in small lots ranging from 
 one hundred pounds to a short ton. They often buy pea 
 coal, which is $2 a ton cheaper at the yards, and mix stove 
 coal or nut coal with pea coal, and sell the product at eight 
 cents a bucket. Shamokin coal runs thirty-two bushels to 
 the ton, and Lehigh coal, twenty-eight. Peddlers, there- 
 fore, sometimes sell Shamokin coal, which resembles Lehigh 
 coal closely enough to deceive the purchaser, and so add to 
 their profits. This also applies to the small stores which 
 sell coal by the bucket. As peddlers pay cash for their coal 
 at the yards, their trade is not unwelcome to many of the 
 large dealers; but some yards will sell only to peddlers 
 whom they believe to be honest, and others will not sell to 
 any peddlers or in small lots. 
 
 It is not the practice of "loaders" to give delivery slips 
 when delivering coal, and even among the large dealers the 
 practice is not universal. Some dealers prepare a slip in 
 duplicate, keeping one copy and sending^ the other to the 
 purchaser who signs it and returns it by the driver. Others 
 send two copies with each load, one to be retained by the 
 purchaser, and the other to be signed and returned. These 
 slips, however, have "TON (2240 Ibs.)" printed on them, 
 with a blank space for the number of tons, and the pur- 
 chaser has no information as to gross or tare weights. 
 
 1 "Resolved: Under no circumstances will any member of the Philadelphia 
 Coal Exchange sell or deliver to chute wagons, operated by non-members, a 
 quantity of anthracite coal, less than a gross ton (2240 Ibs.), a half-ton (uao 
 Ibs.), or multiples thereof. It being the purpose to prevent the selling of 
 short weight to customers." 
 
 24 
 
APPARATUS USED IN COAL TESTS 
 
 Scales officially sealed by the Bureau of Weights and Measures of 
 New York City. Iron can holds about one-quarter of a ton. 
 
It would have been possible, after a series of interviews, 
 to prepare a list of dealers suspected of giving short weight, 
 and to make test purchases with this list as a guide. This 
 plan was not adopted; but instead, purchases were made 
 throughout the city, from both large dealers and small deal- 
 ers, and in most instances from dealers who are generally 
 believed to be honest. It was originally planned to buy 
 -coal from several of the dealers supplying the congested 
 sections of the city, and a house in the neighborhood of 
 Thirteenth and Christian streets was leased. But after two 
 tests, the suspicion of a nearby dealer was aroused, and it 
 was decided to stop. Arrangements were then made with 
 intending purchasers to allow their coal to be re-weighed 
 upon delivery. In many instances, the purchaser chose the 
 dealer from whom he had been buying his coal ; in others, 
 the order was placed with a dealer chosen by the investi- 
 gators. Altogether, fifteen tests were made, with the result 
 shown in Table i, and graphically set forth in Exhibit I. 
 
 Table i, Showing Excess and Shortage Received in Ten 
 Purchases of Coal of Household Size 
 
 Test 
 
 Kind of Coal 
 
 Quantity 
 Ordered 
 and Paid 
 For 
 
 Quantity 
 Delivered 
 
 Loss to Dealer 
 
 Loss to Customer 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Per cent 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Per cent 
 
 I 
 
 Stove 
 
 2240 Ibs. 
 
 1965 Ibs. 
 
 
 
 275 
 
 I 2.2 
 
 2 
 
 Stove 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2209 " 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 1-3 
 
 3 
 
 Stove 
 
 2240 " 
 
 1847 
 
 
 
 393 
 
 J 7-5 
 
 4 
 
 Pea 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2010 " 
 
 
 
 230 
 
 10.2 
 
 5 
 
 . Chestnut 
 
 2240 t( 
 
 2102 " 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 6.1 
 
 6 
 
 Stove 
 
 2240 " 
 
 1955 " 
 
 
 
 *8 5 
 
 12.7 
 
 7 
 
 Chestnut 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2037 " 
 
 
 
 203 
 
 9.0 
 
 8 
 
 Stove 
 
 2240 '' 
 
 2109 " 
 
 
 
 I3 1 
 
 5-8 
 
 9 
 
 Pea 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2079 " 
 
 
 
 161 
 
 7-i 
 
 10 
 
 Chestnut 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2174 " 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 2.9 
 
 IT 
 
 Chestnut 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2173 - 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 2.9 
 
 12 
 
 Egg 
 
 
 559 " 
 
 Driver 
 
 refused to 
 
 weigh 
 
 bal.ofload 
 
 '3 
 
 Egg 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2221 " 
 
 
 19 
 
 .8 
 
 14 
 
 Egg 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2178 " 
 
 
 62 
 
 2.7 
 
 I S 
 
 Egg 
 
 2240 " 
 
 2381 " 141 
 
 6.2 
 
 
 
Tests are given in the order in which they were made. 
 It will be noticed that, with the exception of Test 2, there 
 was a consistent shortage in excess of the variation of forty 
 pounds allowed by law until Test 12 was made. This test 
 failed; but in one sense it was most successful. The par- 
 ticulars are of sufficient importance to present in some de- 
 tail. 
 
 On January 23 an order was placed with a firm which 
 charges full prices for its. coal, and gives trading stamps. 
 After one draft of 559 pounds had been weighed on Janu- 
 ary 24, the driver refused to deliver the rest of the load, 
 and maintained that the coal had been weighed at the yard 
 and that the purchaser had no right whatsoever to weigh 
 it again. The next day the firm sent to the person in whose 
 name the coal had been ordered, a letter as follows: 
 
 "We are extremely sorry that our driver took the posi- 
 tion that he did at your house when he found that you were 
 weighing the ton of coal that we sent there. Of course 
 we have no objections to your weighing coal that we de- 
 liver to you any time that you see fit to do so, but our driver 
 thinking that the weight of the coal would not come out 
 correct the way you were weighing it on small scales and 
 in small sections took it upon himself to protect us in the 
 matter. Of course we agree with our driver and have 
 every reason to believe that weighing out a ton of coal the 
 way you were doing it on small scales and in a number of 
 drafts that the result would not be the same as you would 
 obtain if it were weighed on scales similar to ours where it 
 was weighed before being sent to you. This is to advise 
 that you are at perfect liberty to weigh coal that we send 
 to you at any time but we will not be responsible for any 
 difference in the weight over or short if weighed in the 
 manner selected by you on small scales in a number of 
 drafts. However if you wish to do so again at any time 
 we would be very much pleased to have our representative 
 present when you do so to satisfy ourselves that we are 
 correct in the position that we take, and it would be to the 
 
 26 
 
U.fc% SHORT 
 
 JO.e / SHOTCT 
 
 2.7% 5hOT2T 
 
 EXHIBIT 1 
 
 Showing excess and shortage in weight in fifteen one-ton 
 purchases of coal. 
 
interest of both of us. We acknowledge receipt of your 
 check for $1.75 in payment of the quarter of a ton left by 
 our driver with you, and enclosed herewith please find re- 
 ceipt." 
 
 Here is a new mathematical axiom; that the whole is 
 greater than the sum of its parts. It may be questioned 
 whether scales which will weigh a fourth of a ton at a draft 
 can be accurately called "small", but there can be no ques- 
 tion that if any dealer should agree to have a representative 
 present to witness the re-weighing of a load of his coal, 
 there would be no shortage in his delivery. The law upon 
 the matter of re-weighing is explicit. It reads : 
 
 Two thousand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdupois 
 should make and constitute a legal ton of anthracite coal through- 
 out this commonwealth in all transactions between retail coal 
 dealers and their customers (Appendix A, 44.) 
 
 It provides, however, "that in all cases forty pounds 
 shall be allowed for the variation in scales" (Appendix A, 
 45.) Further comment would be superfluous. That the 
 attitude shown by this letter is not representative is apparent 
 from another letter, which relates to Test 8. It is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Replying to your favor of the 2nd inst. I would say 
 that we believe you weighed the Coal accurately and that 
 the mistake was, therefore, ours. As explained to you per- 
 sonally this mistake could have happened in several ways 
 but to my mind it either happened by our weigher mistaking 
 a team and fixing the light or team-weight too low on the 
 upper beam, or that the driver did not deliver the right 
 number of bags to you. When I talked to you last night 
 I was under the impression that the mistake was the first 
 of these two, but in thinking it over I cannot see how forty- 
 five (45) bags which you say he had on, would not weigh 
 at least 4500 Ibs. 
 
 "Our bags are carefully filled by men who do nothing 
 but fill the bags, and if the Coal was not weighed I would 
 
 27 
 
feel sure that forty-five bags would contain this amount 
 and surely twenty-three bags, which you say the driver said 
 he delivered you, would contain 2240 Ibs. Did you count 
 the bags yourself as they were put in. 
 
 "The Coal was delivered by a hired team, one of ... 's 
 teams, and on this day we had two hired from him. There 
 is a variation in his wagons altho we keep no record of 
 this except when we have the teams on, but it would be 
 very easy for the weigh-master to mistake these two men 
 as their wagons are exactly alike in looks, but to my mind 
 the mistake was in the amount of Coal delivered, as I feel 
 that he had two tons on when he left this yard. 
 
 "Our records show that the Coal delivered you was 
 Coleiaine Coal; also the other ton on the wagon was the 
 same Coal. Coleraine Coal is as dense as any Coal mined, 
 and as we use so much of this Coal we want to emphasize 
 the fact of 45 bags being sufficient for two tons, so that 
 the more I think over the matter the harder it is for me 
 to understand where the mistake occurred unless both you 
 and he were mistaken, as we have said before, in the num- 
 ber of bags. 
 
 "Of course, we do not know this driver and it is possi- 
 ble that he dropped a bag enroute but this does not seem 
 reasonable to us altho their drivers have not been honest 
 with us this winter in one instance but this was where \ve 
 were unloading from a car where they allowed their friends 
 to come over and help themselves from it. 
 
 ''I am sorry to write you in such length but I feel that 
 your intentions were entirely fair, and I want you to feel 
 that mine are too. If I can throw any more light on the 
 subject, or if I have not answered any questions that you 
 would like to put to me, I trust you will not hesitate to ad- 
 vance them." 
 
 The accuracy of the re-weighing is here admitted, and 
 there is evidence of real concern for the interest of the pur- 
 chaser; something which does not appear in the first letter. 
 
 28 
 
Tests 13, 14, and 15 were made at the house at which 
 the driver concerned in Test 12 had refused to submit to 
 re-weighing, and before it was learned that word had been 
 passed about among some of the coal dealers that tests 
 were being made at that address. The improved showing, 
 therefore, is not surprising. Test 14 was made on coal de- 
 livered by a "loader," whose circular letter says "We still 
 invite the public to weigh our coal and if short of 2240 
 Ibs. net, keep the coal free of charge." The fact that there 
 w r as a shortage of sixty-two pounds in his delivery would 
 seem to indicate that this "loader" was not among those 
 dealers who were notified that tests were being made. The 
 firm concerned in Test 5, advertises "2240 Pounds Guar- 
 anteed. Weighed By Sworn Weighers." Test 6 was 
 made on coal delivered by the dealer whose suspicion had 
 led him to inquire why coal was being bought from dif- 
 ferent dealers in single ton lots and re-weighed at the house 
 where the first two tests were made. The shortage of 285 
 pounds would seem to account for his active interest in the 
 matter. 1 
 
 When considered in relation to cost, the shortage 
 shown in this table is significant. The nominal price of the 
 coal purchased in Test 3 was $6.50; the actual cost was at 
 the rate of $7.88 per ton. We are not concerned here with 
 averages ; what the average loss may mean to the average 
 purchaser; or what that average. loss means in the aggregate 
 to a city which consumes four million tons of anthracite 
 coal in a year. Nor are we concerned with the question 
 of the dishonesty, carelessness, or poor organization of a 
 business house which will deliver 1847, 1 9&5> or even 2381 
 pounds of coal and call it a ton. Our interest is in the situ- 
 ation as these tests have shown it to be, and in seeking and 
 applying the remedy. 
 
 Before we seek new legislation, it will be well to con- 
 sider that there is already upon the statute books, the act 
 of April 2, 1822, entitled "An act to regulate the sale of 
 
 1 See page 25. 
 
 29 
 
stone coal within the city and county of Philadelphia, and 
 to prevent the adulteration of linseed oil" (Appendix A, 
 41-2.), section I of which reads as follows: 
 
 Stone coal brought from any mine situated within the state of 
 Pennsylvania, to the city or county of Philadelphia, for sale, shall 
 be disposed of by weight or by the bushel measure, and if by the 
 latter, each bushel shall weigh at least eighty pounds; and so 
 when the same is re-sold, whether by wholesale or retail, it shall 
 in like manner be sold by weight or measure, if by the latter, the 
 bushel shall contain at least eighty pounds, and in the same pro- 
 portion for any greater or less measure. 
 
 This is one of four acts relating to the subject of 
 weights and measures, all of which were approved on the 
 same day. The other three have been repealed. This no 
 doubt explains why the act in question has been so generally 
 overlooked. Adequately enforced, this act would do much 
 toward improving the situation. It would put a stop to the 
 practice of "loaders" selling without regard to weight or 
 measure, and it would put the peddlers' trade upnn an 
 honest basis. 
 
 When the act says that if coal be sold by niea>nre. 
 "the bushel shall contain at least eighty pounds, and in the 
 same proportion for any greater or less measure" (Appen- 
 dix A, 41.). it does not mean that a peddler or store may 
 sell coal by the bucket of approximately eighteen pounds 
 capacity. The law says that "Four pecks make a bushel" 
 (Appendix A, 7.), but it does not recognize the "bucket" 
 as an aliquot part of a bushel. When a dealer sells less 
 than twenty pounds of coal to the bucket, he is violating 
 the law. How generally this is done is shown by the fact 
 that the average of ten bucket tests was found to l>e eighteen 
 pounds. Two buckets contained twenty-one pounds; the 
 others contained less than twenty, and one contained six- 
 teen. Six contained pea coal ; two, stove coal ; one, chest- 
 nut coal ; and the coal in the other w r as mixed. The price 
 in eight instances was eight cents ; and seven cents and nine 
 cents in the others. Price bore no relation whatever to 
 either variety or weight. 
 
 30 
 
If a consumer who buys coal by the bucket should 
 receive the full twenty pounds of Lehigh coal of nut or 
 stove size, for eight cents, he would be paying at the rate of 
 $8.96 per ton for coal which costs the peddler $6.05 per 
 ton, or less than five and a half cents per peck. It is not 
 pertinent to this discussion to inquire whether peddlers 
 could afford to buy Lehigh coal in stove or nut sizes and sell 
 at a fair profit at eight cents per peck of twenty pounds. 
 To do so would be to ignore the essential fact that much 
 of the Lehigh coal sold in buckets is pea coal, which costs 
 the peddler $4.03 per ton, or about three and a half cents 
 per peck; also the fact that much of the coal sold by the 
 bucket is of the free-burning varieties, which run four 
 bushels to the ton more than Lehigh. The bucket coal 
 trade, therefore, presents a problem of both short weight 
 and adulteration. For the former, the act of 1822 is ade- 
 quate if enforced ; for the latter, new legislation is necessary. 
 
 Groceries and Provisions 
 
 The purchase of groceries and provisions is a matter 
 which confronts the housewife almost daily. For her there 
 are small stores in the neighborhood of her home, "chain" 
 stores and markets scattered at convenient intervals 
 throughout the city, and large stores with extensive stock 
 and wide delivery service. Each has its appeal, which 
 may be convenience of access, cut-prices, variety of choice, 
 credit, or any other characteristic which may serve to 
 encourage trade. In their advertisements and in their per- 
 sonal dealings with customers, dealers .seek to present these 
 inducements as effectively as possible. In the former, price 
 and quality are the dominant notes; 1 in the latter, the 
 appeal varies, but it is not infrequently concerned with 
 weight or measure. The salesman may heap his measure, 
 
 1 A significant exception from a Philadelphia newspaper: 
 
 "The Question of Honest Weights and Measures 
 
 "If you owe us a dollar, we will exact it in good, lawful money, not 
 sweated coin or Mexican dollar. We will accept only the equivalent of a hundred 
 American cents. 
 
 "You should exact from stores the same sort of fulness as to weights and 
 measures 36 inches to a yard; 16 ounces to the pound; legal quarts and pints. 
 That's all there is to it yet this straight-forward method isn't usual there's no 
 
 31 
 
 294763 
 
and even give a handful in excess of a well-filled measure; 
 or his scales may show excess weight while he charges 
 only for even weight. But the measure itself may be too 
 small, or it may be one which was intended for a different 
 class of commodity; and the scales which show excess 
 weight may be set against the customer. When full weight 
 or measure is given when the apparatus itself is faulty, the 
 result is unfair competition, for the purchaser is deceived; 
 when short weight or measure is given, whether through 
 carelessness or design, the result is loss to the purchaser. 
 In an attempt to ascertain the accuracy with which 
 groceries and provisions are being dealt out to the people 
 of Philadelphia, several hundred test purchases have been 
 made, with the result shown in Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5, and 
 graphically represented in Exhibits 2, 2 A, 3, 3 A, 4, and 5. 
 
 Table 2, Showing Result in 225 One-pound Purchases of 
 Groceries and Provisions 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Pun 
 
 bases Rew 
 
 eighed Sh( 
 
 >wed 
 
 
 Commodity 
 
 Pur- 
 
 Correct 
 
 Weight 
 
 Lu- to 
 
 Dealer 
 
 LosstoC 
 
 jstomcr 
 
 
 
 No. 
 
 P.Cent 
 
 No. 
 
 P.Cml 
 
 No. 
 
 P.Cent 
 
 Sugar ..*> 
 Rice ...-...; 
 
 IOO 
 
 60 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 31 
 
 12 
 
 31 
 2O 
 
 64 
 
 AC 
 
 6 4 
 
 7c 
 
 Beans 
 
 2<; 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 *rj 
 22 
 
 / D 
 
 88 
 
 Peanuts 
 Fruits ...... 
 
 10 
 IO 
 
 I 
 
 IO 
 
 6 
 
 60 
 4O 
 
 4 
 
 c 
 
 40 
 
 CQ 
 
 Bacon 
 
 IO 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2O 
 
 D 
 
 8 
 
 3 W 
 80 
 
 Butter 
 (Print) .. 
 
 IO 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 IOO 
 
 Total .... 
 
 225 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 58 
 
 25.8 
 
 158 
 
 70.2 
 
 adequate law to make packges hold supposed weights and measures and the care- 
 less housewife loses ten per cent, or more in weights of various commodities if 
 she buys at careless stores. 
 
 "If you buy a three, five or ten-pound pail of lard at ... you get that 
 number of real pounds of lard. You do not get it generally. If lard is sold in 
 cans, it is for convenience (and not your convenience) so you must pay lard- 
 price for tin can. Catch the idea? 
 
 "We believe all package goods will come to be of known net weights 
 we are making it possible to supply almost every need without chance of fooling 
 yourself. 
 
 ". . . Pure Foods in full weights cost you no more than questionable 
 kinds. We believe the average prices at ... the year through will show a 
 saving over usual prices." 
 
EXHIBIT 2 
 
 Showing excess, correct, and short weight in 225 one-pound pur- 
 chases of groceries and provisions. 
 
Table 2 shows in summary form the result of pur- 
 chases of selected commodities sold generally by grocers. 
 Only nine purchases showed correct weight. All of the 
 purchases of butter were short; the average being about 
 one-half ounce. Eight out of ten purchases of bacon, 
 another expensive commodity, were short; and in this case 
 the shortage was nearly two ounces. Sugar is cheap, and 
 the retailer makes little or nothing from handling it, because 
 purchasers have come somehow to judge of the level of 
 prices in a grocery store by the price charged for 
 sugar. Exhibit 2 presents in graphic form the results 
 shown in Table 2. Exhibit 2 A shows in a similar manner 
 the distribution of excess and shortage. Here it appears 
 that the excess weight ranged from one-sixteenth of an 
 ounce to one and three-fourths ounces, while the shortage 
 ranged from one-sixteenth of an ounce to three and a half 
 ounces. The lengths of the vertical columns represent, for 
 each fraction of an ounce, the relative number of purchases 
 showing either excess or shortage. Thus about 2 per cent, 
 of the purchases showed an excess of three-sixteenths of 
 an ounce, while 8 per cent, showed a shortage of the same 
 amount. 
 
 Table 3, Showing Result in Fifty One-quart Purchases of 
 Dry Commodities 
 
 Commodity 
 
 Total 
 Purchases 
 
 Remeasuring Showed 
 
 General 
 Average of 
 Shortage 
 (PerCent) 
 
 Full Measure 
 
 Short Measure 
 
 Beans 
 
 35 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 34 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 15-3 
 9-3 
 8.1 
 
 Cranberries 
 
 Peanuts 
 
 
 Total 
 
 50 
 
 4 
 
 46 
 
 13-3 
 
 
 The record for beans as shown in Table 2 should be 
 considered with reference to the similar record in Table 3. 
 The comparison will show an average shortage of 6.1 per 
 
 33 
 
cent, when beans are purchased by weight, but 15.3 per cent, 
 when they are purchased by measure. The reason for this 
 marked difference is that beans, which are dry commodities, 
 are almost universally sold by the liquid quart measure, 
 which holds about 14 per cent, less than the dry quart. Of 
 the ten purchases of cranberries, two were full measure. 
 With one exception, the cranberries were measured in 
 liquid quart measures. This was a significant exception; 
 because out of fifty purchases of dry commodities shown 
 in Table 3, a single one was measured in a dry quart 
 measure, although at wholesale these commodities are sold 
 either by weight or by dry measure. Upon this point the 
 ordinance 6*f November 17, 1857 declares: 
 
 It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to sell within 
 the limits of the ... city any . . . fruits or vegetables requiring 
 measurement, by any other measure than the bushel and its 
 divisions, . . . and for each and every sale hereafter made by the 
 basket, or by any other measure or measures thafl those herein 
 designated, the person or persons making the same shall forfeit 
 and pay the sum of five dollars (Appendix A, 52.) 
 
 The percentage relations of the results shown in Table 
 3 are represented graphically in Exhibits 3 and 3 A. Ex- 
 amination of Exhibit 3 A will show that over half of the 
 purchases were short more than 14 per cent. Two per cent. 
 of the purchases were 32.8 per cent, short. 
 
 There is in general use a type of double-end dry 
 measure, the larger compartment of which holds a half- 
 peck, and the smaller, two quarts. (See illustrati.on facing 
 page 40.) These measures are made of soft wood, and 
 their rims are not protected. When new they are of 
 full capacity, but there is nothing to prevent the cutting 
 down of either end to diminish the capacity by any amount 
 desired. 
 
 Throughout the city there is a large number of cheap 
 scales and capacity measures. Most of the scales upon 
 which test purchases were weighed were without the name 
 
 34 
 
o 
 
 4' 
 
 a. 
 I" 
 
 09 
 
of the manufacturer. Such scales were found most fre- 
 quently in the smaller stores, but tests uniformly showed 
 that the question of honest weights and measures is one 
 which concerns large dealers quite as much as small dealers. 
 One spring balance was found with the pointer on the face 
 of the dial showing three ounces "fast", or against the 
 customer without anything on the pan, and others showed 
 two and a half ounces, two ounces, and one ounce. One 
 computing scale was found three and a half ounces against 
 the customer. 
 
 Counter scales were found with various objects, iron 
 nails, iron nuts, iron links, iron wire, pieces of lead, pieces 
 of tin, pieces of wood fastened to the prongs of the fork 
 or attached to the customer's end of the hanger. Two 
 had can-openers fastened in the fork. In many instances 
 paper, twine, or cloth was wound or tied about the prongs 
 of forks. Whether this was done to conceal some heavier 
 substance could not be determined by the investigator in 
 the absence of authority to make a detailed examination. 
 Spring balances were found which had a potato stuck on 
 the hook below the dial. Hooks were frequently used for 
 the hanging of tags and memorandum slips. In one in- 
 stance there was half of a refrigerator door-hinge upon 
 the hook. All these objects were in full view. In the 
 absence of official inspection, this is not surprising. The 
 average customer knows little or nothing of scales, or of 
 their proper use. No attempt was made to discover the 
 less obvious defects, this having been already done by the 
 experts of the national bureau of standards. Discussing 
 the conditions in that portion of the city lying south of 
 South street from Twelfth street to the Delaware river, 
 the official report of these inspectors reads: 
 
 Here, conditions are practically indescribable. So little appa- 
 ratus is correct that practically no standard of weights and meas- 
 ures exists, and although the common terms of "pound", "bushel", 
 etc. are still in use they mean practically nothing- as the variation 
 of the apparatus amounts in many cases to 25% or more. So 
 
 35 
 
little apparatus is correct that it is the exception, rather than the 
 rule, to find things in proper condition. Scales, both of the spring 
 and platform types, are almost universally fast from 2 to 5 or more 
 ounces. That this is not the result of general ignorance is proved 
 by the way in which the apparatus is manipulated. For instance 
 even-arm platform scales practically never have the pans empty 
 when not in use. In 90% of the cases some weight is placed upon 
 the weight platforms so that an observer cannot determine whether 
 the scale is in balance without removing these weights. When 
 these were removed by the inspectors the scoop side was in almost 
 every case heavy by one to five ounces, and this amount was 
 gained by the manipulator on every sale made. Moreover, a type 
 of cheap, even-arm balance is in general use which is one or more 
 ounces incorrect when the weights are placed upon the extreme 
 edges of the platform. That the dealers are aware of this physical 
 imperfection and use it to defraud the public is indicated by the 
 fact that numerous cases of weighings came under the observation 
 of the inspectors, when weights were so placed on the extreme 
 edges that this short weight was added to the original error of 
 the balance. A third additive factor to the total shortage in weight 
 delivered is caused by the fact that the weights used arc them- 
 selves light. That this last factor is, in itself, considerable* may 
 be drawn from a few instances. 4-lb. weights were found which 
 were respectively 2 ozs., \-V\ ozs., and 3-^ ozs. li^ht. (This last 
 had a hole drilled in bottom which pierced through t<j> <>f weight). 
 2-lb. weights were found, i-oz., i-H ozs., i-% ozs., and 13/16 oz 
 light; one pound weights were found i-^, 7/16, H and i-fij ounces 
 light, respectively. (This last was hastily hidden by the mer- 
 chant when tests began, but was recovered and tested). 8-oz. 
 weights were found M, 11/16, 7/16, 1 A of an ounce light, etc. This 
 one factor is then in a large number of cases from 7 to 10%. The 
 combination of the three sources of shortage mentioned is very 
 large amounting in many cases to perhaps 30 to 35%. 
 
 Here, also, were found very many dry measures made of wood 
 having a stave removed or ends sawed short. About 20 of these, 
 approximately 25% short were counted on one portion of a street 
 in this section. When your inspectors were about to measure one 
 of the above it was snatched away by the dealer, but was recov- 
 ered and measured. This was a double measure. The "half- 
 peck" held 203 cu. ins. ; shortage 24.2%. The "quarter-peck" held 
 100 cu. ins.; shortage 25.4 
 
 Liquid quart measures for dry commodities were universally 
 used, no others being in evidence. These were sometimes so badly 
 
 36 
 
EXHIBIT 3 
 
 Showing full and short measure in fifty one-quart purchases of 
 dry commodities. 
 
 L LL\[- a U'U 
 
battered as to make them useless as "measures." In one case, for 
 instance, in addition to dents a pint measure had a false bottom. 
 This measure held u-M ozs. of dried beans when full, a shortage 
 of 21%, or at the rate of 47 Ibs. to the bushel, instead of 60 Ibs., 
 the legal weight. 
 
 Spring scales were often found 3 and 4 ounces fast, while 
 many were balanced without the scoop, which was never placed 
 on the spring except when weighing was being done. When a 
 commodity is placed in the scoop and this is put on the scale, the 
 scoop weighing 3 or 4 ozs. is weighed with the commodity and is 
 charged for, although it is never delivered with the goods. 
 
 In short, in this section every variety of fraud by means of 
 which it is possible to deliver short weight and measure to igno- 
 rant people was found in use in 75% or more of the places of 
 business. Yet scattered throughout this section are respectable 
 stores where full weight and measure is being given or only 
 slight shortages exist. These stores, of necessity, charge slightly 
 more than the others and have only the more intelligent class of 
 trade. The very poor and ignorant patronize the stores where 
 commodities apparently can be bought the cheapest and as a result 
 the people who can least afford to lose are paying higher prices. 
 To protect these classes is a function of prime importance, and 
 until this is done a very great injustice will be perpetrated against 
 those, who, on account of poverty and ignorance, cannot protect 
 themselves. 
 
 The conditions in the other parts of the city where 
 merchants cater to a representative class of trade, were 
 found to be similar. The report reads : 
 
 In Philadelphia, there are a very large number of "chain 
 stores." That is, stores operated by one company from central 
 offices, by means of managers and clerks in each store, those men 
 being employed by the central company or corporation. One of 
 these companies own and operate 205 stores in the city and sur- 
 roundings, and several other companies operate a lesser number 
 of stores. Since there was a very marked difference in the major- 
 ity of these stores, from those stores operated by individuals, their 
 weights and measures will be summarized separately. From our 
 data we are able to state the following facts : 
 
 37 
 
Independent Stores 
 
 Scales Inspected 
 Based on averaged weight of one pound. 
 
 Total No. O. K. In Error 
 
 of scales Within Within Within Within More than 
 
 inspected 3% 6% 9% **% I2 % 
 
 118 45 (38%) 38 (32%) ii (9%) 14 (12%) 10 (9%) 
 Weights Inspected 
 
 Total No. 
 of weights 
 
 inspected, Within i% a% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8%ormore 
 
 i-lb. or 
 more 
 
 132 59 (46%) 19 8 14 2 2 i i 
 
 8-oz. or Within 
 less 2% 
 
 53 30 10 3 i 4 2 3 
 
 Probably 50% of the wooden dry measures in use were 7% 
 or more short of standard measure. This was probably not in 
 every case the fault of the merchant since measures somewhat 
 short seem often to have been sold as standard measures. The 
 resultant shortage to the customer was, however, the same. 
 Throughout practically all these stores small dry commodities in 
 quart lots or less are being. sold in liquid measures and throughout 
 the entire city very few quart dry measures are in evidence. Thus 
 it will be seen that in independent stores in all sections the appa- 
 ratus is in very bad shape and results in defrauding the purchase r. 
 
 To summarize, only 38% of the scales of which we have rec- 
 ord are correct within 3% and, of these, many were being used to 
 give less than the required amounts by means of short weights 
 used. Incorrect (short) weights make 54% of the total of all the 
 larger weights and about 40% of the total of the smaller weights. 
 When it is considered that all faulty weights and measures found 
 south of South street are not included in these figures the results 
 are doubly significant for in these stores short weight and meas- 
 ures is being constantly given, although the customers are as a rule 
 intelligent people, and notwithstanding the fact that they are pay- 
 ing what is considered a sufficient price for the commodities pur- 
 chased. And districts, such as Germantown have not been ex- 
 cluded, where are apparently a fine class of stores and an exclusive 
 class of customers. 
 
\ Q 
 .t kill l Iv 
 
fi .VI K (I 
 
 ; n (>-, i j ^ 
 
The conditions in "chain-stores" have been listed separately 
 as before mentioned, because an entirely different condition here 
 exists as far as the accuracy of apparatus in use is concerned. 
 Conditions were obtained in a number of stores of this character 
 and have- been listed below. 
 
 ".Chain-Stores" 
 
 Scales Inspected 
 
 Based on average sales of one pound. 
 
 Total No. 
 of scales 
 recorded 
 
 O.K. 
 
 within 
 
 Within 
 6%- 
 
 In Error 
 Within 
 
 Within More than 
 
 12% 12% 
 
 28 23 (82%) 3 (or 11%) 2 (or 7%) none none 
 
 Total No. 
 
 of weights 
 
 recorded 
 
 i-lb. and above 
 
 62 
 
 i-oz. to 8-oz. 
 4 6 
 
 Weights Inspected 
 
 Within i% 2% 3% 4 % 5% 6% 7% 
 
 54 (or 87%) 5 3 None 
 
 41 (or 90%) 311 " 
 
 Very few measures of any kind were found. Liquid meas- 
 ures were in every case correct. Dry measures were entirely dis- 
 carded all of these commodities being sold by weight. 
 
 Thus in these stores 82% of scales found were correct within 
 2% and 11% of the remaining 18% were within 6% accuracy. 
 87% of the larger weights were correct within i%, 8% were 
 within 2%, none being more than 3% light. And in the same way 
 90% of the ounce weights were accurate. 
 
 In comparison with the former tabulated results the differ- 
 ence was so striking that an attempt was made to account for it 
 and the following facts were elicited from several sources. On 
 examination, it seems that "chain-stores" here have an inspection 
 of weights and measures, the firm of H. Troemner of Philadelphia 
 being employed in most cases. An expert visits all the stores and 
 tests, approves of or condemns and repairs all apparatus in use. 
 And the above conditions seem to result. The central firms go to 
 this expense so as to assure themselves insofar as possible that 
 full weight and measure are being given in their stores, since they 
 point out that short weight in any one store, discovered, would 
 militate against all their stores, causing a large total loss of pat- 
 ronage. 
 
 39 
 
The great good which a private inspection has thus caused 
 indicates the change in general conditions caused by "an efficient 
 inspection. And an official inspection is far better than that noted 
 above since the tests are then official, a seal appears on the scale 
 for the protection of the buying public, and it applies to every 
 merchant alike. Thus all false apparatus may be weeded out and 
 fair competition established. But in the absence of official tests, 
 private tests appear to accomplish much good and these will usu- 
 ally be made when no gain accrues to owner through short weight 
 and measure and where harm only is liable to ensue, as in the 
 above case. 
 
 Another phase of the subject of weights and measures to 
 which particular attention was paid was to the weight of goods 
 already put up by the merchants, ready for delivery. A large 
 number of these packages were usually found in "chain-stores" and 
 data was obtained in other stores as well. In the former case this 
 data tends to show whether mere supervision of the apparatus in 
 use is sufficient to insure correct weight and measure for the pur- 
 chasing public. It also throws light on the question as to whether 
 faulty apparatus and short weights and measures mean actual 
 short amounts delivered to the consumer as a result. The ques- 
 tion of shrinkage and of gross and net weight also figure. 
 
 First, then, from all data obtainable, it would appear that any 
 shortage in the weights, measures or scales directly result in a 
 similar shortage of weight and measure delivered to the customer 
 Probably on account of keen competition in prices the merchant 
 gives exactly that amount indicated by the apparatus in use and 
 thus, if apparatus is short, the delivered commodity is also short. 
 The old idea of giving "down-weight" is largely supers-. led 1>\ tin- 
 present-day idea of exact weight. The present method largely in 
 use of delivering to the customer packages already done up, so 
 that the customer no longer sees the actual weighing process has. 
 we believe, been largely responsible for this result. 
 
 Second, it appears that very rarely is any allowance made for 
 the weight of the container. That is, gross weight instead of net 
 weight is near always given. The merchant always claims that 
 he is entitled to a return for the bags, butter-dishes, etc. for which 
 he must pay. However, to charge perhaps 35 cents per pound for 
 half-ounce wooden platters which cost perhaps 3 or 4 cents per 
 pound, and 25 to 50 cents per pound for paper bags delivered 
 with coffee, tea or other similar goods, which cost but a small frac- 
 tion of that sum, is plainly a fraud upon the buyer of the com- 
 modities. Package charges may fairly be figured when the selling 
 
 40 
 

 
 A BOTTOMLESS DOUBLE END MEASURE 
 
 Divided by a partition; one end serving as a half-peck, the other 
 as a quarter-peck measure. Note the metal hoops conveniently placed 
 to permit cutting down the wooden edge. The use of this type of 
 measure is prohibited in Richmond, Va., where it is manufactured. 
 
: *: i - ' 
 
 t * -t e ; : 
 
 * - -- 
 
price of a commodity is being determined, but can never be cor- 
 rectly charged in, by adding its weight to the weight of the com- 
 modity itself. 
 
 Third, that the mere inspection of weights and measures is 
 not sufficient to prevent all fraud, is indicated by the fact that in 
 some stores where the weights and measures were found correct, 
 shortages in packages done up ready for delivery were discovered. 
 Many of these discrepancies were too serious to have been caused 
 by shrinkage while in other cases packages had but just been 
 weighed out. These shortages may be explained in two ways, 
 i st. Deliberate intention to defraud. 2nd. By attempts made to 
 cover shrinkage, leakage, etc., by making each purchaser bear a 
 proportionate share of the general loss. In "chain-stores" pack- 
 ages were often short in weight or measure. As far as we are 
 able to determine, it appears that managers of "chain-stores" 
 are sold a certain amount of commodity by the central company 
 and are held accountable for a sale of this amount. If this is 
 correct, it accounts for the large number of slight shortages found 
 in these stores. For the managers, to protect themselves, are 
 obliged to gain by short weight or measures, any loss of stock 
 due to shrinkage, as well as to leakage, error, etc. In this case 
 of appearing to deliver every pound of original consignment to 
 the customer, the latter will often be considerably defrauded, in 
 the case of articles which are delivered in large quantities and 
 which sell slowly; in articles which shrink rapidly; and in the 
 case of articles improperly guarded from leakage of any kind. 
 And moreover this shortage will necessarily vary with the season 
 and in other ways. Thus the consumer would never be able to 
 accurately tell how much he was about to receive for any stated 
 quantity. As in the case of net and gross weight already dis- 
 cussed, these losses must undoubtedly eventually be borne by the 
 consumer, but a proper adjustment should -once again be made in 
 selling prices and never in the amount of commodity delivered. 
 
 Of the seventy-five packages found in stores ready for deliv- 
 ery which were weighed by your inspectors, 7% were overweight, 
 4% were correct, while 89% were short in weight. The average 
 of the overweight was about one per cent, while the shortweight 
 amounted in certain cases to 15%. A large majority of the pack- 
 ages were weighed up in chain stores, or the stores where the 
 weights and measures were nearly correct, since the poorer stores 
 very seldom had packages ready for delivery. 
 
 The data maintained is mainly of interest in showing how 
 nearly all of even the better stores deliver gross instead of net 
 
 41 
 
weight, and deliver short packages in order to eliminate waste 
 from their calculations. In a few cases the short weights could be 
 traced directly to faulty apparatus found. 
 
 Butter put up in "prints," sold as pounds, was very generally 
 short in weight. That this was intentional and was in many cases, 
 at least, not due to shrinkage,, was indicated by the fact that in 
 some stores butter which had been in stock 3 or 4 days or more 
 and butter received fresh within a few hours were practically the 
 same amount short. These shortages in "chain-stores" and "inde- 
 pendent stores" differed very slightly. Of the 37 one-pound 
 prints weighed, only 19% were correct, while of the remainder 
 20% were more than Y* oz. (or 3%) light Of the ^ pound 
 prints iS% were correct, while 87% of those short were more than 
 3% underweight, and 44% were more than 6% underweight. 
 
 The average weight of bread throughout the city was about 
 14 ounces per loaf. 
 
 It seems advisable at this point to call attention to a particu- 
 lar feature of a computing scale which was found on almost all 
 barrel spring scales of the make referred to. On more than fifty 
 per cent of these the front and back indicators, read by the pur- 
 chaser and merchant respectively, did not start from the same 
 point on the graduated scale; for when the front was correct the 
 back read from one and a half to two ounces fast. Thus the cus- 
 tomer saw a scale apparently correct, while the merchant on his 
 side was short-weighing from one to two ounces. The general 
 prevalence of this error would lead to the "belief that the scales 
 were so sold to the merchant This was also indicated by the fact 
 that apparently honest merchants had the scale adjusted correctly 
 on their side in which case it was often one and a half ounces slow 
 on the customers' side. Since the merchant would have no desire 
 to have the front read incorrectly when the back was correct, it is 
 hardly possible that these merchants readjusted these scales to 
 read in this manner. A scale which does not read similarly for 
 customer and merchant is a very dangerous form of scale, since it 
 renders it very difficult to protect himself from short weight. 
 
 The findings of the government inspectors as to con- 
 dtions in "chain" stores are consistent with the results of 
 the tests made in this investigation. One-pound purchases 
 were made in nineteen stores, and of these, seventeen gave 
 short weight ; the amount of the commodity delivered rang- 
 ing from 14 3/16 ounces to 15 13/16 ounces. One gave 
 even weight, and one gave over weight, 17 3/16 ounces. 
 
 42 
 
The same applies to the tests of commodities already 
 done up in packages. Of forty- four one-pound packages 
 of rice and of sugar, thirty-eight were short, one was 
 correct, and five were over weight. The short weight 
 packages ranged from 14 10/16 ounces to 15 15/16 ounces, 
 and the excess weight packages ranged from 16 2/16 to 
 17 2/1 6 ounces. Six one-pound packages of bacon were 
 purchased, and all were short; the weight ranging from 
 12 8/16 to 15 3/16 ounces. 
 
 The Reading Terminal market at Twelfth and Arch 
 streets is the largest and best known public market in the 
 city. It is well kept and sells only a good class of com- 
 modities. Ten purchases of fresh meat and ten of bacon 
 were made at this market, with the result shown in Table 
 4 and also in Exhibit 4. 
 
 Table 4, Showing Excess and Shortage in Twenty Purchases 
 of Meat at the Reading Terminal Market 
 
 Test 
 
 Kind of Meat 
 
 Quantity 
 Paid for 
 
 Quantity 
 Received 
 
 Percentage of 
 Loss to 
 
 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Ozs. 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 Ozs. 
 
 Dealer 
 
 Cust'm'r 
 
 231 
 
 Bacon 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I3/I6 
 
 5-0 
 
 
 232 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 14 10/16 
 
 '>4>'is 
 
 8.5 
 
 233 
 
 <( 
 
 
 
 
 -.'" ; 
 
 13 8/16 
 
 
 15.6 
 
 234 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 15 3/i6 
 
 
 5- 
 
 235 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 10/16 
 
 
 8.5 
 
 236 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2/16 
 
 7 
 
 
 237 
 
 ft 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 1/16 
 
 
 12. 1 
 
 2 3 8 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 14 5/*6 
 
 
 10.5 
 
 239 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 8/16 
 
 
 9-3 
 
 240 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 8/16 
 
 
 21.8 
 
 241 
 
 Steak 
 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 I 
 
 9 6/16 
 
 ;. -.;.- - . 
 
 9-3 
 
 242 
 
 u 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 i 14/16 
 
 . . 
 
 .6 
 
 243 
 
 " 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 . . 
 
 6.2 
 
 244 
 
 Chops 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6/16 
 
 I.I 
 
 
 245 
 
 " 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 14 15/16 
 
 
 3-3 
 
 246 
 
 Roast 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 ... 
 
 1.2 
 
 247 
 
 a 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 7 10/16 
 
 
 4 
 
 248 
 
 a 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 12 I0/l6 
 
 .8 
 
 
 249 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 i 3/16 
 
 6.8 
 
 
 250 
 
 U 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 7/i6 
 
 7-i 
 
 
 43 
 
Here it appears that on steak and chops, both expen- 
 sive varieties, the loss was almost wholly on the customer's 
 side. On roasts, the reverse is true. Of ten one-pound 
 purchases of bacon, another expensive commodity, eight 
 were short, the weight ranging from 12 8/16 ounces to 
 15 3/1 6 ounces. Four of the scales upon which this bacon 
 was weighed were "fast," the extremes being one ounce 
 and three and a half ounces. 
 
 Concerning the conditions at the Reading Terminal 
 market, the report of the government inspectors reads: 
 
 Of the spring scales inspected here, I was found 4 ozs. fast, 
 2 were 3 ozs. fast, 14 were 2 ozs. fast, 2 were \- l A ozs. fast, 20 
 were I oz. fast, and 6 were Y* oz. fast, making a total of 45 scales 
 in constant use which were from 3 to 25% against the customer 
 on an average weight of one pound of commodity. ' Numerous 
 even-arm platform scales were also out of balance. No dry quart 
 measures were in evidence, all those in use being liquid measures, 
 although no liquids were sold upon the market place. Some of the 
 double dry measures were 7% or more short, without bearing 
 external sign of change, while others had very palpably been 
 sawed or otherwise tampered with. 
 
 Section i of the ordinance of October i, 1858, which 
 is the only ordinance in force which is concerned with all 
 market houses whether owned by the city or by private 
 parties, is as follows: 
 
 Every basket, box, tub, or other article used for the sale of 
 fruits, vegetables, or berries that require measurement, in market 
 houses, or market stands, shall have the fractional part or parts 
 of a bushel, which said basket, box, or other article will contain, 
 when even-full, labelled, stamped or marked thereon, outside, in 
 plain characters of at least one inch in size (Appendix A, 
 72, 74.) 
 
 The conditions in four other markets are described as 
 follows : 
 
 In the market building at iQth and Market streets not nearly 
 so much apparatus was in use, but conditions were similar in 
 almost every respect. Here were scales 4 ozs., 3 ozs., 2 ozs., i oz., 
 
 44 
 
EXHIBIT 4 
 
 Showing excess and short weight in twenty purchases of 
 meats at the Reading Terminal Market. 
 
and ^2 oz. fast, the total faulty spring scales numbering nine. 
 Measure conditions are similar to the above market; again no 
 quart dry measures being used. 
 
 At 40th and Market streets inspection showed variations of 
 scales frorn one to four ozs. fast, nine faulty spring scales alone 
 being observed. Measure conditions were largely as before. 
 
 At 2nd and South, 19 incorrect spring scales were found out 
 of the small number in use. Here also counter scales were largely 
 out of balance and weights were being used on the extreme edges 
 of the plates for the purpose <of giving short weight. Tests on 
 such scales prove they can be thus manipulated an ounce or more. 
 In the market building at 2410 Kensington Ave., very little busi- 
 ness was being transacted on account of the lateness of the hour 
 at which the inspection was made, yet 6 spring scales out of those 
 in use were fast as before. 
 
 The market at Second and South streets referred to, 
 is one of the two market houses which remain in the pos- 
 session of the city. These market houses are in charge 
 of the bureau of city property (Appendix A, 32-3.), 
 and under the immediate supervision of clerks of the mar- 
 kets, who are directed by the ordinance of October 19, 
 1854 to "weigh, try, and examine all bread ... or 
 other provisions [except butter, lard, and sausage] sold in 
 loaves, lumps, or parcels purporting to be of a given or 
 accustomed weight or measure; and all scales, weights, and 
 measures, which are found in markets not correct to the 
 standard, shall be forfeited" (Appendix A, 34, 73.) 
 
 It was the testimony of the dealers at these markets 
 that the market clerks do not concern themselves with 
 matters of weight or measure. Whether this be true or 
 not, the conditions are themselves sufficient evidence that 
 there is no inspection of an efficient nature. 
 
 At the South Second Street market, scales were seen 
 which were "fast" from one and a half to two ounces. 
 The results of purchases made at the two city markets are 
 shown in Table 5 and Exhibit 5. It will be seen that a 
 large number of purchases in each market were short 
 weight. 
 
 45 
 
Table 5, Showing Excess and Shortage in Twenty One- 
 pound Purchases at City Markets 
 
 Test 
 
 Commodity 
 
 Quantity Received 
 
 Percentage of Loss to 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Ounces 
 
 Dealer 
 
 Customer 
 
 2710 
 
 Lard 
 
 , 
 
 14 10/16 
 
 . . 
 
 8-5 
 
 272 
 
 Bacon 
 
 I 
 
 1/16 
 
 3 
 
 
 273 
 
 Scrapple 
 
 I 
 
 2/16 
 
 7 
 
 
 274 
 
 Liver 
 
 < I 
 
 6/16 
 
 2-3 
 
 
 275 
 
 Bacon 
 
 
 15 11/16 
 
 
 1.9 
 
 2 7 6 
 
 M 
 
 -.. 
 
 14 12/16 
 
 . . 
 
 7 .8 
 
 277 
 
 Liver 
 
 I 
 
 3/i6 
 
 i.i 
 
 
 2 7 8 
 
 Bacon 
 
 I 
 
 10/16 
 
 3-9 
 
 
 279 
 
 
 
 
 13 12/16 
 
 .. 
 
 14.0 
 
 28ot 
 
 Sausage 
 
 . I 
 
 15/16 
 
 s-8 
 
 
 
 28l 
 
 Bacon 
 
 
 14 6/16 
 
 
 IO.I 
 
 282 
 
 Liver 
 
 
 14 1/16 
 
 
 I2.O 
 
 283 
 
 Butter 
 
 
 15 9/J6 
 
 
 2.7 
 
 284 
 
 Bacon 
 
 
 15 10/16 
 
 1 . * 
 
 2-3 
 
 285 
 
 
 
 
 15 13/16 
 
 . 
 
 I.I 
 
 286 
 
 
 
 
 14 9/16 
 
 . . 
 
 8. 9 
 
 28 7 
 
 
 
 
 15 12/16 
 
 . . 
 
 i-5 
 
 288 
 
 Liver 
 
 I 
 
 3 3/i6 
 
 19.3 
 
 . . 
 
 289 
 
 M 
 
 I 
 
 i 1/16 
 
 6.t> 
 
 . . 
 
 290 
 
 Scrapple 
 
 
 
 15 7/'6 
 
 - 
 
 3-5 
 
 a Tests 271-280 South Second Street Market. 
 b Tests 281-290 North Second Street Market. 
 
 In connection with this table, it is pertinent to quote 
 section 13 of the ordinance of December 12, 1865: 
 
 No person shall bring to the market houses or market places 
 [belonging to the city] for sale, any bread, lard, butter or other 
 provisions in lumps, loaves or other parcels, as or for a greater 
 weight or measure than the true weight and measure thereof, or 
 shall employ any device for imposition or fraud in the sale of any 
 provisions (Appendix A, 77.) 
 
 The penalty is a fine of five dollars (Appendix A, 
 78.) This ordinance also prescribes that "no person 
 shall use steel yards or spring balances within the market 
 
 46 
 
60% 
 
 Showing excess and shortage 
 city markets. 
 
 EXHIBIT 5 
 
 in twenty one-pound purchases at 
 
 U U I V.I! I 
 

houses, market places or market limits" belonging to the 
 city (Appendix A, 76.) The penalty is a fine of twenty 
 dollars (Appendix A, 78.) The reason for this provision 
 is not now apparent. Certainly it is not enforced, and 
 there seems no reason why it should not be repealed. 
 
 Bread 
 
 There is a law which requires that "all loaf-bread 
 made for sale within this commonwealth, shall be sold by 
 the pound avoirdupois", under penalty of ten dollars fine 
 (Appendix A, 36, 119.), but no attempt is made to ob- 
 serve this requirement. If this law has any meaning at all, 
 it is that the customer is entitled to know the weight of the 
 loaf which he buys. It is the general opinion that loaves 
 approximate a pound; and it is the general practice of 
 bakers to take advantage of this impression and to make 
 loaves somewhat lighter than a pound, except for an occa- 
 sional dealer who wishes to attract trade by selling a mam- 
 moth loaf at little or no advance over cost. The price of 
 wheat bread is universally five cents a loaf. The different 
 weights of bread which the purchaser receives ior this 
 amount is shown in Table 6 and Exhibit 6. 
 
 Table 6, Showing the Variation in Weight of Loaves of 
 Bread Purchased From Ten Bakeries at Five Cents 
 Per Loaf 
 
 Test 
 
 Weight in Ounces 
 
 Percentage of 
 Shortage on One 
 Pound 
 
 Percentage of 
 Excess on One 
 Pound 
 
 26l 
 
 23 
 
 .. 
 
 43-7 
 
 262 
 
 12 7/16 
 
 22.2 
 
 
 263 
 
 15 3/i6 
 
 5-o 
 
 
 264 
 
 15 10/16 
 
 2.3 
 
 . . 
 
 265 
 
 14 4/16 
 
 10.9 
 
 . . 
 
 266 
 
 15 15/16 
 
 3 
 
 . . 
 
 267 
 
 ii 15/16 
 
 25-3 
 
 
 268 
 
 16 2/16 
 
 
 7 
 
 269 
 
 13 
 
 18.7 
 
 
 270 
 
 14 6/16 
 
 IO.I 
 
 
 294761 
 
 47 
 
Candy 
 
 Upon the theory that the result would be representa- 
 tive, ten purchases of one-pound boxes of candy were made 
 in as many stores along Chestnut street. The details of 
 these tests are presented in Table 7 and Exhibit 7. 
 
 Table 7, Showing Excess and Shortage in Ten One-pound 
 Purchases of Candy in Chestnut Street Stores 
 
 Test 
 
 Quantity Received 
 
 Percentage of Loss to 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Ounces 
 
 Dealer 
 
 Customer 
 
 251 
 
 I 
 
 I I/l6 
 
 6.6 
 
 
 252 
 
 I 
 
 11/16 
 
 4.2 
 
 . . 
 
 253 
 
 .1 J 
 
 11/16 
 
 4.2 
 
 
 254 
 
 
 1 5 9/*6 
 
 
 2.7 
 
 255 
 
 . . 
 
 15 13/16 
 
 
 I.I 
 
 2 5 6 
 
 
 15 13/16 
 
 
 I.I 
 
 257 
 
 . . 
 
 14 13/16 
 
 
 74 
 
 258 
 
 . . 
 
 15 14/16 
 
 . . 
 
 7 
 
 259 
 
 . 
 
 14 6/16 
 
 . . 
 
 IO.I 
 
 260 
 
 I 
 
 6/16 
 
 2-3 
 
 
 In Test 251, the lid, which was of the same size and 
 weight as the box was placed on the weight side of the 
 scales. In Test 252, the candy was weighed before it was 
 placed in the box. In Test 260, an ounce weight was placed 
 on the w r eight side of the scales to counterbalance the box. 
 The result in each case was over weight. In Test 253, the 
 candy was weighed in the box, but reweighing showed that 
 generous allowance had been made for the weight of the 
 box. In Test 256, the lid, which was about one-third the 
 size of the box, was placed on the weight pan, and a small 
 shortage was the result. In Tests 254, 257, and 259, the 
 candy was weighed in the box, with a resulting shortage in 
 each case. The candy in Tests 255 and 258 had been put 
 up and weighed before it was ordered. As might be ex- 
 pected, both were short in weight. 
 
 48 
 
E X H IBI T 6 
 
 Showing variation in weight of loaves of bread purchased from 
 ten bakeries at five cents per loaf. 
 
Dry Goods 
 
 Shortage in purchases of cloth is more likely to appear 
 in width than in length, and except as width is determined 
 by order x>f the dealer, this is a problem of manufacture 
 and not of sale at retail. Moreover, cloth is ordinarily cut 
 to a pattern which requires a certain length, and a shortage 
 is likely to be discovered. And women generally are better 
 judges of length than of volume or of weight. For these 
 reasons, the matter of shortage in linear measure is not so 
 troublesome as in capacity measure or in weight. In order 
 to learn what measure was given by dealers in dry goods, 
 tests were made of articles, in which the consideration of 
 width was necessarily not a factor. For this purpose rib- 
 bon, braid, and elastic were chosen for testing, and the re- 
 sults of the tests are given in Table 8 and Exhibits 8, 8A, 
 and 8B. 
 
 Table 8, Showing Result in 200 Five-yard Purchases of 
 
 Dry Goods 
 
 
 
 Purchases Remeasured Showed 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Commodity 
 
 Pur- 
 
 Correct Measure 
 
 Loss to Dealer 
 
 Loss to Customer 
 
 
 
 Number 
 
 P. Cent 
 
 Number 
 
 P. Cent 
 
 Number 
 
 P. Cent 
 
 Elastic 
 
 95 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 76 
 
 80 
 
 Ribbon 
 
 70 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 40 
 
 57 
 
 28 
 
 40 
 
 Braid 
 
 35 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 63 
 
 12 
 
 34 
 
 Total 
 
 200 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 80 
 
 40 
 
 116 
 
 58 
 
 Eighty per cent, of the purchases of elastic were short, 
 as were 40 per cent, of the purchases of ribbon. Only four 
 tests showed even measure. In Exhibit 8B, it appears that 
 about 5 per cent, of the purchases were over five inches in 
 excess of the length paid for; while 25 per cent, were over 
 five inches short. 
 
 The goods were measured by means of yard sticks, 
 tapes, and marks on the edge of counters. Counter-tacks 
 
 49 
 
were found to be in general use, but there were also notches 
 and line marks on counters, show cases, and window sills, 
 which were not readily distinguishable. One woman meas- 
 ured elastic by taking the distance from her nose to the 
 extent of her reach. When re-measured a five yard purchase 
 of elastic was found to be four yards and fourteen inches 
 long. 
 
 It was found that when both high priced and low 
 priced goods were purchased from the same store, the dif- 
 ference in price was not a factor in determining the meas- 
 ure. Almost without exception, the dealer who gave short 
 measure on expensive goods, did likewise on goods sold at 
 a few cents a yard. 
 
 Milk 
 
 An increasing amount of milk is being sold in bottles, 
 and there are thousands of milk bottles in use in Philadel- 
 phia; how many, it would be impossible to determine with 
 accuracy. There is no law in Pennsylvania governing the 
 size of milk bottles, but manufacturers in this state attempt 
 to conform to the requirements of the laws of Massachu- 
 setts and of New York, 1 which allow a capacity variation 
 of four drams either way on the quarts, and three drams 
 on the pint. The milk in the bottles should reach to the 
 cap or stopper. It would seem that when a bottle is not 
 filled properly, the customer can be safely left to protect 
 himself either by means of a remonstrance or by a change 
 of dealers. 
 
 There are three methods of making glass bottles: by 
 hand, by semi-automatic machines, and by automatic ma- 
 chines. The first method is now practically obsolete. By 
 means of the semi-automatic machines it is possible to make 
 bottles which will conform to the requirements of the 
 Massachusetts and New York laws. By means of the auto- 
 matic machines it is possible to make bottles with approxi- 
 mate accuracy or at most with a maximum variation of two 
 
 See page 73. 
 
 50 
 
EXHIBIT 7 
 
 Showing excess and short weight in ten one-pound purchases of 
 candy in Chestnut Street stores. 
 
 I! U I V . l- 
 L' /, Li l : U K I /; 
 
drams. Even with this small shortage, in the thirty-two 
 times which the average bottle is used, the shortage on the 
 milk would represent half the cost of the bottle. But this 
 is a smaU amount, for the cost of a quart bottle is four 
 cents, and of a pint bottle, three and a half cents. 
 
 To require the degree of accuracy possible from the 
 use of the automatic bottle machine, however, would result 
 in putting those manufacturers who have the right to use 
 them in full control of the local milk bottle trade. It is for 
 this reason that Massachusetts and New York have adopted 
 their present requirements, and Pennsylvania cannot do 
 better than follow their example. When bottles are short 
 of those requirements it is because they have been ordered 
 short; and this is a practice which is not uncommon. 
 
 It is generally agreed among milk dealers that there 
 are many short bottles in use in Philadelphia, and while 
 many of the dealers are making an honest effort to discard 
 them, progress is slow because some bottles are kept by 
 customers and returned to service only after a long period 
 of time. At the worst, conditions are better now than when 
 handblown bottles were in common use. 
 
 It is obvious that any test of less than several thousand 
 bottles in use throughout the city would be inconclusive, 
 and it is equally obvious that this would be impracticable in 
 an investigation of this nature. What was done was to as- 
 certain what are the important factors in the problem, and 
 this information is here presented. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 The present investigation might have been extended 
 indefinitely to other lines of trade. There is available suffi- 
 cient evidence of a general nature which would lead to the 
 belief that tests of hay, grain, and mill feed as delivered in 
 Philadelphia would produce quite as interesting results as 
 were obtained in the coal tests. The accuracy of measures 
 and measuring pumps used in the sale of gasoline and other 
 liquid commodities in general use might also be subject to 
 
 51 
 
test. Enough evidence of a specific nature has been pre- 
 sented to warrant the contention that what is needed in 
 Philadelphia is a bureau of weights and measures, with an 
 efficient body of inspectors and ample authority in legisla- 
 tion. The activity of such a bureau would not be confined 
 to the subjects considered in this chapter, but it would ex- 
 tend to all transactions in which commodities are bought or 
 sold by weight or measure, and to all cases in which com- 
 pensation of employees is determined by means of weigh- 
 ing or measuring apparatus. It could be made as effective 
 as the honest men and women of the community desire ; for 
 violations not detected by the inspectors must be brought to 
 their attention by the householder. As a fitting conclusion, 
 the final paragraphs of the government inspectors' report 
 are appended : 
 
 Honest merchants throughout the city realize the importance 
 of an inspection and, lacking an official sealer, are driven to ob- 
 tain help in various other ways. Thus the "chain-stores" estab- 
 lish a private inspection; a large milk firm has measures and 
 graduates sealed by the city sealer of Trenton, N. J., and with 
 these they test new bottles and accept or reject them as they are 
 found accurate or inaccurate; and this firm also tests bottles and 
 measures for others upon request. The Camden, N. J. sealer is 
 frequently called in to settle disputes with tests by his standards 
 throughout the city. And he does this without charge as an 
 accommodation, although his time is fully filled by the needs of 
 the people of his own city, by whom his salary is paid. 
 
 A very great percentage of apparent fraud permeates the 
 business of the city. Large amounts are being lost by the con- 
 sumer through the ignorance of the merchant regarding the accu- 
 racy of his apparatus. The total loss resulting from these causes 
 of short weight and measure means a very large loss to the 
 buying public of the city; and this loss will undoubtedly continue 
 unabated until some rigid inspection service is established capable 
 of wiping out intentional and unintentional fraud alike. 
 
5HCTRT 
 
 tt VI 30 ft*- 
 
 40% 
 
 EXHIBIT 8 
 
 Showing excess, correct, and short measure in 200 five-yard pur- 
 chases of dry goods. 
 
f i 
 
IV 
 
 A SUGGESTED REMEDY IN LEGISLATION 
 
 Undoubtedly something could be done toward improv- 
 ing the weights and measures situation in Philadelphia if 
 the Mayor, through the department of public safety, should 
 decide to act under his police authority (Appendix A, 
 27-8.) A special commission of detectives from the 
 bureau of police might be assigned to the duty of discover- 
 ing violations of the laws and ordinances, and bringing 
 offenders before the courts (Appendix A, 30-1.) THE 
 BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH stands ready 
 to turn over the specific detail of the tests summarized in 
 the foregoing chapter, with names of dealers and full par- 
 ticulars, to aid in such a movement; but this material can- 
 not be made available except to the Mayor or other legally 
 constituted authority. It is seriously questioned, however, 
 whether much lasting good would come of such a move- 
 ment. Furthermore, it is submitted that after having so 
 long neglected to assert themselves in the matter of short 
 weights and measures, the people of Philadelphia and of 
 Pennsylvania are themselves responsible for the existence 
 of the practices of which they are the victims. It is true 
 that the bureau of city property could and should assert 
 itself to establish a better condition of affairs in the city 
 markets (Appendix A, 30, 32-4.), but of thirty or more 
 public markets, the city owns but two. At best such action 
 would solve only a small part of the problem of protecting 
 purchasers from the dealers and the dealers from unfair 
 competitors. The evil is too deeply rooted and too wide- 
 spread for half-way measures. What is wanted is a law 
 or series of laws dealing with the subject of weights and 
 measures in a comprehensive way. The statutory provi- 
 sions could be elaborated by councils to fit local needs, and 
 the situation would then be specifically within the jurisdic- 
 tion of the mayor and the administrative officials who would 
 
 53 
 
be appointed to deal with it. In default of state action, the 
 city should proceed at once to establish a bureau of weights 
 and measures. 1 
 
 It is necessary, therefore, to consider carefully and in 
 some detail what legislation is necessary or desirable. There 
 are already many good laws on the subject which need not 
 be changed; there are others which must be amended to 
 make them conform to the needs of the situation; and there 
 are still others which should be repealed wholly or in part. 
 
 Experience has demonstrated that when legislation on 
 a broad general subject is desired, expediency demands that 
 this be attempted through a series of consistent bills, each 
 designed to deal with one specific part of the problem. 
 Only in this manner can the essential requirements be con- 
 sidered apart from those provisions which are merely de- 
 sirable; only in this manner is it possible to insure against 
 the failure of an entire program of legislation because of 
 opposition to particular sections. 
 
 The subject of weights and measures legislation natu- 
 rally falls under five main divisions; (i) standards and 
 denominations, (2) the manner of sale of various com- 
 modities or classes of commodities, (3) the penalty for acts 
 intended to defraud purchasers, whether through shortage, 
 substitution, or misrepresentation, (4) the manner of in- 
 spection by administrative officials, and (5) the marking of 
 the net contents of containers in terms of weight, measure, 
 or numerical count. This, then, is the legislative program 
 that is proposed; it calls for five separate bills which shall 
 cover the whole subject, but in such a way as to make it 
 possible to consider them with due regard to their relative 
 importance. The suggestions which are here advanced, are 
 offered with due recognition of the fact that the subject is 
 one of extremely wide ramifications, affecting many varie- 
 ties of business. They are frankly tentative ; but considered 
 with due reference to the materials which have been already 
 presented in this report and to the digest which constitutes 
 
 1 See pege 19. 
 
 54 
 
5MOR-y 
 
 Of 
 
 EXHIBIT 8a 
 
 Showing excess, correct, and short measure in 200 pur 
 chases of elastic, ribbon, and braid. 
 
Appendix A, they will contribute to an intelligent and com- 
 prehensive discussion of the subject. 
 
 It must be recognized in the discussion which follows 
 that the subject of legislation is considered primarily from 
 the standpoint of Philadelphia. There are some special 
 laws, enacted before the adoption of the present constitu- 
 tion, which relate to other cities and counties, and these are 
 not within the scope of the present inquiry. Neither are 
 the more recent general laws which do not affect Philadel- 
 phia as the only city of the first class. On the other hand, 
 there are many laws applicable to Philadelphia but to no 
 other municipality. This should be kept clearly in mind by 
 those who desire a set of uniform weights and measures 
 laws for all the local governmental units in the state. In 
 most instances the titles of the various acts will show the 
 extent of their application, and when they do not, the de- 
 sired information may be obtained through an examination 
 of the text of the laws themselves as presented in Appendix 
 A. After an examination of the existing law, one cannot 
 but be surprised that there are already so many excellent 
 statutes and ordinances which need to be changed but little 
 or not at all, and that there are so many provisions which 
 are unquestionably obsolete. With some amendments, a 
 few new provisions of statewide application, and an agency 
 for administering the law, a good start may be made in a 
 movement which must result in putting business throughout 
 the state upon a higher plane of fairness and honesty. 
 
 Standards and Denominations 
 
 The act of April 15, 1834, entitled "An act to fix the 
 standards and denominations of measures and weights in 
 the commonwealth of Pennsylvania" is in many particulars 
 operative to-day. In conformity with its provisions, the 
 state obtained in three installments, in 1842, 1850, and 1876, 
 the set of standards and balances which it lost in 1897, as 
 has been already stated in the Introduction. Sections 4, 5, 
 6, 7, 8, 9, and n (Appendix A, 10-15, 17.) direct the 
 
 55 
 
governor to procure certain standards. They are temporary 
 in their nature, obsolete in some particulars, 1 and necessarily 
 ineffective in view of the loss of the standards to which 
 they relate. Section 10 (Appendix A, 24.) directs county 
 commissioners to maintain the accuracy of county standards 
 by comparison with the state standards. The matter of 
 verification of local standards is important, but it is not 
 within the scope of the bill under discussion, which is con- 
 cerned only with standards and denominations. Section 23 
 of the act of April 14, 1838, entitled "An act to authorize 
 the auditor-general to institute suit for the collection of any 
 balance which may be found due from Lawrence L. Minor, 
 late clerk of the senate, and for other purposes" (Appendix 
 A, 1 6.), is a supplement to these provisions, and like them 
 it is temporary and obsolete. Similarly, section 2 of the act 
 of April 15, 1845, entitled "An act authorizing the secre- 
 tary of the commonwealth to distribute copies of the stand- 
 ard of weights and measures, and for the appointment of 
 sealers" (Appendix A, 18, 21.). is obsolete. There seems 
 no good reason why the foregoing sections should not be 
 amended or specifically repealed. 
 
 Sections i, 2, and 3, of the act of April 15, 1834, fix 
 the legal standards of linear, liquid, and dry measure, and 
 of weights both avoirdupois and troy. The corresponding 
 standards in the metric system have been already fixed by 
 action of congress, which makes unnecessary further state 
 action in the matter. Section i of the act in question ( Ap- 
 pendix A, i.) is obsolete in part; sections 2 and 3 require 
 no change. Sections 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17 (Appendix 
 A, 4, 6, 8-9.), fixing the denominations of the standards, 
 need not be changed. The proviso of section 15 (Appendix 
 A, 7.), which defines the specifications of dry measures, is 
 not consistent with the specifications approved by the 
 national bureau of standards. Furthermore, the matter of 
 
 1 The matter of obsolescence is here partly technical and partly legal. The 
 technical changes in the standards are set forth by Mr. Louis A. Fischer, Chief 
 of the division of weights and measures of the national bureau of standards, 
 in a paper on the "History of United States Weights and Measures." published 
 in the Proceedings of the First Conference on the Weights and Measures of 
 the United States, 1905. Washington, 1907: 6-24. 
 
 56 
 
PUB 'aansuaui 
 
 spooS Xap jo S9setp.md 002 ui 
 'ssaoxa jo uoi;nqu;sip SUI 
 
 qg 
 
specifications is not within the scope of the proposed bill, 
 which, as has been already said, is concerned only with 
 standards and denominations. The results of the forego- 
 ing discussion, which is necessarily technical and complex, 
 may be set forth in the form of concrete suggestions. 
 Act of April 15, 1834 to be changed as follows : 
 
 Section i. (Appendix A, i.) To read as follows: 
 
 "The standard unit of all measures of length, shall be 
 the 'yard/ and one-third of said yard shall be one foot, and 
 one-twelfth of said foot shall be one inch." 
 
 Sections 2 and 3. (Appendix A, 2-3.) No change. 
 
 Section 4. (Appendix A, 10.) To read as follows: 
 
 "It shall be the duty of the governor of this common- 
 wealth 1 to procure, within [Insert a definite interval of 
 time] from the passage of this act, standard weights, meas- 
 ures, and apparatus, to replace the set which was furnished 
 to this commonwealth by the government of the United 
 States, in accordance with a joint resolution of congress, 
 approved June fourteenth, one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-six; Provided, however, That all such weights, meas- 
 ures, balances, and apparatus shall be verified by the national 
 bureau of standards." 
 
 Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and n. (Appendix A, 
 11-15, I 7-) To be repealed. 
 
 Sections 12, 13, and 14. (Appendix A, 4-6.) No 
 change. 
 
 Section 15. (Appendix A, 7.) To be repealed as to 
 proviso only. 
 
 Sections 16 and 17. (Appendix A, 8-9.) No 
 change. 
 
 Act of April 14, 1838, section 23. (Appendix A, 16.) 
 
 To be repealed. 
 Act of April 15, 1845, sections 2 and 3. (Appendix A, 
 
 18, 21-3, 25.) To be repealed. 
 
 1 Or secretary of internal affairs. 
 
 57 
 
The Manner of Sale of Various Commodities or Classes 
 of Commodities 
 
 In common with the other states, Pennsylvania has a 
 body of law prescribing the manner in which various com- 
 modities, or classes of commodities, shall be sold. Phila- 
 delphia also has a number of ordinances of the same nature. 
 Many of these provisions relate to the subject of dry meas- 
 ure, which obviously is at best but a rough and approximate 
 standard, because of the varying size and density of differ- 
 ent dry commodities as well as of the same dry commodity 
 in different instances and at different seasons. To meet this 
 difficulty, various laws and ordinances have been adopted 
 to regulate for specific commodities, the number of pounds 
 or the number of cubic inches which shall constitute a 
 bushel. There are, therefore, in Pennsylvania and else- 
 where, certain weights and units of volume which are 
 "bushels" only in name; and, moreover, there is consider- 
 able variation among the different states as to the require- 
 ments for the same commodity. The Pennsylvania laws of 
 this nature relate to charcoal (Appendix A, 37.), clover 
 seed (Appendix A, 40.), anthracite coal (Appendix A, 
 41-2.), bituminous coal (Appendix A, 47-9.), coke 
 (Appendix A, 50.), potatoes (Appendix A, 53.), onions 
 (Appendix A, 54.), grain, specifically, barley, buckwheat, 
 corn, oats, rye, and wheat (Appendix A, 55-7.). an( J 
 foreign salt (Appendix A, 68.). 
 
 Under such laws it is possible for dealers to sell vege- 
 tables by weight at the season when they are green and 
 heavy, and by measure when they have dried out; or to 
 buy by weight at wholesale, and to sell a less quantity by 
 measure at retail. Such practices have the sanction of 
 custom, and although the statutory provision specifying the 
 number of pounds or cubic 'inches to the bushel would 
 undoubtedly be accepted as governing by a court, it would 
 be almost impossible for a purchaser to produce evidence of 
 intention to defraud so long as the dealer used accurate 
 
 58 
 
dry measures. His only chance to recover the amount of the 
 shortage would seem to be either to prove that he was not 
 present when the measuring was done, or to produce evi- 
 dence thaj: although the dealer used accurate dry measures, 
 he neglected to fill them properly. 
 
 In view of the fact that there is a growing tendency, 
 particularly throughout the West, toward the sale of all 
 dry commodities, and in some instances liquid commodi- 
 ties as well, by weight rather than by measure, there would 
 seem to be little need for additional legislation prescribing 
 for specific commodities the minimum weight or volume of 
 a bushel, except to provide that in all cases in which existing 
 laws require a specific number of pounds or cubic inches to 
 constitute a legal "bushel," for a fractional part of a bushel 
 a like fractional part of the prescribed weights or volumes 
 shall be required. It might be well, however, to enact a 
 law defining a legal barrel, for there is wide variation in 
 the size and capacity of barrels, and no control over the 
 manner of their use, except in the case of salt (Appendix A, 
 67.) Better still would be a law requiring the sale of all 
 commodities by either weight, standard measure, or numeri- 
 cal count, which would make the size of the barrel, bag, or 
 other container a matter of no importance to the purchaser. 
 
 It would be well, also, to amend section 2 of the act 
 of March 10, 1817, entitled "An act for the better regula- 
 tion of cord wood and bark exposed to sale within the city 
 and county of Philadelphia" (Appendix A, 70, 117.), so 
 as to prescribe the minimum volume of a cord of wood 
 when sawed and split, and possibly the number and size of 
 barrels necessary to contain a cord. 
 
 Philadelphia has an ordinance which in some particu- 
 lars might serve as a model for the state at large. This is 
 the ordinance of November 17, 1857, entitled "An ordi- 
 nance to regulate the sale of fruits and vegetables" (Ap- 
 pendix A, 52.), which requires the sale of fruits and vege- 
 tables by dry measure throughout the city. The manner of 
 using dry measures is a subject upon which legislation 
 
 59 
 
would seem desirable; particularly as to what commodities 
 shall be sold by dry measure. 
 
 Section 2 of the act of April i, 1797, entitled "An 
 act to regulate the manner of selling loaf-bread, and to 
 repeal certain existing laws respecting the same" (Appen- 
 dix A, 36, 119.) is excellent in its essential particular, 
 the requiring of the sale of bread by weight and not by the 
 loaf. Its purpose, however, would be more readily effected 
 if it were amended so as to require that every loaf should 
 bear a label or tag stating its weight, with a fair allowance 
 for shrinkage. The variation in the weights would then 
 be a matter of no concern to the purchaser. 
 
 There are two provisions still on the statute books 
 which would seem to be obsolete. They are, an act passed 
 in 1705, entitled "An act for selling beer and ale by wine- 
 measure" (Appendix A, 79.)* and section 10 of the act of 
 March 12, 1789, entitled "A supplement to an act entitled 
 'An act more effectually to prevent unfair practices in the 
 packing of beef and pork for exportation, and to regulate 
 the exportation of flaxseed, butter, and biscuit in kegs' ' 
 (Appendix A, 80.) So also, are: the act of May 27, 
 1871, entitled "An act to regulate the weight of anthracite 
 coal delivered by retail coal dealers in the city of Philadel- 
 phia" (Appendix A, 43, 81-5, 87-8, 91-3, 95-6, 98-100.), 
 and its supplement of April 3, 1872 (Appendix A, 86, 
 89-90, 94, 97, 101-2.); the act of September 22, 1785, 
 entitled "An act for regulating the measurement of corn and 
 salt imported into the port of Philadelphia" (Appendix A, 
 I O3-5. 112.); sections 4 and 5 of the act of June 16, 
 1836, entitled "An act supplementary to the various acts 
 relating to orphans' and registers courts, and executors and 
 administrators, and the act relating to the measurement of 
 grain, salt, and coal" (Appendix A, 106-7.); tne act f 
 April 12, 1867, entitled "A further supplement to 'An act 
 regulating the measurement of corn and salt imported into 
 the port of Philadelphia, approved the twenty-second day 
 of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
 
 60 
 
five'" (Appendix A, 108.) ; the act of March 27, 1821, 
 entitled "An act to regulate inspections" (Appendix A, 
 109, in.); section 19 of the act of April 12, 1842, 
 entitled "A supplement to an act, entitled 'An act author- 
 izing^the governor to incorporate the Tioga navigation com- 
 pany, passed the twenty-six day of. February, one thousand 
 eight hundred and twenty-six,' and for other purposes" 
 (Appendix A, 110.) ; sections 2 and 3 of the act of March 
 23, 1819, entitled "An act prescribing the form of the 
 bushel, to be used for measuring lime, in certain counties 
 therein mentioned" (Appendix A, 114-5.); section 9 of 
 the act of April 14, 1838, entitled "An act relating to the 
 commencement of actions, to appeals from county auditors, 
 and for other purposes" (Appendix A, 116.) ; and certain 
 provisions relating to corders of wood in sections 2 and 3 
 of the act of March 10, 1817, entitled "An act for the better 
 regulation of cord wood and bark exposed to sale within 
 the city and county of Philadelphia" (Appendix A, 
 117-8.) ; all these because of the constitutional provision 
 "That no state office shall be continued or created for the 
 inspection of any merchandise, manufacture, or commod- 
 ity" (Constitution, 1874, art. 3, 27.) 
 
 In summary form these suggestions may be set forth 
 as follows : 
 
 Act of March 10, 1817 to be changed as follows: 
 Section 2. (Appendix A, 117.) Strike out the 
 words "corders or", which are the thirteenth and fourteenth 
 words from the end of the section. Add to the section the 
 following: "Provided, however, That [Insert volume in 
 cubic feet; a figure between 141 and 148 is suggested.] 
 cubic feet of sawed and split wood, thrown loosely, shall 
 constitute a cord ; or when sawed and split wood is thrown 
 loosely into barrels, [Insert number of barrels] barrels of 
 a capacity of seven thousand and twenty-six (7026) cubic 
 inches, shall constitute a cord, and so in proportion for any 
 barrel of greater or less capacity." 
 
 61 
 
Section 3. (Appendix A, 118.) Strike out all ex- 
 cept "If any person shall, within the said limits, sell as a 
 cord of wood or bark, for fuel, any quantity less than the 
 standard measure prescribed by this act, he shall forfeit and 
 pay the sum of ten dollars." 
 
 Act of April i, 1797 to be changed as follows: 
 Section 2. (Appendix A, 36, 119.) After the words 
 "All loaf-bread made for sale, within this commonwealth 
 shall be sold by the pound avoirdupois/* add the words, 
 "And when offered or exposed for sale, each loaf shall bear 
 a label or tag setting forth in Arabic numerals of at least 
 one-half inch in height, the weight of the said loaf, when 
 thoroughly baked, in ounces: Provided, however, That a 
 reasonable variation from the weight as thus stated upon 
 the said label or tag shall be allowed." 
 
 Act of April 3, 1872 to be changed as follows: 
 Section 4. (Appendix A, 101.) Strike out the 
 words, "either of the inspectors or", which are the twenty- 
 third to the twenty-seventh words inclusive from the end 
 of the section. 
 
 Sections i, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. (Appendix A, 86, 
 89-90, 94, 97, 102.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of 1705. (Appendix A, 79.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of March 12, 1789, section 10. (Appendix A, 80.) 
 To be repealed. 
 
 Act of May 27, 1871. (Appendix A, 43, 81-5, 87-8, 
 9 J -3' 95-6. 98-100.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of September 22, 1785. (Appendix A, 103-5, 
 112.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of June 16, 1836, sections 4 and 5. (Appendix 
 A, 106-7.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of April 12, 1867. (Appendix A, 108.) To be 
 repealed. 
 
 Act of March 27, 1821. (Appendix A, 109, in.) 
 To be repealed. 
 
 62 
 
Act of April 12, 1842, section 19. (Appendix A, 
 110.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of March 23, 1819, sections 2 and 3. (Appendix 
 A, 114-5.) To be repealed. 
 
 Act of April 14, 1838, section 9. (Appendix A, 
 116.) To be repealed. 
 
 Additional legislation is suggested as follows : 
 
 An act prescribing that "in all cases in which existing 
 laws require, for any particular commodity or class of com- 
 modities, a specific number of pounds or cubic inches to con- 
 stitute a bushel, for a fractional part of a bushel, a like 
 fractional part of the prescribed weights or volumes shall 
 be required." 
 
 An act to require that "all commodities which shall be 
 sold or offered or exposed for sale within this common- 
 wealth, shall be so sold or offered or exposed for sale only 
 by weight, standard measures, or numerical count." 
 
 An act prescribing the commodities or classes of com- 
 modities which may not be sold by any other measure than 
 dry measure. The Philadelphia ordinance referred to above 
 reads in part as follows (Appendix A, 52.), with sug- 
 gested changes inserted in brackets : 
 
 It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to sell within 
 the limits of the [commonwealth] any potatoes, tomatoes, peaches, 
 pears, plums, apples, or other fruits, or vegetables, [or any berries] 
 requiring measurement, by any other measure than the bushel and 
 its divisions, . . . and for each and every sale hereafter made by 
 the basket, or by any other measure or measures than those herein 
 designated, the person or persons making the same shall forfeit 
 and pay the sum of five dollars. 
 
 An act prescribing that "all retail dealers of coal, 1 hay, 
 straw, grain, or mill feed shall give with each load a de- 
 livery ticket showing the name of the purchaser and seller, 
 the net weight of the commodity, and the number of bales, 
 or bags, if any, on the load; this ticket to be delivered by 
 
 1 See Appendix A, 101, as to provision applying to Philadelphia only. 
 
 63 
 
 29476 - r i 
 
the driver or person in charge of the wagon or other vehicle 
 to some person in charge at the place of delivery ; Or in case 
 no one is present to receive it, the bill shall be posted in a 
 conspicuous place at the place of delivery before any of the 
 load is removed from the wagon or other vehicle." 
 
 The New York law as to coal delivery tickets is as 
 follows : 
 
 It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation deliv- 
 ering coal in cities of the first or second class to deliver or cause 
 to be delivered any quantity or quantities of coal which shall have 
 been sold by weight, without each such delivery being accom- 
 panied by a delivery ticket, and a duplicate thereof, on each of 
 which shall be in ink, or other indelible substance, distinctly 
 expressed in pounds the quantity or quantities of coal contained 
 in the cart, wagon or other vehicle used in such delivery, with 
 the name of the purchaser thereof and the name of the dealer from 
 whom purchased. One of such tickets shall be delivered to the 
 purchaser of the coal specified thereon, and the other of such 
 tickets shall be retained by the seller of the coal. Any person, 
 firm or corporation who shall violate the provisions of this section 
 shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding fifty dollars. Consol. 
 Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 151. 
 
 The preceding section shall not apply to coal delivered by the 
 entire cargo direct from the vessel containing the same to one 
 destination and accepted by the purchaser on the original bill of 
 lading as proof of weight; but with every such delivery of an 
 entire cargo of coal in any city of the first or second cla-s. there 
 shall be delivered to the purchaser thereof one of the original bills 
 of lading, issued by the person, firm or corporation by whom the 
 coal was loaded into the vessel from which such coal is delivered 
 to the purchaser of the entire cargo thereof, on each of which 
 bills of lading there shall be in ink or other indelible substance 
 distinctly expressed the date and place of loading such cargo, and 
 the number of pounds contained therein. Any person, firm or 
 corporation who shall violate the provisions of this section shall 
 be liable to a penalty of not exceeding fifty dollars. Consol. Laws, 
 1909, c. 21, art. n, 152. 
 
 A person guilty of altering with intent to defraud, any original 
 bill of lading issyed by the person, firm or corporation by whom 
 the coal was loaded into the vessel in which such coal is trans- 
 ported to any city of the first or. second class, in this state, or of 
 uttering any such bill of lading so altered, or who is guilty of 
 
 6 4 
 
making, preparing or subscribing or uttering a false or fraudulent 
 manifest, invoice or bill of lading thereof, or removing any part 
 of such cargo of coal without having the amount thereof certified 
 to in writing on such original bill of lading, by the person, firm 
 or corporation receiving the coal so removed, and by the captain 
 of the vessel containing such cargo, is punishable by imprison- 
 ment in a state prison, not exceeding three years, or by a fine not 
 exceeding one thousand dollars, or both, and the delivery of any 
 fraudulent bill of lading to any purchaser of coal shall be pre- 
 sumptive evidence of uttering the same with criminal intent. 
 Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 161. 
 
 The Massachusetts law provides as follows : 
 
 Whoever sells coke or coal by weight shall without cost to 
 the purchaser cause the goods to be weighed by a sworn weigher 
 of the city or town in which they are weighed, and shall cause a 
 certificate stating the name and place of business of the seller, and 
 either the identifying number, of which a permanent record shall 
 be kept, or the name of the person taking charge of the goods 
 after the weighing, as given to the weigher on his request, and 
 the quantity of the goods, to be signed by the weigher. Such cer- 
 tificate shall be given to said person and shall by him be given 
 only to the owner of the goods or his agent when he unloads the 
 same ; and every such person, owner or agent shall on request 
 and without charge therefor, permit any sealer of weights and 
 measures of any city or town to examine the certificate and to 
 make a copy thereof. Rev. Laws, 1902-8, c. 57, 88. 
 
 The Penalty for Acts Intended to Defraud Purchasers, 
 Whether Through Shortage, Substitution, or Misrepre- 
 sentation 
 
 We have already the act of June 5, 1883, entitled "An 
 act declaring it to be a misdemeanor to use and sell by false 
 beams, scales, weights and measures, and prescribing pun- 
 ishment therefor" (Appendix A, 35. ), which is broad and 
 comprehensive in its terms. There are also many penal 
 clauses in the laws governing the manner of sale of specific 
 commodities or classes of commodities, but with more or 
 less archaic methods prescribed for the collection and dis- 
 position of fines. It is possible and desirable to supplement 
 
 65 
 
these provisions along the line followed in the New York 
 law. The following sections are offered as suggestions : 
 
 Keeping false weights and measures. 
 
 A person who retains in his possession any weight or meas- 
 ure, knowing it to be false, unless it appears beyond a reasonable 
 doubt that it was so retained without intent to use it, or permit 
 it to be used in violation of the last section, is guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 40, art 216, 2412. 
 
 False weights and measures authorized to be seized. 
 
 A person who is authorized or enjoined by law to arrest 
 another person for a violation of the last two sections, is equally 
 authorized and enjoined to seize any false weights or measures 
 found in the possession of the person so arrested, and to deliver 
 the same to the magistrate before whom the person so arrested 
 is required to be taken. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 40, art. 216, 
 
 2413- 
 
 Weights and measures may be tested by committing magis- 
 trate and destroyed or delivered to district attorney. 
 
 The magistrate to whom any weight or measure is delivered 
 pursuant to the last section, must upon the examination of the 
 defendant, or if the examination is delayed or prevented without 
 awaiting such examination, cause the same to be tested by com- 
 parison with standards conformable to law; and if he finds it to 
 be false, he must cause it to be destroyed, or to be delivered to 
 the district attorney of the county in which the defendant is liable 
 to indictment or trial, as the interests of justice in his judgment 
 require. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 40, art. 216, 2414. 
 
 False weights and measures to be destroyed after com irtinn 
 of offender. 
 
 Upon the conviction of the defendant, the district attorney 
 must cause any weight or measure in respect whereof the defend- 
 ant stands convicted, and which remains in the possession or under 
 the control of the district attorney, to be destroyed. Consol. 
 Laws, 1909, c. 40, art. 216, 2415. 
 
 Concealing foreign matter in merchandise. 
 
 A person who, with intent to defraud, while putting up in a 
 
 barrel, bag, bale, box, or other package, any article of 
 
 merchandise whatever, usually sold by weight in such packages, 
 places or conceals therein any other substance or thing whatever, 
 in a case where special provision for the punishment thereof is 
 not otherwise made by statute, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Consol. 
 Laws, 1909, c. 40, art. 40, 434. 
 
 False labels. 
 
 66 
 
A person who, with intent to defraud: i. Puts upon an article 
 of merchandise, or upon a cask, bottle, stopper, vessel, case, cover, 
 wrapper, package, band, ticket, label, or other thing, containing 
 or covering such an article, or with which such an article is 
 intended to be sold, or is sold, any false description or other 
 indication of or respecting the kind, number, quantity, weight or 
 measure of such article, or any part thereof, or the place or coun- 
 try where it was manufactured or produced or the quality or grade 
 of any such article, if the quality or grade thereof is required by 
 law to be marked, branded or otherwise indicated on or with such 
 article ; or, 
 
 2. Sells or offers for sale an article, which to his knowledge 
 is falsely described or indicated upon any such package, or vessel 
 containing the same, or labeled thereupon, in any of the particulars 
 specified ; or, 
 
 3. Sells or exposes for sale .any goods in bulk to which no 
 name or trade-mark shall be attached, and orally or otherwise 
 represents that such goods are the manufacture or production of 
 some other than the actual manufacturer or producer, in TI case 
 where the punishment for such offence is not specially provided 
 for otherwise by statute, 
 
 Is guilty of a misdemeanor. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 40, art. 
 40, 435- 
 
 These suggestions, it will be noticed, do not cover cases 
 in which a person with intent to defraud knowingly substi- 
 tutes wholly or in part for any article, merchandise, com- 
 modity, or thing, any matter or substance, whether of sim- 
 ilar or of unlike nature, which is of lower quality or of 
 lower price than the article, merchandise, commodity, or 
 thing, which it is represented to be. Such a provision 
 would effectually prevent the mixing of pea coal with nut 
 coal and selling the product as nut coal, the watering of 
 hay or coal, and other similar practices more or less sanc- 
 tioned by custom. 
 
 The Manner of Inspection by Administrative Officials 
 
 At the third annual conference on the weights and 
 measures of the United States, a set of model national and 
 state laws on the subject was adopted, in order that uni- 
 
formity of kgislation might be promoted. They are given 
 in full in Appendix B. 1 
 
 We need concern ourselves only with that part of the 
 document which begins with section 8. 
 
 Section 8 does not fit Pennsylvania conditions, as the 
 standard set of weights and measures furnished by the 
 United States is no longer in existence. As a substitute, 
 the following is suggested, changes being indicated in 
 brackets : 
 
 "The weights, measures, and balances [procured to re- 
 place the set which was] received from the United States 
 under a resolution of congress, approved June 14, 1836, 
 [and verified by the national bureau of standards,] and such 
 new weights, measures, and balances as shall be received 
 from the United States as standard weights, measures, and 
 balances in addition thereto or in renewal thereof, shall be 
 the authorized standards by which all county and municipal 
 standards of weights and measures shall be tried, proved, 
 and sealed." 
 
 In connection with section 9, it will be helpful to con- 
 sider the cost of the state departments in New York and 
 Massachusetts. The expenditures of Massachusetts on this 
 account amounted to $13,345.60 for the year ended Nov. 
 30, 1909; the corresponding figure for New York was $10,- 
 905.60, for the year ended Sept. 30, 1909. Massachusetts 
 then had one commissioner at $2000, four inspectors at 
 $1200, one clerk at $900, and one clerk at $613.87. New 
 York had one superintendent at $2OOO, 2 one inspector at 
 $1200, three inspectors at $1100, and one clerk at $720. 
 The superintendent of weights and measures of the District 
 of Columbia receives a salary of $2500. 
 
 The subject matter of sections 10, n, and 13, would 
 seem to be covered more comprehensively in the following 
 extracts; the first is from the New York law, the second 
 from the bill to be considered by the Wisconsin legislature 
 at the present session : 
 
 1 See also the more recent recommendations in Appendix C. 
 
 2 Since increased to $3500. There are now six inspectors. 
 
 68 
 
The state superintendent of weights and measures shall take 
 charge of the standards adopted by this article as the standards of 
 the state; cause them to be kept in a fireproof building belonging 
 to the state, from which they shall not be removed, except for 
 repairs or for certification, and take all other necessary precautions 
 for their safe-keeping. He shall maintain the state standards in 
 good order and shall submit them once in ten years to the national 
 bureau of standards for certification. He shall correct the stand- 
 ards of the several cities and counties and, as often as once in 
 five years, compare the same with those in his possession, and 
 where not otherwise provided by law he shall have a general super- 
 vision of the weights, measures and measuring and weighing 
 devices of the state, and in use in the state. He shall upon the 
 written request of any citizen, firm, corporation or educational 
 institution of the state, test or calibrate weights, measures, weigh- 
 ing or measuring devices and instruments or apparatus used as 
 standards in the state. He, or his deputies or inspectors by his 
 direction, shall at least once annually test all scales, weights and 
 measures used in checking the receipt or disbursement of supplies 
 in every institution under the jurisdiction of the fiscal supervisor 
 of state charities and he shall report in writing his findings to 
 said fiscal supervisor and to the executive officer of the institu- 
 tion concerned; and at the request of said officers the superin- 
 tendent of weights and measures shall appoint in writing one or 
 more employees, then in actual service, of each institution, who 
 shall act as special deputies for the purpose of checking the 
 receipt or disbursement of supplies. He shall keep a complete 
 record of the standards, balances and other apparatus belonging 
 to the state, and take receipt for the same from his successor in 
 office. He shall annually during the first two weeks of January 
 make to the legislature a report of the work done by his office. 
 The state superintendent, or his deputies or inspectors by his 
 direction, shall inspect all standards used by the counties or cities 
 at least once in two years and shall keep a record of the 'same. 
 He, or his deputies or inspectors at his direction, shall at least 
 once in two years visit the various cities and counties of the state 
 in order to inspect the work of the local sealers and in the per- 
 formance of such duties he may inspect the weights, measures, 
 balances or any other weighing or measuring appliances of any 
 person, firm or corporation. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 20, art. 2, 11, 
 as amended L. 1910, c. 187, i. 
 
 The state shall have a complete set of copies of the original 
 standards of weights and measures adopted by this article, which 
 
shall be used for adjusting county standards, and the original 
 standards shall not be used except for the adjustment of this set 
 of copies and for scientific purposes. 
 
 The state superintendent of weights and measures shall see 
 that the foregoing provisions of this section are complied with and 
 procure such apparatus and fixtures, if the same have not already 
 been procured, as are necessary in the comparison and adjustment 
 of the county standards. 
 
 He shall cause all the city and county standards to be im- 
 pressed with the emblem of the United States* the letters "N. Y.," 
 and such other devices as he shall direct for the particular county. 
 Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 20, art. 2, 12. 
 
 He shall take charge of the standards adopted by this article 
 as the standards of the state; cause them to be kept in a fireproof 
 building belonging to the state, from which they shall not be re- 
 moved except for repairs or for certification, and take all other 
 necessary precautions for their safe-keeping. He shall maintain 
 the state standards in good order and shall submit them once in 
 ten years to the National Bureau of Standards for certification. 
 He shall keep a seal which shall be so formed as to impress the 
 letters "Wis" upon the weights and measures, scales and beams, 
 sealed by him, and he shall correct the standards of the several 
 cities and counties, and, as often as once in five years, compare 
 the same with those in his possession and shall seal the same when 
 tried and proved to be in conformity with the state standard 
 weights and measures, scales and beams, aforesaid. He shall 
 have and keep a general supervision of the weights and measures 
 and the weighing and measuring devices of the state, and in use 
 in the state. He shall upon the written request of any citizen, 
 firm, or corporation or educational institution of the state, test or 
 calibrate weights, measures, weighing or measuring devices and 
 instruments or apparatus used as standards in the state. He, or 
 his deputy or inspectors by his direction, shall at least once annu- 
 ally test all scales, weights and measures used in checking the 
 receipt or disbursement of supplies in every institution under the 
 jurisdiction of the State Board of Control. And he shall report 
 in writing his findings to such Board of Control and to the execu- 
 tive officer of the institution concerned, and at the request of such 
 officer, the superintendent of weights and measures shall appoint 
 in writing one or more employees, then in the actual service of 
 such institution, who shall act as special deputies for the purpose 
 of checking the receipt and disbursement of supplies. 
 
He shall keep a complete record of the standards, balances 
 and other apparatus belonging to the state and take receipt for 
 same from his successor in office. He shall annually during the 
 second week in January make to the governor a report of the 
 work done- by his office. The state superintendent or his deputy 
 or inspectors, by his direction, shall inspect all the standards used 
 by the counties or cities at least once in each two years and shall 
 keep a record of the same. He, or his deputy or inspectors by his 
 direction, shall at least once in each two years visit the various 
 cities and counties of the state in order to inspect the work of the 
 local sealers ; and in the performance of such duties, he may 
 inspect the weights, measures, balances or any weighing or meas- 
 uring appliances of any person, firm, or corporation and shall have 
 the same powers as the local sealer of weights and measures. The 
 superintendent of weights and measures shall issue, from time to 
 time, regulations for the guidance of county and city sealers and 
 the said regulations shall govern the procedure to be followed by 
 the aforesaid officers in the discharge of their duties. 1659. 
 
 Sections 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20 may be considered to 
 advantage in connection with the following section from 
 the Wisconsin bill, which is better than the New York law 
 (Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 20, art. 2, 13, as amended L. 1910, 
 c. 187, i.) from which most of its provisions have been 
 derived : 
 
 Where not otherwise provided by law, the county sealer shall 
 have the power within his county- to inspect, test, try and ascer- 
 tain if they are correct, all weights, scales, beams, measures of 
 every kind, instruments or mechanical devices for measurement 
 and tools, appliances or accessories connected with any or all such 
 instruments or measurements, used or employed within the county 
 by any proprietor, agent, lessee or employee, in determining the 
 size, quantity, extent, area or measurement of quantities, things, 
 produce, articles for distribution or consumption offered or sub- 
 mitted by such person or persons for sale, for hire or award. 
 
 He shall at least twice in each year and as much oftener as 
 he may deem necessary, see that all weights, measures and weigh- 
 ing and measuring apparatus used in the county are correct. He 
 may for the purpose above mentioned, and in the general per- 
 formance of his official duties, enter or go into or upon and with- 
 out formal warrant, any stand, place, building or premises or may 
 
 71 
 
stop any vender, peddler, junk dealer, coal wagon, ice wagon or 
 any dealer whatsoever, for the purpose of making the proper tests. 
 Whenever the county sealer finds a violation of the statutes 
 relating to weights and measures he shall cause the violator to 
 be prosecuted. Whenever the sealer compares weights and meas- 
 ures and finds that they correspond or causes them to correspond 
 with the standards in his possession he shall seal or mark the 
 same with appropriate devices to be approved by the state super- 
 intendent of weights and measures. The sealer shall condemn 
 and seize and may destroy incorrect weights and measures and 
 weighing or measuring instruments which cannot be repaired; 
 and such as are incorrect and yet may be repaired he shall mark 
 or tag as "condemned for repairs" in a manner prescribed by the 
 state superintendent of weights and measures. The county sealer 
 shall keep a complete record of the work done by him and shall 
 make an annual report to his board of supervisors, and an annual 
 report, duly sworn to, not later than the first of December to the 
 state superintendent of weights and measures. The county sealer 
 of weights and measures shall forthwith on his appointment give 
 a bond, with sureties to be approved by the appointing power, for 
 the faithful performance of the duties of his office and for the 
 safety of the local standards and appliances for verification as 
 are committed to his charge and for the surrender thereof imnn-di- 
 ately to his successor in office or to the person appointed by the 
 
 proper authority to receive them. 1661. 
 
 
 
 The following sections are also worthy of attention; 
 the first is from the New York law, and the second from 
 the Kansas law-: 
 
 There shall be a city sealer of weights and measures to be 
 appointed by the mayor with the approval of the common council 
 of each city. He shall be paid a salary to be fixed and determined 
 by the board or body authorized to determine salaries of city offi- 
 cials, and no fees shall be charged or received by him or by the 
 city for the inspection or testing of weights, measures or weigh- 
 ing or measuring devices. He shall perform in his city the duties 
 of and have like powers as a county sealer in a county. This sec- 
 tion shall not apply to the city of New York. Consol. Laws, 1909, 
 c. 20, art. 2, 14, as amended L. 1910, c. 187, i. 
 
 Any city or municipality in the state may 1 establish a depart- 
 ment of public inspection of weights and measures, and shall have 
 
 1 Better "shall." 
 
 72 
 
power to appoint a sealer and deputies and fix their compensa- 
 tion, and to pass such ordinances not in conflict with the state 
 laws as may be deemed necessary; and if a city or municipality 
 shall establish such a department it shall provide the sealer with 
 suitable quarters, a set of standards as hereinbefore specified in 
 this act,* and all other equipment for the proper performance of 
 his duties. All city and municipal standards shall be tried, proved 
 and sealed under the direction of the state sealer, and shall be 
 returned to him for verification at least once in every five years. 
 Gen. Statutes, 1909, c. 125, 9765. 
 
 Section 27 might be made more explicit by the addition 
 of a provision that the state commissioner of weights and 
 measures shall have authority to prescribe the specifications 
 for all weights, measures, balances, and measuring devices 
 which may be used within the state, provided those speci- 
 fications be first approved by the national bureau of 
 standards. 
 
 It is submitted that the local sealing of milk bottles as 
 provided by section 33 is unnecessary. The law need only 
 declare that milk bottles are measures, and so subject to 
 inspection and regulation; and that they need be sealed 
 once and no more. 
 
 Massachusetts (L. 1909, c. 531.) and New York re- 
 quire that all milk bottles used in the state shall bear a 
 symbol which shall identify the manufacturer of milk 
 bottles. The New York requirement is as follows: 
 
 Bottles used for the sale of milk and cream shall be of the 
 capacity of half gallon, three pints, one quart, one pint, half pint 
 and one gill, filled full to the bottom of the cap ring or stopple. 
 The following variations on individual bottles or jars may be 
 allowed: six drams above and six drams below on the half gal- 
 lon; five drams above and five drams below on the three pint; 
 four drams above and four drams below on the quart ; three drams 
 above and three drams below on the pint; two drams above and 
 two drams below on the half pint, and two drams above and two 
 drams below on the gill. Bottles or jars used for the sale of milk 
 shall have clearly blown, or otherwise permanently marked, in 
 the sides or bottom of the bottle the name, initials or trademark 
 of the manufacturer and a designating number, which designating 
 
 73 
 
number shall be different for each manufacturer and may be used 
 in identifying the bottles. The designating number shall be fur- 
 nished by the state superintendent of weights and measures upon 
 application by the manufacturer, and a record of the designating 
 numbers and to whom furnished shall be kept in the office of the 
 superintendent of weights and measures. 
 
 Any manufacturers who sell milk and cream bottles to be used 
 in this state that do not comply as to size and marking with the 
 provisions of section five-a shall suffer a penalty of five hundred 
 dollars, to be recovered by the attorney-general in an action to be 
 brought in the name of the people of the state of New York. Any 
 dealer who knowingly uses for the purpose of selling milk or cream 
 jars or bottles purchased after this law takes effect that do not 
 comply with section five-a as to marking and capacity shall be 
 deemed guilty of giving false or insufficient measure. L. 1910, 
 c. 470, adding 53 and 5b to Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 20, art. 2. t 
 
 The model law does not provide for public scales for 
 the weighing of bulky commodities, particularly, coal, hay, 
 straw, grain, and mill feed. Upon this i>oint the following 
 suggestions are offered : 
 
 In the District of Columbia there are public scales 
 which are owned by the district government. They are 
 operated by private individuals under annual contracts, 
 entered into as a result of open bidding. The fees to be 
 charged for their use are prescribed by the district govern- 
 ment. 
 
 In New York the law is as follows : 
 
 There may be designated by the respective mayors of the 
 cities of the first and second class, stationary or movable scales, 
 suitable for the purpose of weighing coal, the owners of which 
 may tender the same for public use in different parts of the city 
 in such convenience in number and locality as shall be deemed 
 necessary, on which the coal or coal vehicle, with or without coal, 
 may be weighed at the request of the purchaser of the coal. The 
 scales so designated shall be provided at the expense of the owners 
 thereof, with test weights, and shall be subject at all times to the 
 inspection and supervision of the sealers or inspectors of weights 
 and measures in such city who shall inspect such scales at least 
 once in each month. Such scales shall also be provided by the 
 owner thereof with a competent weigh master. The owner of 
 
 74 
 
such scales shall be entitled to charge for weighing coal and coal 
 vehicles containing coal, at such scales, a fee of not exceeding 
 fifteen cents per ton of coal; empty vehicles returning to such 
 scale after delivery of the coal so weighed therein sha41 be re- 
 weighed without further charge. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. 
 ii, 153- 
 
 It shall be the right of every purchaser of coal in any of the 
 cities of the first and second class, before accepting the delivery 
 of the same, to have any of the delivery of such coal weighed at 
 his expense, at any of the scales designated under the provisions 
 of the preceding sections, provided such scales are within a half 
 mile of the place of loading or the place of delivery of the coal, 
 and for this purpose to require that any vehicle containing coal 
 purchased by him shall be taken by the driver or other person 
 in charge thereof to such scales for the purpose of having the 
 same weighed, and after the delivery of the coal to require that 
 the vehicle from which such coal so purchased shall have been 
 delivered shall be taken by the driver thereof, or any other person 
 in charge thereof, to such scales to be weighed at the expense of 
 the purchaser thereof, and a certificate of the weight of such coal, 
 so weighed as aforesaid, shall thereupon be furnished to the pur- 
 chaser of such coal by the owner of the scales at which such coal 
 is so weighed. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 154. 
 
 The refusal of any seller of coal to permit coal purchased 
 from him to be reweighed at the request of the purchaser thereof, 
 as aforesaid, or any driver or other person in charge of a vehicle 
 containing coal, or from which coal has been delivered, to take 
 the same at the request of the purchaser, to such scales for the 
 purpose of having the same weighed, provided, however, that the 
 purchaser of such coal shall have first paid the owners of the scales 
 or the seller of such coal or the driver or other person in charge 
 of the vehicle containing such coal, an amount sufficient to meet 
 the charges for weighing such coal, shall render the person, firm 
 or corporation selling the coal liable to a penalty not to exceed 
 fifty dollars. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 155. 
 
 The owner of such scales so designated, shall enter into a 
 bond with the city in which such scales are situated, in the sum 
 of five hundred dollars with two sufficient sureties, conditioned 
 that such scales shall be kept in such condition as at all times to 
 properly register the weight of coal, and that the person weighing 
 coal thereat shall perform his duties faithfully, and furnish correct 
 certificates to all persons having coal or coal vehicles weighed at 
 such scales. The amount of such bond shall be recoverable at the 
 
 75 
 
suit of the city on proof that any conditions thereof have not been 
 complied with. Consol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 156. 
 
 Any owner of such scales or any agent or representative of 
 his, or any weighmaster employed by him thereat, who shall be in 
 any manner concerned in any fraudulent weighing of coal at such 
 scales, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable 
 by a fine of not exceeding five hundred dollars or by imprison- 
 ment for one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment Con- 
 sol. Laws, 1909, c. 21, art. n, 158. 
 
 Every owner of such scales shall keep a book in which shall 
 be entered in ink a memorandum of every load of coal weighed 
 at such scales, showing the name of the person, firm or corpora- 
 tion delivering such coal, the net weight thereof as shown by the 
 delivery ticket thereof of such person, firm or corporation, the 
 name of the purchaser thereof, the gross and net weight of the 
 coal so weighed, and the date of weighing. Such book shall be 
 the book of original entries, and all certificates delivered by the 
 owner of such scales shall be copies of the entries contained 
 therein, and such books shall at all reasonable hours be open to 
 the inspection of any citizen. Consol. Laws. 1909, c. 21, art. n. 
 
 The Massachusetts law is as follows: 
 
 The mayor and aldermen of a city or selectmen of a town shall 
 appoint, and may remove, weighers of coal, one of whom at least 
 shall not be engaged in the business of selling coal, who shall he 
 sworn, and by whom all coal shall be weighed. N T o person shall be 
 ineligible for appointment because of the fact that he is not a 
 resident of such city or town, notwithstanding provisions to the 
 contrary in any general or special act or city charter. Rev. Laws, 
 1902-8, c. 57, 83. 
 
 A sealer of weights and measures of a city or town in which 
 any quantity of coke, charcoal or coal for delivery is found may 
 in his discretion, direct the person in charge of the goods to con- 
 vey the same without delay or charge to scales designated by such 
 sealer, who shall there determine the quantity of the goods, and, 
 if they are not in baskets or bags, shall determine their weight 
 with the weight of the vehicle in which they are carried, and shall 
 direct said person to return to such scales forthwith after unload- 
 ing the goods; and upon such return, the sealer shall weigh the 
 vehicle. The scales designated by the sealer as aforesaid may be 
 the public scales of the city or town or any other scales therein 
 
 76 
 
which have been duly tested and sealed, and shall be such scales^ 
 as are in his judgment the most convenient of those available. 
 Rev. Laws, 1902-8, c. 57, 89. 
 
 The existing laws relating to the duties of the secre- 
 tary of the commonwealth and of the county commissioners 
 in the matter of weights and measures are obsolete. The 
 following action is therefore suggested: 
 
 Act of April 15, 1845, entitled "An act authorizing 
 the secretary of the commonwealth to distribute copies of 
 the standard of weights and measures, and for the appoint- 
 ment of sealers." (Appendix A, 19, 21-3, 25.) To be 
 repealed. 
 
 Act of September 29, 1843, entitled "An act to pro- 
 vide for the ordinary expenses of the government, and for 
 other purposes," section 2. (Appendix A, 20.) To be 
 repealed. 
 
 Act of April 15, 1834, entitled "An act to fix the 
 standards and denominations of measures and weights in 
 the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," section 10. (Appen- 
 dix A, 24.) To be repealed. 
 
 As suggested above, the so-called "model law" is sus- 
 ceptible of improvement. This contention has been sub- 
 stantiated by action of the organization which drew up that 
 document. At the sixth annual conference on weights and 
 measures held in Washington on February 17-18, 1911, a 
 new "model law" was adopted in the form in which it ap- 
 pears in Appendix C, where it is printed for the first time. 
 Upon examination it will be seen that several of the changes 
 suggested in the foregoing discussion, have been incorpo- 
 rated in the revised draft. 
 
 Sections i and 2 respectively correspond to sections 8 
 and 9 of the first draft. Section 3 corresponds to sections 
 10, u, 12, and 13, the changes generally following the lines 
 of the New York law and the Wisconsin bill, to which 
 reference has been already made. Section 4 corresponds to 
 section 17 of the first draft. Section 5 corresponds to sec- 
 
 77 
 
tions 14, 1 8, 19, 20, 21, and 24, and the proviso to sections 
 15 and 1 6 of the first draft. 
 
 Section 6 corresponds in part to section 14, and the 
 proviso to sections 15 and 16 of the first draft. There is 
 need here for changes to make the text consistent with 
 existing laws concerning municipal officials in Philadelphia. 
 
 Section 7 corresponds to sections 30 and 32 of the first 
 draft. The penalty proposed is unduly severe. Under this 
 section as it stands, a person could be imprisoned for an act 
 of his agent, provided that act were the second offence 
 against the law. When it is considered that a large busi- 
 ness house may have many agents concerned with the de- 
 livery of goods, it is apparent that this section would put 
 the principal to an undue disadvantage. A large coal 
 dealer, for example, cannot be justly held accountable for 
 the acts of one hundred or more drivers to an extent which 
 would involve imprisonment. 
 
 Section 8 corresponds to section 18 of the first draft. 
 Section 9 corresponds to section 22 of the first draft. 
 
 Section 1 1 relating to milk bottles follows the Massa- 
 chusetts and New York laws. The New York law has been 
 already quoted. The variations are consistent with the 
 working agreement between the machine glass bottle and 
 jar manufacturers and the glass bottle blowers 1 association 
 of the United States and Canada, and experience has dem- 
 onstrated that they are fair to all concerned. 
 
 To enact the first sentence of section 12 would be in- 
 consistent with the act of April 2, 1822, entitled "An act to 
 regulate the sale of stone coal within the city and county of 
 Philadelphia, and to prevent the adulteration of linseed oil" 1 
 (Appendix A, 41-2.) As already suggested, this is a 
 good law which should be continued, though a change in the 
 penalty clause would seem advisable. 
 
 We have already in the act of April i, 1797, entitled 
 "An act to regulate the manner of selling loaf-bread, and 
 
 1 See pages 29-30. 
 
 78 
 
to repeal certain existing laws respecting the same" (Ap- 
 pendix A, 36, 119.), the requirement that loaf-bread shall 
 be sold by weight; and a suggestion that loaves be marked 
 with the statement of weight has been already advanced in 
 this chapter. 1 
 
 With the materials now available it should be possible 
 to draw up a bill providing for an effective system of regu- 
 lation and inspection of weights and measures for the state 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The Marking of the Net Contents of Containers in Terms 
 of Weight, Measure, or Numerical Count 
 
 Two states, North Dakota (Rev. Codes, 1905, 2119.) 
 and Nebraska (Comp. Statutes, 1909, c. 33, 8.) have laws 
 which require that the net contents shall be shown on 
 containers. In other states there has been sufficient oppo- 
 sition to prevent the adoption of similar laws. Section 8 
 of the act of April n, 1850, entitled "An act authorizing 
 the appointment of an auctioneer or auctioneers in the bor- 
 ough of Easton; and relative to the claim of Samuel Rice 
 of Chester county; to incorporate the art union of Phila- 
 delphia; relative to short measure and weight in the sale 
 of dry goods and groceries; and to the fees of the sheriff 
 of Philadelphia" (Appendix A, 51.) is the nearest ap- 
 proach to such a law in Pennsylvania, and the impracticable 
 manner prescribed for the obtaining of relief under the act 
 makes it of little or no value. The Philadelphia ordinance 
 of October i, 1858, entitled "A supplement to an ordinance 
 entitled 'An ordinance to regulate the sale of fruits and 
 vegetables approved November I7th, 1857' " (Appendix A, 
 74.), which applies to all market houses and market stands 
 within the limits of the city, requires that containers of 
 fruits, berries, and vegetables that require measurement, 
 shall be marked with a statement of capacity in terms of 
 dry measure. This ordinance dates back to a period \vhen 
 the city owned eleven market houses. As it now owns but 
 
 1 See pages 60 and 62. 
 
 79 
 
 29476 (i 
 
two, and as the jurisdiction of the clerks of the markets is 
 limited to those belonging to the city, the ordinance is in- 
 operative. It is excellent, however, and with adequate pro- 
 vision for its enforcement, it could be made effective. 
 
 The act of congress of June 30, 1906, entitled "An 
 act for preventing the manufacture, sale or transportation 
 of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious 
 foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating 
 traffic therein, and for other purposes," commonly known as 
 the "Pure food and drug act," has to do mainly with qual- 
 ity. It does, however, require that food shall be consid- 
 ered as misbranded under the law "if in package form, and 
 the contents are stated in terms of weight or measure, they 
 are not plainly and correctly stated on the outside of the 
 package," (34 Statutes at Large, 770-1.), but this has only 
 had the effect of causing many manufacturers to refrain 
 from stating the weight or measure of the contents of a 
 container. Bills have since been introduced to amend the 
 act so as to require that food shall be considered as mis- 
 branded "if in package form, the net quantity of the con- 
 tents be not plainly and conspicuously marked on the out- 
 side of the package in terms of weight, measure or numeri- 
 cal count" (61 Cong. 3 Sess., H. R. 29866.), and eventually 
 the attempt to obtain adequate national legislation to this 
 effect will succeed. THE BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL 
 RESEARCH has made no study of this part of the subject 
 of weights and measures, as the situation is one which can 
 be best remedied through national legislation. Its one sug- 
 gestion upon this point is that the ordinance of October 
 i, 1858, can and should be enforced. 
 
 80 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 Digest of Laws and Ordinances Relating to Weights and 
 Measures in Philadelphia 
 
 Syllabus 
 
 I. Standards of weights and measures 
 
 1. Linear measure 
 
 2. Liquid and dry measures 
 
 3. Weight 
 
 II. Denominations 
 
 1. Linear measure 
 
 2. Superficial measure 
 
 3. Liquid measure 
 
 4. Dry measure 
 
 5. Weight troy 
 
 6. Weight avoirdupois 
 
 III. Administrative agents who are authorized or required 
 
 (by either general or specific organic provi- 
 sions) to act in matters concerning weights and 
 measures 
 
 1. Governor 
 
 a. To procure standards 
 
 b. To furnish copies of standards to county 
 
 commissioners 
 
 2. Secretary of the commonwealth 
 
 a. To have custody of standards 
 
 b. To furnish copies of standards to county 
 
 commissioners 
 
 3. County commissioners 
 
 a. May apply for copies of standards 
 
 b. To maintain accuracy of copies of stand- 
 
 ards 
 
 81 
 
c. To establish true meridian lines and 
 fixed standard measures for sur- 
 veyors' chains 
 
 4. Mayor of Philadelphia 
 
 a. To cause laws and ordinances to be 
 
 enforced 
 
 b. May recommend measures to councils 
 
 5. Director of the department of public safety 
 
 a. Responsible for police officers, and for 
 inspection of markets 
 
 6. Police officers and constables in Philadelphia 
 
 a. May arrest without warrant for viola- 
 tion of any ordinance 
 
 7. Chief of the bureau of city property 
 
 a. To care for all market houses belonging 
 
 to the city 
 
 b. May prescribe duties of clerks of the 
 
 markets 
 
 8. Clerks of the markets 
 
 a. To examine provisions (with certain 
 exceptions) in the market houses 
 and market stands belonging to the 
 city; to condemn inaccurate scales, 
 weights, and measures; and to 
 prosecute 
 
 IV. Law (in force) governing the purchase and sale of 
 
 commodities in general 
 
 i. Misdemeanor wilfully to sell by false beams, 
 scales, weights, and measures. Penalty 
 
 V. Laws and ordinances (in force) governing the pur- 
 
 chase and sale of specific commodities, or 
 classes of commodities 
 i. Bread 
 
 a. To be sold by the pound avoirdupois. 
 Penalty 
 82 
 
2. Charcoal 
 
 a. Standard bushel. Penalty 
 
 3. Clover seed 
 
 a. Standard bushel 
 
 4. Coal-^anthracite 
 
 a. Standard bushel. Penalty 
 
 b. Standard ton. Penalty 
 
 5. Coal bituminous 
 
 a. Standard bushel 
 
 b. Standard bushel and standard ton. 
 
 Penalty 
 
 6. Coke 
 
 a. Standard bushel 
 
 7. Dry goods and groceries 
 
 a. Misrepresentative markings and mis- 
 statements of numerical count or of 
 net weight. Penalty 
 
 8. Fruits and vegetables in general; and spe- 
 
 cifically: apples, peaches, pears, plums, 
 onions, potatoes, and tomatoes 
 
 a. To be sold by dry measure. Penalty 
 
 b. Standard bushel [white] potatoes 
 
 c. Standard bushel onions 
 
 9. Grain ; specifically : barley, buckwheat, corn, 
 
 oats, rye, and wheat 
 a. Standard bushel 
 10. Hay and straw baled 
 
 a. To be marked with gross and net weight. 
 
 Penalty 
 
 b. Misdemeanor fraudulently to increase 
 
 weight by inclusion of any concealed 
 or exposed matter. Penalty 
 
 c. Amount of wood or other material used 
 
 in baling limited 
 
d. Misdemeanor to mark a bale higher than 
 actual weight; also to exceed legal 
 limit of wood or other material used 
 in baling. Penalty 
 
 11. Lime 
 
 a. Standard bushel measure 
 
 12. Lumber used in cooperage 
 
 a. Standard "thousand" 
 
 13. Milk and cream 
 
 a. To be sold by liquid measure, weight, or 
 
 percentage of butter-fat. Standard 
 gallon 
 
 b. Misdemeanor to sell by other than 
 
 legally prescribed methods. Pen- 
 alty 
 
 14. Salt domestic 
 
 a. Standard barrel 
 
 15. Salt foreign 
 
 a. Standard bushel 
 
 1 6. Wood and bark 
 
 a. Standard cord dimensions 
 
 b. Standard cord and standard ton bark 
 
 VI. Ordinance (in force) governing the purchase and 
 
 sale of fruits, berries, and vegetables in market 
 houses and market stands generally 
 I. Containers to be marked with capacity in 
 terms of dry measure 
 
 VII. Ordinance (in force) governing the purchase and 
 
 sale of fruits, berries, vegetables, bread, lard, 
 butter, and other provisions in market houses 
 and market stands belonging to the city 
 i. Clerks of the markets to condemn incorrect 
 scales, weights, and measures 
 
2. ' Containers of fruits, berries, and vegetables 
 
 to be marked with capacity in terms of 
 dry measure 
 
 3. ; Standard bushel for white potatoes and for 
 
 sweet potatoes 
 
 4. Use of steelyards and spring balances forbid- 
 
 den. Penalty 
 
 5. Misrepresentation of true weight or measure 
 
 of bread, lard, butter, or other provisions 
 forbidden. Penalty 
 
 VIII. Laws (obsolete) governing the purchase and sale of 
 
 specific commodities 
 
 1. Beer and ale 
 
 a. To be sold by English beer measure 
 except when drunk in inns or tav- 
 erns 
 
 2. Biscuit intended for interstate commerce 
 
 a. Standard keg. Penalty 
 
 IX. Laws and ordinances intended to govern the purchase 
 
 and sale of specific commodities, but inopera- 
 tive, wholly or in part, because of lack of spe- 
 cific administrative agents required for their 
 enforcement 
 i. Coal anthracite 
 
 a. Standard ton 
 
 b. Inspection districts established in Phila- 
 
 delphia 
 
 c. Governor, councils, and mayor to ap- 
 
 point inspectors 
 
 d. Candidates for inspector to have no in- 
 
 terest in coal mining or trade 
 
 e. Inspectors to stamp or brand delivery 
 
 vehicles with capacity 
 
 f. Unlawful to use unbranded vehicles or 
 
 to change capacity of branded vehi- 
 cles 
 
 85 
 
g. Inspectors may arrest 
 
 h. Inspectors may test weight of loads. 
 
 Penalty 
 i. Inspectors to notify dealers of short 
 
 weight 
 j. Retail dealers subject to fine for short 
 
 weight, or for use of unbranded 
 
 vehicle 
 k. Salary of inspectors. Inspectors to be 
 
 sworn 
 
 1. Tax on retail dealers 
 m. Inspection fees 
 n. Retail dealers to furnish delivery tickets 
 
 showing quantity of each load. 
 
 Penalty 
 o. Procedure for recovery of penalties 
 
 2. Grain and salt imported 
 
 a. Governor to appoint measurer of corn 
 
 and salt 
 
 b. Measurer of corn and salt to measure 
 
 imported grain and salt 
 
 c. Measurer of corn and salt may remove 
 
 deputies 
 
 d. Buyers to receive certificates of weight 
 
 e. Fees 
 
 3. Lime 
 
 a. Standard bushel measure 
 
 b. Courts to appoint officials to brand 
 
 bushel measures. Penalty 
 
 4. Marble 
 
 a. Governor to appoint measurer of marble 
 
 5. Wood 
 
 a. Standard cord. Penalties 
 
 X. Laws and ordinances intended to govern the purchase 
 and sale of fruits, berries, vegetables, and bread 
 in market houses and market stands belonging 
 
 86 
 
to the city, but inoperative, wholly or in part,_ 
 because of lack of official sealers of weights and 
 measures 
 
 1. Clerks of the markets to test weights of loaves 
 
 of bread. Penalty 
 
 2. Clerks of the markets to test accuracy of 
 
 marks setting forth, in terms of dry meas- 
 ure, the capacity of containers of fruits, 
 berries, and vegetables. Penalty 
 
 3. Sales to be made only by legally regulated 
 
 and stamped weights and measures and 
 by accurate scales. Penalty 
 
 XL General penal provisions, inoperative in Philadelphia 
 because of lack of official sealers of weights and 
 measures 
 
 1. For failure to comply with recommendations 
 
 of sealers, or for selling by false beams, 
 scales, weights, or measures 
 
 2. For offering for sale any unsealed dry meas- 
 
 ures 
 
 3. For altering sealed measure, or selling by the- 
 
 same 
 
 4. Appeals 
 
 5. Disposition of fines 
 
Table of Statutes (Pamphlet Laws) 
 
 (Reference* are to sections) 
 
 1705. 
 1785, 
 1789, 
 1794, 
 
 1818, 
 
 1819, 
 1821, 
 1822, 
 1834. 
 1836, 
 1838, 
 1842, 
 
 1843, 
 
 1845, 
 1846. 
 
 1849, 
 1850, 
 
 18 
 
 79 
 
 22 Sept., 103-105, 112 
 12 Mar., 80, 80 n. 
 
 22 Apr., 103 n. 
 i Apr., 36, 119 
 
 10 Mar., 69-70, 117-118 
 10 Mar., 55, 68 
 
 23 Mar., 63, 113-1 15 
 27 Mar., 109, in 
 
 a Apr., 41-42 
 
 15 Apr., 1-15, 17, 24 
 
 1 6 June, 106-107 
 
 14 Apr., 16, 116 
 1 8 Mar., 124 
 
 12 Apr., no 
 29 Sept., 20 
 
 15 Apr., 18-19, 21-23, as, 123 
 
 16 Apr., 55 n., 56 
 
 21 Apr., 125-127 
 23 Mar., 47 
 
 ,867, 
 1871, 
 1872, 
 1876, 
 
 1877, 
 1878, 
 1883, 
 
 1885. 
 1891, 
 
 1895. 
 
 1897, 
 1901. 
 '903, 
 1907, 
 
 n Apr., 51 
 
 26 Apr., 26, 26 n. 
 
 2 Feb., 27 
 
 27 Apr., 64 
 n Apr., 50 
 12 Apr., 1 08 
 
 27 May, 43, 81-85. 87-88, 91-93, 95-96, 96 n., 98-100 
 
 3 Apr.. 86, 89-90, 94, 97, 101-102, 102 n. 
 3 May, 31 
 
 8 May, 60 
 
 24 Mar., 67 
 
 1 8 May, 48-49, 49 n. 
 
 S Mar., 123 n. 
 
 17 May, 34 n., 73 n. 
 
 5 June, 35 
 
 i June, art. 28-30, 42 n., 118 n., 120 n., 127 n. 
 
 12 May, 37, 37 n. 
 
 i Tune, s* n., 53, S3 -, 7, 75 n. 
 
 8 May, 54. 54 n. 
 
 24 June. 40. 40 n. 
 
 26 June, 44-46, 46 n., 81 n. 
 
 30 Mar., 57, 57 n. 
 
 1 1 Apr., 59, 61-62. 6* n. 
 
 8 Apr., 30, 30 n.. 42 n., 118 n., 120 n., 127 n. 
 
 15 Apr., 65-66, 66 n. 
 
 Constitution. 39 n., 45 n., 51 n., 90 n., in n.. 114 n.. 115 n., 118 n., 125 n. 
 
 1854, >9 Oct., 3*34, 73 
 
 1857, 17 Nov., 52 
 
 1858, i Oct., 72, 74-75, 
 
 1864, 23 Sept., 38- 
 
 1865, 12 Dec., 76-7 
 1869, 19 July, 39 n. 
 1875, 31 l)ec., 58 
 
 1888. 22 Mar., 32 n., 33 n. 
 
 Table of Ordinances 
 
 (References are to sections) 
 
 120 
 
 n. 
 n., 121-122, 122 n. 
 
 88 
 
I. STANDARDS OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 
 
 1. Linear Measure 
 
 la. The standard unit of all measures of length, shall be 
 the "yard", to conform to that in use in this common- 
 wealth at the date of the declaration of independence: 
 the positive standard to be obtained as hereinafter de- 
 scribed, 1 and one-third of said yard shall be one foot, 
 and one twelfth of said foot shall be one inch. 15 Apr., 
 1834, i, P. L. 525. 
 
 2. Liquid and Dry Measures 
 
 2a. The standard of liquid measure shall be the gallon, to 
 contain two hundred and thirty-one cubic inches, of the 
 standard aforesaid, and no more; and the standard of 
 dry measure shall be the bushel, to contain two thousand 
 one hundred and fifty cubic inches and forty-two hun- 
 dredths of a cubic inch, of the standard aforesaid, and 
 no more. 15 Apr., 1834, 2, P. L. 525. 
 
 3. Weight 
 
 3a. The standard of weight shall be a pound, to be com- 
 puted upon the troy pound of the mint of the United 
 States, referred to in the act of congress of the nine- 
 teenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
 eight, 2 to wit : the troy pound of this commonwealth, 
 shall be equal to the troy pound of the mint aforesaid, 
 and the avoirdupois pound of this commonwealth shall 
 be greater than the troy pound aforesaid, in the propor- 
 tion of seven thousand to five thousand seven hundred 
 and sixty. 15. Apr., 1834, 3, P. L. 525. 
 
 1 Obsolete. 
 
 2 C. 67, 2, 4 Statutes at 'Large, 278, re-enacted by the act of 12 Feb., 
 1873, c. 131, 49, 17 Statutes at Large, 432. 
 
 89 
 
II. DENOMINATIONS 
 
 x. Linear Measure 
 
 4a. The denominations of linear measure of this com- 
 monwealth, whereof the yard as heretofore provided is 
 the standard unit, with the relations thereof, shall be as 
 follows : 
 
 Twelve inches make one foot. 
 
 Three feet make one yard. 
 
 Five and a half yards make one rod, pole or perch. 
 
 Forty rods make one furlong. 
 
 Eight furlongs make one mile. 
 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 12, P. L. 527. 
 
 2. Superficial Measure 
 
 5a. The denominations of superficial measure of this 
 commonwealth, whereof the square of the linear yard 
 as heretofore provided is the standard unit, \vith the 
 relations to said standard and to each other, shall be: 
 
 Thirty and one- fourth square yards make one pole 
 
 or perch. 
 
 Forty square poles make one rood. 
 Forty square roods make one acre. 
 Six hundred and forty acres make one square mile. 
 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 13. P. L- 527- 
 
 3. Liquid Measure 
 
 6a. The denominations of liquid measure of this com- 
 monwealth, whereof the gallon as heretofore provided 
 is the standard unit, with the relations to said unit and 
 to each other, shall be : 
 
 Four gills make one pint. 
 Two pints make one quart. 
 Four quarts make one gallon. 
 
 90 
 
Thirty-one^and a half gallons make one barrel. 
 Two barrels make one hogshead. 
 Two hogsheads make one pipe. 
 Two pipes make one tun. 
 
 *. 
 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 14, P. L. 527. 
 
 4. Dry Measure 
 
 7a. The denominations of dry measure of this common- 
 wealth, whereof the bushel as heretofore provided is the 
 standard unit, with the relations to such standard and to 
 each other, shall be : 
 
 Four pecks make one bushel. 
 
 And the minor divisions of the peck shall be its aliquot 
 parts: Provided, That the form of the dry measure 
 shall be conical; that the diameter of the circle of the 
 top of the measure shall be not less than one-twentieth 
 greater than the diameter of the bottom of the measure, 
 and the height not more than nine-twelfths of the diam- 
 eter of the bottom. 15 Apr., 1834, 15, P. L. 527. 
 
 5. Weight Troy 
 
 8a. The denominations of weight of this commonwealth, 
 whereof the troy pound as heretofore provided is the 
 standard weight, with the relations thereof to said 
 standard and to each other, shall be: 
 
 Twenty-four grains make one pennyweight. 
 Twenty pennyweights make one ounce. 
 Twelve ounces make one pound. 
 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 16, P. L. 528. 
 
 6. Weight Avoirdupois 
 
 9a. The denominations of weight of this commonwealth, 
 whereof the pound avoirdupois as heretofore provided 
 is the standard weight, with the relations to said pound 
 and to each other, shall be : 
 
Sixteen drams make one ounce. 
 Sixteen ounces make one pound. 
 Twenty-five pounds make one quarter. 
 Four quarters make one hundred. 
 Twenty hundreds make one ton. 
 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 17, P. L. 528. 
 
 III. ADMINISTRATIVE AGENTS WHO ARE 
 AUTHORIZED OR REQUIRED (BY EITHER 
 GENERAL OR SPECIFIC ORGANIC PRO- 
 VISIONS) TO ACT IN MATTERS CONCERN- 
 ING WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 
 
 i. Governor 
 
 a. To Provide Standards 
 
 10 i ) It shall be the duty of the governor of this com- 
 monwealth to procure, within three years from the date 
 of the passage of this act, a standard yard, to constitute 
 the positive standard of length in this commonwealth, 
 said standard to be equal in length, at the temperature 
 of melting ice, to the distance between the eleventh and 
 forty-seventh inches on a certain brass scale of eighty- 
 two inches in length, procured for the survey of the 
 coast of the United States and now deposited in the war 
 department: 1 the material of said standard to be brass, 
 and the divisions upon it to be inches and parts of an 
 inch of the brass scale aforesaid. 15 Apr., 1834, 4, 
 P. L. 525. 
 
 11 2) It shall be the duty of the governor to procure, 
 within three years after the passage of this act, for the 
 use of this commonwealth, a standard gallon and 
 bushel, to conform to the provisions of section second of 
 this act, the material of said standard to be of cast brass. 
 -15 Apr., 1834, 5, P. L. 526. 
 
 > Obsolete 
 
 92 
 
12 3) It shall t> e the duty of the governor of this com- 
 monwealth to procure, within three years after the 
 passage of this act, a duly authenticated copy of the 
 troy pound of the mint of the United States, to con- 
 stitute the positive standard of weight of this common- 
 wealth, the material of said standard to be brass. 15 
 Apr., 1834, 6, P. L. 526. 
 
 13 4) It shall be the duty of the governor of this com- 
 monwealth to have the positive standards of measures, 
 of length and capacity, and of weight,- provided by the 
 foregoing sections, inclosed in suitable cases and de- 
 posited in the office of the secretary of the common- 
 wealth, to be by him there carefully preserved. 15 Apr., 
 1834, 7, P. L. 526. 
 
 14 5) It shall be lawful for the governor of this com- 
 monwealth, when he shall deem it expedient to have 
 tested the conformity of said positive standards of 
 measure and weight, to the foregoing provisions o-f this 
 act, or to the natural invariable standards hereinafter 
 provided, and if congress shall at any time hereafter 
 establish standards of weight and measure, the stand- 
 ards aforesaid shall be made to conform thereto. 15 
 Apr., 1834, 8, P. L. 526. 
 
 15 6) It shall be the duty of the governor, within ten 
 years after the passage of this act, to cause the positive 
 standards herein described, to be referred to natural in- 
 variable standards and to deposit in the office of the 
 secretary of the commonwealth, the authentic certificates 
 of such reference with the apparatus by which it was 
 made, the length of the standard yard to be compared 
 with that of the pendulum vibrating seconds, at a cer- 
 tain and defined spot in the Independence Square, in the 
 city of Philadelphia, or in some unalienable public prop- 
 erty, at an ascertained and convenient temperature and 
 
 93 
 
pressure, all the circumstances of the comparison to be 
 stated, the standard of weight to be compared with that 
 of one hundred standard cubic inches of water, at its 
 maximum density, and at a convenient atmospheric 
 pressure. 15 Apr., 1834, 11, P. L. 527. 
 
 16 7) The governor of this commonwealth ... is 
 hereby authorized, to have prepared standards of weight, 
 measure and capacity, specified in the act of assembly, 
 passed April fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and 
 thirty-four [To fix the standards and denominations of 
 measure and weights, in the commonwealth of Penn- 
 sylvania. P. L. 525.] ; and ... he be [is] author- 
 ized to carry into effect the provisions of the said act as 
 soon as practicable. 14 Apr., 1838, 23, P. L. 399. 
 
 b. To Furnish Copies of Standards to County Com- 
 missioners 
 
 17 i ) It shall be the duty of the governor to provide, 
 within three years after the passage of this act, for each 
 of the counties of this commonwealth, at the charge of 
 the counties respectively, positive standards of measures 
 of length, of capacity and of weight of the several de- 
 nominations in common use or such of them as may be 
 necessary for the accurate and convenient adjustment of 
 weights and measures, said standards to be of approved 
 construction carefully compared with the state standards 
 aforesaid, and made of the same material, and having 
 caused the same to be duly stamped, to have them de- 
 livered to the commissioners of the counties respectively, 
 to be used as standards for the adjusting of weights and 
 measures, and for no other purpose. 15 Apr., 1834, 
 9, P. L. 526. 
 
 18 2) Copies of [the] original standards, for general 
 use, to be made of such materials as the governor and 
 the ... secretary [of the commonwealth] shall di- 
 
 94 
 
rcct, shall be transmitted by them, on application there- 
 for to the county commissioners of each county in this 
 commonwealth, at the expense of the several counties 
 to which the same are sent, and not otherwise. 15 Apr., 
 1845, 2, P. L. 443- 
 
 2. Secretary of the Commonwealth 
 
 a. To Have Custody of Standards 
 
 19 i) The original standards of weights and measures 
 furnished by the United States, 1 and now in the office 
 of the secretary of the commonwealth, shall remain in 
 the case provided for that purpose, which shall only be 
 opened under the direction of the governor or the said 
 secretary, for the sole purpose of comparing such stand- 
 ards with the copies hereinafter described, unless by a 
 joint resolution of the two houses of the legislature, or 
 on the call of either house, or by permission of the gov- 
 ernor, for scientific purposes. 15 Apr., 1845, i, P. L. 
 
 443- 
 
 b. To Furnish Copies of Standards to County Com- 
 
 missioners 
 
 20 i) The secretary of the commonwealth be [is] au- 
 thorized and directed to procure, as soon as practicable, 
 suitable cases for the standards of weights and measures 
 now in his office, and to prescribe and publish the terms 
 upon which standards of approved construction, care- 
 fully compared with the state standards aforesaid, shall 
 be furnished to the commissioners of the several coun- 
 ties of the commonwealth, according to the directions of 
 the act of fifteenth April, eighteen hundred and thirty- 
 four, entitled "An act to fix the standards and denomi- 
 nations of measures and weights in the commonwealth 
 of Pennsylvania" [P. L. 525.]. 29 Sept., 1843, 2 
 P. L. (1844) 7- 
 
 1 14 June, 1836, 5 Statutes at Large, 133. 
 
 95 
 
 29476-7 
 
21 2) Copies of [the] original standards, for general 
 use, to be made of such materials as the governor and 
 the said secretary shall direct, shall be transmitted by 
 them, on application therefor to the county commis- 
 sioners of each county in this commonwealth, at the ex- 
 pense of the several counties to which the same are sent, 
 and not otherwise. 15 Apr., 1845, 2 P- L. 443. 
 
 22 3) The said secretary shall cause to be impressed on 
 each of the copies of such originals the letters "Pa.", 
 and such other additional device as he shall direct for 
 the particular county, which device shall be recorded in 
 the secretary's office and a copy thereof transmitted to 
 the respective county commissioners. 15 Apr., 1845, 
 3, P. L. 443- 
 
 3. County Commissioners 
 
 a. May Apply for Copies of Standards 
 
 23 i) Copies of [the] original standards, for general 
 use, to be made of such materials as the governor and 
 the ... secretary [of the commonwealth] shall 
 direct, shall be transmitted by them, on application 
 therefor to the county commissioners of each county in 
 this commonwealth, at the expense of the several coun- 
 ties to which the same are sent, and not otherwise. 
 15 Apr., 1845, 2, P. L. 443. 
 
 b. To Maintain Accuracy of Copies of Standards 
 
 24 i ) It shall be the duty of the commissioners of the 
 respective counties, at least once in every ten years and 
 oftener if they have reason to believe it necessary, to 
 cause the standards of the respective counties to be ex- 
 amined and tried, and if necessary, to be corrected or 
 renewed according to the standards of the common- 
 wealth heretofore referred to. 15 Apr., 1834, JlO ( 
 P. L. 526. 
 
 96 
 
25 2) It shall be the duty of the county commissioners 
 receiving such standards as aforesaid, and their succes- 
 sors in office, in every five years, and oftener if they 
 shall have reason to believe it necessary, to cause such 
 standards so received by them or their predecessors in 
 office, to be tried and examined, to be corrected or re- 
 newed, so as to conform exactly to the standards pre- 
 pared according to act of congress, and deposited in 
 the office of the secretary of the commonwealth as afore- 
 said. 15 Apr., 1845, 3> P- L- 443- 
 
 c. To Establish True Meridian Lines and Fixed 
 Standard Measures for Surveyors' Chains 
 
 26 i ) The county commissioners of the several counties 
 of this commonwealth are hereby authorized and di- 
 rected, within two years from and after the passage of 
 this act, to cause to be marked and established on some 
 inalienable property belonging to the county, or on such 
 property as the commissioners of the county may here- 
 after acquire for that purpose, at or near the seat of 
 justice of the several counties, a true meridian line, and 
 a fixed standard measure, of two or four-pole chain, 
 agreeing \vith and made after the measure of the stand- 
 ard yard now in the office of the secretary of the com- 
 monwealth ; and the cost whereof to be paid out of the 
 respective county treasuries. 1 26 Apr., 1850, i, P. L. 
 
 595- 
 
 1 When the said true meridian lines, and the measures of the said standard 
 two or four-pole chain, shall have been so marked and established as aforesaid, 
 the said county commissioners shall give public notice thereof, in one or more 
 newspapers of their respective counties, or otherwise, for at least three successive 
 weeks; and it shall be the duty of every land surveyor in this commonwealth, 
 after such notice has been given as aforesaid, in the month of April in each 
 year, to adjust and verify his compass by one of the said meridian lines, and 
 to ascertain the variation of its needle from the true meridian, and his chain 
 by one of the said measures of the said standard two or four-pole chain; and 
 the said surveyors shall thereafter, in all their returns of surveys, or writings 
 concerning surveys of land and lines run by the compass, note the bearings or 
 courses of such surveys and lines, so as to show the true, and not the magnetic 
 bearing, together with the date of such survey or tracing of lines. 26 Apr., 
 1850, 2, P. L. 595. 
 
 Any surveyor, after notice given as required by the provisions of this act, 
 who shall neglect or refuse to comply with the requirements of this act, by 
 making any survey with an unadjusted compass or chain, he shall, for every 
 such neglect or refusal, pay the sum of ten dollars, on complaint made by any 
 person interested in such survey, before the justice of the peace [magistrate in 
 Philadelphia. Constitution, 1874, art. 5, 12] nearest to the tract or lot of land 
 
 97 
 
4. Mayor of Philadelphia 
 
 a. To Cause Laws and Ordinances to be Enforced 
 
 27 i ) It shall be the mayor's duty ... to be vigilant 
 and active in causing the laws and ordinances of the 
 city to be duly executed; for which purpose ... all 
 policemen and watchmen shall obey his orders, and 
 make a report to him when acting under his orders, and 
 he shall exercise a constant supervision and control over 
 the conduct of all subordinate officers, receive and ex- 
 amine all complaints preferred against them, and gen- 
 erally perform all such duties as may be prescribed by 
 the laws and ordinances of said city and of this com- 
 monwealth. 2 Feb., 1854, 7, P. L. 26. 
 
 28 2) It shall be the duty of the mayor to cause the 
 ordinances of the city and the laws of the state to be 
 executed and enforced. i June, 1885, art. i, P. L. 38. 
 
 b. May Recommend Measures to Councils 
 
 29 i) It shall be the duty of the mayor to recomnun 1 
 by message in writing to the councils all such measures 
 connected with the affairs of the city and the protection 
 and improvement of its government and finances as he 
 shall deem expedient. i June, 1885, art - ' P- L. 38. 
 
 5. Director of the Department of Public Safety 
 
 a. Responsible for Police Affairs and for Inspection 
 of Markets 
 
 30 i) The department of public safety shall be under 
 the charge of one director who shall be the head thereof. 
 
 so surveyed, to be recovered as debts of like amount are by law recoverable; 
 one-half thereof to the person making the complaint, and the other half to the 
 treasurer of the school district in which such survey is made, for the use of 
 said district. 26 Apr., 1850. Jt, P. L. 595. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the commissioners of the several counties at 
 to procure a book to be kept in their office; and every surveyor, on having 
 adjusted his chain and compass as aforesaid, shall enter therein the variation of 
 his compass from the true meridian, whether east or west, and the day on which 
 he adjusted his chain and compass, and shall subscribe his name thereto, for 
 future reference. 26 Apr., 1850, 4. P. L. 596. 
 
 98 
 
The care, management, administration and super- 
 vision of the police affairs, and all matters relating to 
 x. . . the inspection of . . . markets and food 
 sold therein . . . shall be in charge of this depart- 
 ment i June, 1885, art. 3, P. L. 40; 8 Apr., 1903, 3,* 
 P. L. 156. 
 
 6. Police Officers and Constables in Philadelphia 
 
 a. May Arrest Without Warrant for Violation of Any 
 Ordinance 
 
 31 i ) Any police officer or constable, upon view of the 
 breach of any ordinance of any city of the first class, is 
 authorized to forthwith arrest the person or persons so 
 offending, without any process, and to take such person 
 or persons forthwith before any police magistrate . . . 
 of said city, who shall thereupon require bail for the 
 appearance of said person at a time to be fixed for the 
 hearing of said charge, and in default of bail to com- 
 tnit for a hearing; and at said hearing the case shall 
 be proceeded with as if the parties were appearing be- 
 fore said magistrate . . . upon a summons duly issued 
 and returned served, or if both parties desire it the case 
 may be entered and determined by the magistrate . . . 
 in like manner, without requiring bail or further con- 
 tinuance. 3 May, 1876, P. L. 99. 
 
 7. Chief of the Bureau of City Property 
 
 a. To Care for all Market Houses Belonging to the 
 City 
 
 32 i) [The chief of the bureau of city property] 2 shall 
 be charged with the . . . care of all market houses 
 belonging to the corporation. 19 Oct., 1854, i, O. 
 
 1 1-3- 
 
 Repeal clause, section 5. 
 22 Mar., 1888, 3, O. 192. 
 
 99 
 
b. May Prescribe Duties of Clerks of the Markets 
 
 33 i) There shall be in [the bureau of city property] 1 
 . . . clerks of markets . . . who shall . . . 
 perform such . . . duties as may be specified by 
 the head of the [bureau] 1 . 19 Oct., 1854, 9, O. 115. 
 
 8. Clerks of the Markets 
 
 a. To Examine Provisions (With Certain Exceptions) 
 in the Market Houses and Market Stands Be- 
 longing to the City; to Condemn Inaccurate 
 Scales, Weights, and Measures ; and to Prosecute 
 
 34 i ) The . . . clerks of the markets shall do and 
 perform all things belonging to their office, and shall 
 have possession, enjoy and exercise all the powers and 
 authorities which, by any law or act of assembly, are 
 conferred upon the clerks of the markets. They shall 
 attend, within their respective market limits, from the 
 beginning to the end of the market hours, and at such 
 other times as may be necessary; they shall enforce all 
 the laws, ordinances and regulations relative thereto, 
 and seize and prosecute for all breaches thereof; 
 . . . they shall weigh, try and examine all bread 
 . . . 2 or other provisions sold in loaves, lumps, or 
 parcels purporting to be of a given or accustomed 
 weight or measure; and all scales, weights and meas- 
 ures, which are found in the markets not correct to the 
 standard, shall be forfeited; they shall not accept or 
 take from any person attending the markets any fee, 
 donation, perquisite or reward on any pretense what- 
 ever. 19 Oct., 1854, 10, O. 116. 
 
 1*2 Mar.. 1888. |i. O. 191. 
 
 1 Repealed as to butter, lard, and sausage. 17 May. 1883. P. L. 54. 
 
 100 
 
IV. LAW GOVERNING THE PURCHASE AND 
 SALE OF COMMODITIES IN GENERAL 
 
 i. Misdemeanor Wilfully to Sell by False Beams, Scales, 
 Weights, and Measures Penalty 
 
 35a. Any person or persons who shall wilfully use and 
 sell by false beams, scales, weights and measures, any 
 article, merchandise, commodity or thing, shall be guilty 
 of a misdemeanor, and on being convicted thereof, shall 
 be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding two hundred 
 dollars, and to undergo an imprisonment not exceeding 
 three months, or both, or either, at the discretion of the 
 court. 5 June, 1883, P. L. 78. 
 
 V. LAWS AND ORDINANCES (IN FORCE) GOV- 
 ERNING THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF 
 SPECIFIC COMMODITIES, OR CLASSES OF 
 COMMODITIES 
 
 i. Bread 
 
 a. To be Sold by the Pound Avoirdupois Penalty 
 
 36 i ) All loaf-bread made for sale, within this common- 
 wealth, shall be sold by the pound avoirdupois, . . . 
 and if any baker or other person shall . . . sell or 
 offer for sale any loaf-bread, in any other manner, the 
 contract respecting the same shall be void, and the per- 
 son offending against this act shall, on conviction, forfeit 
 and pay the sum of ten dollars for every such offence, 
 one-half to the use of the informer, and the other half 
 to the use of this commonwealth. 1 i Apr., 1797, 2, 
 3 Smith's Laws, 295. 
 
 J This act is in force. Johnson v. Kolb, 3 W. N. C., 273. (1876.) 
 
 101 
 
a. Standard Bushel Penalty 
 
 37 i) The standard measure of charcoal shall be two 
 thousand five hundred and seventy-one cubic inches for 
 each and every bushel thereof, and when sold by weight 
 a bushel shall be eighteen pounds (commercially dry) 
 for all hard wood, and fifteen pounds (commercially 
 dry) for all soft wood. 1 12 May, 1891, i, P. L. 51 
 
 38 2) The following are hereby declared to be nuisances 
 (23 Sept., 1864, i, O. 357.) : To unload, discharge, or 
 deliver charcoal in or on any of the streets of the city." 
 from any wagon or other vehicle, except in barrels of 
 the capacity of a common flour barrel, or in some 
 measure whose capacity is fixed by law. 23 Sept., 1864, 
 25, O. 360. 
 
 39 3) Any person violating any provision of this ordi- 
 nance shall forfeit the sum of [five] 8 dollars, to be re- 
 covered before the [magistrate] 4 whose office is located 
 nearest the place where such violations occurred, at the 
 suit of the city of Philadelphia, for the use of the city; 
 and every [magistrate] 4 of the city shall keep a separate 
 docket for such cases, which shall always be open for the 
 inspection of the mayor, city controller, city solicitor and 
 his assistants, and committees of councils. 23 Sept., 
 1864, $4i, O. 362. 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 2. 
 
 ' The provisions of the (25th) section of thin ordinance . . . shall 
 apply and extend to the 2d, id. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th. 8th. 9th. loth, nth, 12th. 
 1 3th. i4th, jjth. i6th, i;th. i8th. igth and aoth wards of the city, and to that 
 portion of the ist ward east of Broad street and north of Mifflin street, including 
 said Broad and Mifflin streets; to that portion of the aist ward, formerly com- 
 
 ?rised within the late borough of Manayunk; to that portion of the 22d ward, 
 ormerly comprised within the borough of Germantown; to those portions of 
 the 23d ward, formerly comprised within the late boroughs of Frankford. Brides- 
 burg and Whitehall; and to that portion of the 24th ward, formerly comprised 
 within the late district of West Philadelphia. 23 Sept.. 1864. 40, O. 361. 
 ' '9 July, 1860. 4, O. 323. 
 4 Constitution, 1874, art. 5, |i2. 
 
 I O2 
 
3- Clover Seed 
 
 a. Standard Bushel * f - 
 
 40 i) " The standard weight of a bushel of clover seed: 
 shall be sixty pounds. 1 24 June, 1895, i, P. L. 243. 
 
 4. Coal Anthracite 
 
 a. Standard Bushel Penalty 
 
 41 i) Stone coal brought from any mine situate within 
 the state of Pennsylvania, to the city or county of Phila- 
 delphia, for sale, shall be disposed of by weight or by 
 the bushel measure, and if by the latter, each bushel shall 
 weigh at least eighty pounds; and so when the same is 
 re-sold, whether by wholesale or retail, it shall in like 
 manner be sold by weight or measure, if by the latter, 
 the bushel shall contain at least eighty pounds, and in 
 the same proportion for any greater or less measure. 
 2 Apr., 1822, i, P. L. 139. (7 Smith's Laws, 554.) 
 
 42 2) If any person or persons selling coal by the bushel, 
 or by any greater or less measure, shall not give at least 
 eighty pounds for each bushel so sold, and so in propor- 
 tion for any greater or less measure, such person or per- 
 sons shall for every such offence forfeit and pay five 
 dollars, to be recovered in the same manner as debts for 
 the same amount are by law recoverable, one half to be 
 paid to the guardians or overseers of the poor of the 
 city [department of public health and charities in Phila- 
 delphia], 2 district or township, where the offence is com- 
 mitted, and the other half to the person prosecuting for 
 the same. 2 Apr., 1822, 2, P. L. 139. (7 Smith's 
 Laws, 555.) 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 2. 
 
 2 i June, 1885, art. 10, P. L. 48, art. 15, P. L. 58; 8 Apr., 1903,- 2,. 
 P. L. 156. 
 
b. Standard TonPenalty 
 
 43 i ) The legal standard ton for anthracite coal shall be 
 two thousand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdupois 
 weight. 27 May, 1871, i, P. L. 1287. 
 
 44 2) Two thousand two hundred and forty pounds 
 avoirdupois shall make and constitute a legal ton of 
 anthracite coal throughout this commonwealth in all 
 transactions between retail coal dealers and their cus- 
 tomers. 26 June, 1895, i, P. L. 334. 
 
 45 3) Any person, firm or corporation guilty of violating 
 the provisions of section one of this act, whereby it is 
 attempted to sell less than two thousand two hundred 
 and forty pounds to a ton, or a proper proportion thereof 
 to quantities less than a ton, shall, upon conviction 
 thereof before any justice of the peace or alderman 
 [magistrate in Philadelphia] 1 , after hearing on com- 
 plaint made, shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding 
 fifty dollars, recoverable as like penalties are within this 
 commonwealth : Provided, that in all cases forty pounds 
 shall be allowed for the variation in scales. 26 June, 
 1895, 2, P. L. 334. 
 
 46 4) All fines recovered under this act shall be paid to 
 the treasurer of the county wherein the action is 
 brought. 2 26 June, 1895, 3, P. L. 334. 
 
 5. Coal Bituminous 
 a. Standard Bushel 
 
 47 i ) The standard bushel for the measurement of bitu- 
 minous coal shall . . . contain two thousand six 
 hundred and eighty-eight cubic inches even measure. 8 
 23 Mar., 1849, 1. p - L - 2I 7- 
 
 1 Constitution, 1874. art. 5. I"- 
 3 Repeal clause, section 4. 
 ' See following section. 
 
 IO4 
 
b. Standard Bushel and Standard Ton Penalty 
 
 48 i) The standard weight of bituminous coal in this 
 commonwealth shall be seventy-six pounds to the bushel, 
 and -two thousand pounds shall be one ton. 18 May, 
 1878, i, P. L.6 7 . 
 
 49 2) If any person or persons, engaged in the business 
 of mining bituminous coal, shall fix or establish, or shall 
 attempt to fix or establish, any other number of pounds, 
 by agreement or contract to be a bushel of bituminous 
 coal, than as is provided for in the first section of this 
 act, such person or persons shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced 
 to pay a fine not less than five hundred and not exceeding 
 one thousand dollars, and all penalties recovered under 
 this act shall be paid into the treasury of the state. 1 18 
 May, 1878, 2, P. L. 67. 
 
 6. Coke 
 
 a. Standard Bushel 
 
 50 i ) The standard measure of coke, manufactured 
 from bituminous coal, when sold by the bushel, shall be 
 two thousand six hundred and eighty-eight cubic inches, 
 and the standard weight, per bushel, shall be forty 
 pounds. 2 ii Apr., 1866, P. L. 98. 
 
 7. Dry Goods and Groceries 
 
 a. Misrepresentative Markings and Misstatements of 
 Numerical Count or of Net Weight Penalty 
 
 51 i ) Whenever any description of manufactured goods, 
 commonly called dry goods or groceries, shall be sold by 
 the piece in packages, or by weight, and the said pieces 
 or packages shall be marked or represented to contain a 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 3. 
 
 2 Title: "An act fixing a standard measure of coke in the bituminous 
 counties of this state." Query, application to Philadelphia? 
 
 105 
 
certain number of yards, pounds or ounces, and the same 
 shall be sold as containing that number or weight, when 
 in fact the said pieces or packages shall contain a less 
 number of yards, or pounds or ounces, than so repre- 
 sented, the seller or manufacturer thereof shall forfeit 
 and pay to the purchaser a sum equal to double the value 
 of the quantity or weight found to be deficient, to be re- 
 covered by action of debt, in any court of law, or before 
 any alderman or justice of the peace in this common- 
 wealth [magistrate in Philadelphia], 1 in the same man- 
 ner that debts of like amount are now by law recover- 
 able. ii Apr., 1850, 8, P. L. 452. 
 
 8. Fruits and Vegetables in General; and Specifically: 
 Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Onions, Pota- 
 toes, and Tomatoes 
 
 a. To be Sold by Dry Measure Penalty 
 
 52 i) It shall not be lawful for any person or 'persons 
 to sell within the limits of the . . . city any pota- 
 toes, tomatoes, peaches, pears, plums, apples, or other 
 fruits or vegetables requiring measurement, by any other 
 measure than the bushel and its divisions, and each bushel 
 of white potatoes to weigh [fifty-six] 2 pounds to the 
 bushel, and 50 pounds for sweet potatoes, to the bushel; 
 and for each and every sale hereafter made by the basket, 
 or by any other measure or measures than those herein 
 designated, the person or persons making the same shall 
 forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars, to be recovered 
 by suit in the name of the city of Philadelphia, in like 
 manner as similar amounts are now recoverable by law 
 one-half to be paid into the city treasury and the other 
 half to the person or persons prosecuting for the same. 
 -17 Nov., 1857, O. 364. 
 
 1 Constitution, 1874, art. 5, ft 2. 
 
 3 i June, 1891. P. L. 160. This act, which is entitled "An act regulating 
 the standard weight of a bushel of potatoes," makes no mention of sweet 
 potatoes. 
 
 106 
 
b. Standard Bushel [White] Potatoes 
 
 53 i) The weight of a bushel of potatoes shall be fifty- 
 six 1 pounds. 2 i June, 1891, i, P. L. 160. 
 
 c. Standard Bushel Onions 
 
 54 i ) The weight of a bushel of onions shall be fifty 
 pounds. 3 8 May, 1895, i, P. L. 55. 
 
 9. Grain; Specifically: Barley, Buckwheat, Corn, Oats, 
 Rye, and Wheat 
 
 a. Standard Bushel 
 
 55 i) The several kinds of grain hereafter mentioned, 
 which are now usually bought and sold by measure, shall 
 . be regulated according to the following weight 
 per bushel, to wit : the weight of each bushel of wheat 
 shall be sixty pounds; of each bushel of rye or corn, 
 fifty-[six] 4 pounds; of each bushel of barley, forty-seven 
 pounds; of each bushel of buckwheat, forty-eight 
 pounds; and of each bushel of oats, thirty-two pounds: 
 Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be so 
 construed as to prevent any person or persons from sell- 
 ing and buying the several kinds of grain aforesaid by 
 measure. 10 Mar., 1818, i, P. L. 182. (7 Smith's 
 Laws, 79.) 
 
 56 2) The standard weight of rye and Indian corn in 
 this commonwealth shall be fifty-six pounds for each and 
 every bushel thereof. 16 Apr., 1845, T p - L - 45- 
 
 57 3) The weight of a bushel of oats shall be thirty-two 
 pounds. 5 30 Mar., 1897, i, P. L. 10. 
 
 See note to preceding section. 
 
 Repeal clause, section 2. 
 
 Repeal clause, section 2. .' ' " 
 
 16 Apr., 1845, i, P. L. 45. See following section. 
 
 Repeal clause, section 2. 
 
 107 
 
io. Hay and Straw Baled 
 
 a. To be Marked With Gross and Net Weight- 
 Penalty 
 
 58 i) It shall not be lawful for any person to offer or 
 sell or offer for sale within the city of Philadelphia any 
 hay or straw by the bale unless the exact gross and net 
 weight shall be legibly and distinctly marked on every 
 such bale of hay or straw, under penalty of ten dollars 
 for each bale of hay or straw so sold or offered for sale, 
 in contravention of the provisions of this ordinance. 
 31 Dec., 1875, O. 485- 
 
 59 2) All baled hay and straw shall be properly bound 
 with wire, rope or other material to hold it in bundle, 
 and the correct weight shall be plainly marked on each 
 bale.r-n Apr, 1901, i, P. L. 77. 
 
 b. Misdemeanor Fraudulently to Increase Weight 
 
 by Inclusion of any Concealed or Exposed Mat- 
 terPenalty 
 
 60 i ) Any person or persons within this commonwealth 
 who shall sell or cause to be sold or exchanged in any 
 manner whatsoever, baled hay, straw or other material 
 of a like nature by weight and shall include in the weight 
 of said baled hay, straw or other substance of a similar 
 nature any concealed or exposed matter for the purpose 
 of increasing the weight, shall be guilty of a misde- 
 meanor, and on being convicted thereof shall be fined not 
 exceeding one hundred dollars and imprisoned not ex- 
 ceeding six months, either or both, at the discretion of 
 the court. 8 May, 1876, P. L. 136. 
 
 c. Amount of Wood or Other Material Used in Bal- 
 
 ing Limited 
 
 61 i ) The wood or other material used in baling cut hay 
 shall not exceed in weight eight per centum of the weight 
 
 1 08 
 
of the entire bundle, and no wood, except for a marking 
 block, shall be used in baling long hay or straw. n 
 Apr., 1901, 2, P. L. 77. 
 
 d. Misdemeanor to Mark a Bale Higher than Actual 
 Weight ; Also to Exceed Legal Limit of Wood 
 or Other Material Used in Baling Penalty 
 
 62 i ) Any person who shall mark a bale of hay or straw 
 higher than its actual weight, or who shall use more than 
 eight per centum of its weight of wood or other material 
 to hold it in bundle, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
 and on conviction thereof shall be fined not less than 
 twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, 
 in the discretion of the court before whom conviction 
 may be secured. 1 n Apr., 1901, 3, P. L. 77. 
 
 11. Lime 
 
 a. Standard Bushel Measure 
 
 63 i ) The bushel used for the measuring of lime in the 
 city and county of Philadelphia, , - . . shall be of the 
 following dimensions, to wit : thirteen inches and a half 
 in diameter at the bottom in the clear, fifteen inches 
 diameter at the top in the clear, and thirteen inches and 
 forty-seven hundredths perpendicular depth in the clear. 
 23 Mar., 1819, i, P. L. 150. (7 Smithes Laws, 
 192.) 
 
 12. Lumber Used in Cooperage 
 a. Standard "Thousand" 
 
 64 i) It shall not be lawful for any person, or persons, 
 engaged in the business of purchasing, collecting, or fur- 
 nishing, shingles, or hoop-poles, shaved hoops, straps, 
 shucks, staves, and heading, of any kind of material 
 whatsoever, used in the manufacture of wooden vessels, 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 4. 
 
 109 
 
to demand, or deliver, more than ten hundred pieces in 
 number, for one thousand ; and that when any, or either, 
 of the above mentioned articles of lumber be purchased, 
 or sold, by the thousand, it shall be so considered, any 
 custom, or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 27 Apr., 1864, P. L. 6 1 8. 
 
 13. Milk and Cream 
 
 a. To be Sold by Liquid Measure, Weight, or Per- 
 centage of Butter- Fat; Standard Gallon 
 
 65 i) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or. cor- 
 poration to sell or offer for sale, or demand from any 
 person offering for sale, either wholesale or retail, within 
 the state of Pennsylvania, any milk, skim-milk, and 
 cream according to any other standard of measurement 
 than that known as the liquid, or wine, measure, con- 
 taining two hundred and thirty-one cubic inches to the 
 gallon : Provided, That nothing in this act will prevent 
 the sale of milk, skim-milk, and cream by weight or per- 
 centage of butter-fat. 15 Apr., 1907, i, P. L. 63. 
 
 b. Misdemeanor to Sell in Other than Legally Pre- 
 scribed Methods Penalty 
 
 66 i) Every person, firm, or corporation, and every 
 officer, agent, servant or employe of such person, firm, 
 or corporation, who shall violate any of the provisions 
 of this act ; or any person, firm or corporation, and every 
 officer, agent, servant, or employe of such person, firm, 
 or corporation, demanding, offering, and receiving a 
 greater measure than that specified in the first section of 
 this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, 
 upon the conviction thereof in the court of quarter ses- 
 sion of the proper county, shall be sentenced to pay a fine 
 of not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than 
 one hundred dollars, with costs of prosecution, or un- 
 
 110 
 
dergo imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both, 
 at the discretion of the court. 1 15 Apr., 1907, 2, P. 
 L. 63. 
 
 14. Salt Domestic 
 
 a. Standard Barrel 
 
 67 i) All salt manufactured by evaporation, within the 
 limits of this commonwealth, and put in packages pur- 
 porting to be a barrel, said package shall contain two 
 hundred and eighty (280) pounds of -salt, and this exclu- 
 sive of the weight of the package. 24 Mar., 1877, P- L. 
 40. 
 
 15. Salt Foreign 
 
 a. Standard Bushel 
 
 68 i) Each and every bushel of foreign salt shall be 
 bought and sold by weight per bushel, in the manner 
 following, to wit. The weight of each bushel of coarse 
 salt shall be eighty-five pounds, each bushel of ground 
 salt, seventy pounds, and each bushel of fine salt, sixty- 
 two pounds : Provided, nevertheless, That nothing 
 herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any 
 person or persons from selling or buying the several 
 kinds of salt aforesaid by measure. 10 Mar., 1818, 2, 
 P. L. 182. (7 Smith's Laws, 79.) 
 
 1 6. Wood and Bark 
 
 a. Standard Cord Dimensions 
 
 69 i ) The standard denominations of a cord of wood or 
 bark for fuel, exposed to sale within the city and county 
 of Philadelphia, shall be ei'ght feet in length, four feet 
 in breadth, and four feet in height, containing one hun- 
 dred and twenty-eight feet, solid measure. 10 Mar., 
 1817, i, P. L. 92. (6 Smith's Laws, 414.) 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section j. 
 
 I I I 
 29476-8 
 
70 2) All cord wood brought to market within the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, shall be at least four feet in 
 length, including one half the kerf, and the cord shall be 
 computed at the rate of eight feet in length, four feet in 
 breadth and four feet in height, while stowed and packed, 
 the straight wood shall be placed or caused to be placed 
 by all venders of cord wood compactly in the lower part 
 of the pile, and the crooked wood in the upper part 
 thereof, and a reasonable and fair allowance shall be 
 made by all . . . venders of wood for the loss sus- 
 tained by crooked or uneven wood. 10 Mar., 1817, 2, 
 P. L. 92. (6 Smith's Laws, 414.) 
 
 b. Standard Cord and Standard Ton Bark 
 
 71 i ) The standard weight of a cord of hemlock, oak or 
 other bark, when sold by the cord or ton, shall be two 
 thousand pounds for each and every cord, and two thou- 
 sand pounds for each and every ton. I June, 1891, P. 
 L. 160. 
 
 VI. ORDINANCE (IN FORCE) GOVERNING THE 
 PURCHASE AND SALE OP FRUITS, BER- 
 RIES, AND VEGETABLES IN MARKET 
 HOUSES AND MARKET STANDS GENER- 
 ALLY 
 
 i. Containers to be Marked With Capacity in Terms of 
 Dry Measure 
 
 72a. Every basket, box, tub, or other article used for the 
 sale of fruits, vegetables, or berries that require measure- 
 ment, in market houses, or market stands, shall have the 
 fractional part or parts of a bushel, which said basket, 
 box, or other article will contain, when even-full, labeled, 
 stamped or marked thereon, outside, in plain characters 
 of at least one inch in size. i Oct., 1858, i, O. 359. 
 
 112 
 
VII. ORDINANCES (IN FORCE) GOVERNING THE 
 PURCHASE AND SALE OF FRUITS, BER- 
 ' RIES, VEGETABLES, BREAD, LARD, BUT- 
 TER, AND OTHER PROVISIONS IN MAR- 
 KET HOUSES AND MARKET STANDS 
 BELONGING TO THE CITY 
 
 1. Clerks of the Markets to Condemn Incorrect Scales, 
 
 Weights, and Measures 
 
 73a. The . . . clerks of the markets shall do and 
 perform all things belonging to their office, and shall 
 have possession, enjoy and exercise all the powers and 
 authorities which, by any law or act of assembly, are 
 conferred upon the clerks of the markets. They shall 
 attend, within their respective market limits, from the 
 beginning to the end of the market hours, and at such 
 other times as may be necessary; they shall enforce all 
 the laws, ordinances and regulations relative thereto, and 
 seize and prosecute for all breaches thereof; . 
 they shall weigh, try and examine all bread . . . 1 
 or other provisions sold in loaves, lumps, or parcels pur- 
 porting to be of a given or accustomed weight or meas- 
 ure; and all scales, weights and measures, which are 
 found in the markets not correct to the standard, shall 
 be forfeited; they shall not accept or take from any per- 
 son attending the markets any fee, donation, perquisite 
 or reward on any pretense whatever. 19 Oct., 1854, 
 10, O. 116. 
 
 2. Containers of Fruits, Berries, and Vegetables to be 
 
 Marked With Capacity in Terms of Dry Measure 
 
 74a. Every basket, box, tub, or other article used for the 
 sale of fruits, vegetables, or berries that require measure- 
 ment, in market houses, or market stands, shall have the 
 
 1 Repealed as to butter, lard, and sausage. 17 May. 1883, P. L. 34. 
 
fractional part or parts of a bushel, which said basket, 
 box, or other article will contain, when even full, labeled, 
 stamped or marked thereon, outside, in plain characters 
 of at least one inch in size. 1 i Oct., 1858, i, O. 359. 
 
 3. Standard Bushel for White Potatoes and for Sweet 
 
 Potatoes 
 
 75a. Whenever any potatoes shall be sold within said 
 limits [market houses or market stands], by the bushel 
 or its divisions, and any controversy shall arise between 
 the parties as to the accuracy or truth of the measure- 
 ment, or if any dispute should arise between the clerk 
 and any party whilst testing the correctness of the stamps 
 or marks, as to the proper heaping of the measure, the 
 question shall be decided by weight, allowing [fifty- 
 six] 2 pounds of white potatoes to the bushel and fifty 
 pounds of sweet potatoes, and in the same proportion for 
 any of the divisions of the bushel. i Oct., 1858, 3, O. 
 359- 
 
 4. Use of Steelyards and Spring Balances Forbidden 
 
 76a. No person shall use steelyards or spring balances 
 within the market houses, market places or market limits 
 [belonging to the city.] 12 Dec., 1865, 12, O. 415. 
 
 5. Misrepresentation of True Weight or Measure of 
 
 Bread, Lard, Butter, or Other Provisions Forbidden 
 Penalty 
 
 77a. No person shall bring to the market houses or mar- 
 ket places [belonging to the city] for sale, any bread, 
 lard, butter or other provisions in lumps, loaves or other 
 parcels, as or for a greater weight or measure than the 
 
 1 The power of the clerks of the markets to enforce the ordinance of 
 October i, 1858, is confined to the public markets. Warwick's Opinions, 1884: 91. 
 
 2 i June, 1891, P. L. 160. This act which is entitled "An act regulating 
 the standard weight of a bushel of potatoes," makes no mention of sweet 
 potatoes. See 53 of this digest. 
 
 IT 4 
 
true weight and measure thereof, or shall employ any 
 device for imposition or fraud in the sale of any pro- 
 visions. 12 Dec., 1865, 13, O. 415. 
 
 78b. Any person or persons who shall be guilty of vio- 
 lating any of the provisions of the above ordinance, shall 
 pay for each and every such offence such fines as are 
 hereafter stipulated, together with the costs thereon to 
 be recoverable as fines are now recoverable by law. The 
 penalties follow: 
 
 Section 12 . . .the sum of twenty dollars 
 " ... 13 . . . the sum of five dollars. 1 
 
 12 Dec., 1865, 119, O. 416. 
 
 VIII. LAWS (OBSOLETE) GOVERNING THE PUR- 
 CHASE AND SALE OF SPECIFIC COM- 
 MODITIES 
 
 i. Beer and Ale 
 
 a. To be Sold by English Beer Measure Except When 
 Drunk in Inns and Taverns 
 
 79 i) Whereas by a law of this province, for regulating 
 the dimensions of casks, etc. it is enacted, among other 
 things, that a barrel shall contain thirty-one gallons wine- 
 measure. 2 And whereas by another law of this province, 
 for regulating of weights and measures, it is, amongst 
 other things, enacted, that none shall sell beer or ale by 
 retail, but by beer-measure, according to the standard of 
 England; by reason whereof the retailers of beer and 
 ale are obliged to sell the same by far greater measure 
 than they buy it : For remedy whereof . 
 
 All persons which now are, or which at any time 
 or times hereafter shall be, licensed to keep any tavern, 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 20. 
 
 2 The English ale or beer gallon contained 282 cubic inches; the wine 
 or liquid gallon contains 231 cubic inches. 
 
inn, ale-house or victualling-house, within this province, 
 [commonwealth] shall sell beer and ale by wine-meas- 
 ure to all persons as drink it in their houses, and by 
 beer-measure to all such persons as carry the same out 
 of their houses, under the penalty of ten shillings, to 
 the use of the poor for every county where the offence 
 is committed. 1705, i, I Smith's Laws, 43. 
 
 2. Biscuit Intended for Interstate Commerce 
 a. Standard Keg Penalty 
 
 80 i ) Each and every keg in which biscuit shall be ex- 
 ported from this commonwealth, or therein exposed for 
 exportation, shall contain at least seven pounds of good 
 and merchantable biscuit. And all and every person 
 and persons,' who shall . . . export biscuit from 
 this commonwealth, or herein expose the same to sale 
 for exportation, in any keg or kegs, containing a less 
 quantity and inferior quality of biscuit, than is hereby 
 directed, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five shillings 
 for every keg so exported, or exposed to sale for ex- 
 portation, contrary to the meaning and direction of this 
 act; to be recovered and applied in the manner herein- 
 after provided and declared. 1 12 Mar., 1789, 10, (2 
 Smith's Laws, 478.) 
 
 1 All and singular the forfeiture* and penalties in and by this act. or 
 the act to which this it a supplement, set. declared, appointed and imposed, 
 shall be. one-half thereof to the [department of public health and char 
 i June, 1885. art. 10. P. L. 48. art. 15. I' L. 58; 8 Apr.. 1903, |a. I' I. 
 156.] in the city of Philadelphia, for the une and benefit of the said city, and 
 the districts annexed thereto, and the other half, to the informer, or him. her 
 or them, who will sue for the same, to his. her or their own use and benefit; and 
 if the said forfeitures and penalties be under the sum of ten pounds, the same 
 shall and may be sued for and recovered within this commonwealth, or if the 
 said forfeitures and penalties be above the said sum of ten pounds, the same 
 shall and may be sued for and recovered by bill, plaint or information, in any 
 court of record within this commonwealth, wherein no essoin. protection, or 
 wager of law, nor more than one imparlance shall be allowed. 12 Mar.. 1789. 
 1 1 a, 2 Smith's Laws, 479. 
 
 If. 
 
IX. LAWS AND ORDINANCES INTENDED TO 
 GOVERN THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF 
 SPECIFIC COMMODITIES, BUT INOPERA- 
 TIVE, WHOLLY OR IN PART, BECAUSE OF 
 LACK OF SPECIFIC ADMINISTRATIVE 
 AGENTS REQUIRED FOR THEIR ENFORCE- 
 MENT 
 
 i. Coal Anthracite 
 
 a. Standard Ton 
 
 81 i ) Whereas, it has become absolutely necessary, for 
 the better protection of the citizens at large, as well as 
 for the honestly disposed dealers, that some measures 
 be taken to prevent fraud and to secure fair and honest 
 competition in the retail coal trade in the city of Phila- 
 delphia; therefore . 
 
 The legal standard ton for anthracite coal shall be 
 two thousand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdu- 
 pois weight. 1 27 May, 1871, i, P. L. 1287. 
 
 b. Inspection Districts Established in Philadelphia 
 
 82 i ) For the purpose of carrying into effect the pro- 
 visions of this act, the city of Philadelphia shall be 
 divided into three districts; the first district shall com- 
 prise all that portion of the said city lying south of the 
 south side of Chestnut street; the second district shall 
 comprise all that portion of said city north of the south 
 side of Chestnut street, extending to the south side of 
 Girard avenue, and also to the south side of the track 
 of the Pennsylvania railroad west to the intersection of 
 Girard avenue therewith; the third district shall com- 
 prise all the remaining portion of said city north of the 
 south side of Girard avenue, and also of the south side 
 
 1 In force but supplied by 26 June, 1895, i, P. L. 334. See 44 of this 
 digest. 
 
 117 
 
of the track of the Pennsylvania railroad west of the 
 intersection of Girard avenue therewith. 27 May, 1871, 
 2, P. L. 1288. 
 
 c. Governor, Councils, and Mayor to Appoint Inspec- 
 
 tors 
 
 83 i ) The governor shall appoint one inspector, and 
 select and common councils of the city and county of 
 Philadelphia, are hereby authorized and empowered to 
 elect one inspector, and the mayor of the said city to 
 appoint one inspector, within thirty days from the date 
 of the passage of this act, and every three years there- 
 after a person of suitable qualifications, who shall be 
 styled an inspector; the said inspectors shall decide by 
 lot among themselves the district which each one of 
 said inspectors is to occupy. 27 May, 1871, 3, P. L. 
 1287. 
 
 d. Candidates for Inspector to Have No Interest in 
 
 Coal Mining or Trade 
 
 84 i ) No person interested in the mining or sale of coal 
 shall be eligible under the provisions of this act. 27 
 May, 1871, 15, P. L. 1290. 
 
 e. Inspectors to Stamp or Brand Delivery Vehicles 
 With Capacity 
 
 85 i ) It shall be the duty of the inspectors to examine 
 . . * every cart, wagon or other vehicle used for the 
 delivery of anthracite coal in their respective districts, 
 and to ascertain, by measurement or otherwise, the ca- 
 pacity of said vehicles; and if the cart, wagon or other 
 vehicle will contain two thousand two hundred and forty 
 pounds, or fractional fourths thereof, avoirdupois 
 weight, of hard white ash Schuylkill coal, the said in- 
 spector shall put in a conspicuous place on said vehicle 
 
his stamp or brand, made for such purpose and denoting 
 the capacity of said vehicle. 27 May, 1871, 4, P. L. 
 1288. 
 
 86 2) The stamp shall be put upon each cart, wagon or 
 other vehicle in fast colors, by the inspector of the dis- 
 trict in which it belongs; and when it shall become ob- 
 literated from any cause, the owner of such cart, wagon 
 or other vehicle shall have the same re-stamped, and pay 
 therefor to the said inspector the sum of one dollar; 
 and upon the failure or neglect of said owner to comply 
 with the provisions of this section, he shall be compelled 
 to pay a fine of ten dollars. 3 Apr., 1872, 2, P. L. 773. 
 
 f. Unlawful to Use Unbranded Vehicle or to Change 
 Capacity of Branded Vehicle Penalty 
 
 87 i) It shall be unlawful for any cart, wagon or other 
 vehicle to be used in delivering anthracite coal within the 
 city of Philadelphia, unless the said inspector's stamp or 
 brand is placed thereon; and every person found vio- 
 lating this provision shall be subject to the penalty or 
 penalties as hereinafter provided. 27 May, 1871, 5, 
 P. L. 1288. 
 
 88 2) Every retail coal dealer in the city of Philadel- 
 phia who shall use any cart, wagon, or other vehicle in 
 delivering anthracite coal in said city, which shall not 
 have been stamped by the said inspectors as heretofore 
 provided in this act, shall be compelled to pay a fine of 
 ten dollars, one-half of which shall go to the city and 
 one-half to said inspector. 27 May, 1871, 11, P. L. 
 1289. 
 
 89 3) Any person who shall change or alter the size or 
 capacity of any cart, wagon or other vehicle, used in 
 delivering anthracite coal in the city of Philadelphia, and 
 stamped under the provisions of an act to which this is 
 
 119 
 
a supplement [To regulate the weight of anthracite coal 
 delivered by retail coal dealers in the city of Philadel- 
 phia. 27 May, 1871, P. L. 1287], with intent to de- 
 fraud, by the reducing of such cart, wagon or other 
 vehicle to a less capacity than is indicated by the stamp 
 thereon, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con- 
 viction thereof, shall be compelled to pay a fine not ex- 
 ceeding fifty dollars and undergo an imprisonment not 
 exceeding six months: Provided, however, that neither 
 of the coal inspectors of said city shall be prevented 
 from altering the size or capacity of any stamped cart, 
 wagon or other vehicle used for the delivery of anthra- 
 cite coal in the said city, and restamping the same. 
 3 Apr., 1872, i, P. L. 772. 
 
 g. Inspectors May Arrest 
 
 90 i ) Each of the said coal inspectors shall have au- 
 thority to arrest, or direct any police officer or constable 
 of the city of Philadelphia to arrest, any person or per- 
 sons, found violating this act or the act to which this is 
 a supplement [To regulate the weight of anthracite coal 
 delivered by retail coal dealers in the city of Philadel- 
 phia. 27 May, 1871, P. L. 1287], and to take him or 
 them before any [magistrate] 1 of the city of Philadel- 
 phia, for a hearing. 3 Apr., 1872, 7, P. L. 774. 
 
 h. Inspectors May Test Weight of Loads Penalty 
 
 91 i ) The said inspectors are hereby authorized and em- 
 powered, at their discretion, to order any cart, wagon 
 or other vehicle, used by any retail coal dealer in deliv- 
 ering anthracite coal, to be brought to any scales, within 
 four hundred yards of the place where said coal shall 
 have been loaded, or within four hundred yards of the 
 place of arrest by the inspector, that have been regulated 
 by the proper officer within twelve months then preced- 
 
 1 Constitution, 1874, art 5, |ia. 
 
 120 
 
ing, and thereon the said inspector shall take the weight 
 of the vehicle loaded, and after the coal shall have been 
 taken to its destination, or immediately, if the owner or 
 driver shall desire the same, the said inspector shall take 
 the weight of the vehicle unloaded. 27 May, 1871, 6, 
 P. L. 1288. 
 
 92 2) For the refusal of any driver of any such vehicle 
 to comply with the request of any of said inspectors to 
 drive to a weigh scale: Provided, the scales designated 
 are within four hundred yards of the place where the 
 said coal shall have been loaded, the said inspector may 
 order the driver under arrest, and take measures to 
 weigh said coal himself; said driver, for such refusal, 
 shall be compelled to pay a fine of five dollars, one-half 
 to go to the city, the other half to the said inspector. 
 27 May, 1871, 12, P. L. 1289. 
 
 93 3) Any person who shall refuse to permit the scales 
 chosen by said inspector to be used by him, shall be 
 compelled to pay a fine of ten dollars, one-half of which 
 shall go to the city the other half to the said inspector. 
 27 May, 1871, 13, P. L. 1289. 
 
 94 4) The said inspectors are hereby authorized and 
 empowered, at their discretion, to order any cart, wagon 
 or other vehicle used by any retail coal dealer in deliv- 
 ering anthracite coal within the city of Philadelphia, to 
 be taken back to the place where the said coal shall have 
 been loaded: Provided, The place of arrest be within 
 four hundred yards thereof, where the inspectors may 
 take the weight of the vehicle loaded; and after the coal 
 shall have been taken to its destination, or immediately 
 if the owner or driver shall desire the same, the said in- 
 spector shall take the weight of the vehicle unloaded ; and 
 for the refusal of any driver of any such vehicle, to com- 
 ply with the order of any of said inspectors, to drive 
 
 121 
 
back to the place where the coal shall have been loaded, 
 he shall be compelled to pay a fine of ten dollars. 3 
 Apr., 1872, 5, P. L. 773. 
 
 i. Inspectors to Notify Dealers of Short Weight 
 
 95 i) If the said inspector shall find the weight of coal 
 contained in the said vehicle, to be less than two thou- 
 sand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdupois for a 
 ton, and for a fraction of a ton, in a relative proportion, 
 being less than said vehicle was represented to contain, 
 allowing forty pounds for constantly changing weight 
 of animal and vehicle, the said inspector shall notify the 
 dealer owning said coal, so found to be deficient in 
 weight, of the same, and of the penalty incurred. 27 
 May, 1871, 7, P. L. 1288. 
 
 j. Retail Dealers Subject to Fine for Short Weight 
 or for Use of Unbrandcd Vehicle 
 
 96 i ) Any retail coal dealer sending out into the high- 
 way a load of anthracite coal, containing less than two 
 thousand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdupois 
 for a ton, except when delivering fractions of a ton, or 
 if delivering a fraction of a ton and said fraction of a 
 ton contain less relatively than the legal standard of two 
 thousand two hundred and forty pounds avoirdupois, the 
 dealer so acting shall be compelled to pay a fine of fifty 
 dollars, one-half to go to the city and one-half to the 
 said inspector. 1 27 May, 1871. 14. P. L. 1289. 
 
 97 2) Any person delivering or causing to be delivered 
 anthracite coal into any unstamped cart, wagon or other 
 vehicle used for the delivery of anthracite coal by retail, 
 within the city of. Philadelphia, with knowledge that 
 such cart, wagon or other vehicle is used for MH h pur- 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 15. 
 
 IJJ 
 
pose within the said city, shall be compelled to pay a 
 fine of ten dollars for each offence. 3 Apr., 1872, 3, 
 P. L. 773. 
 
 k. Salary of Inspectors Inspectors to be Sworn 
 
 98 i ) The salary of each of the said inspectors shall be 
 the sum of one thousand six hundred dollars per annum 
 ... to be paid from the city treasury, on a warrant 
 drawn by the mayor of the city; and each of the said 
 inspectors shall be qualified upon oath to perform hon- 
 estly and truly their several duties to the best of their 
 abilities. 27 May, 1871, 8, P. L. 1289. 
 
 1. Tax on Retail Dealers 
 
 99 i ) To provide means for the payment of the salaries 
 of the said inspectors, each retail coal dealer in the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, shall pay an annual tax . . . 
 equal in amount to the mercantile tax now in force, to 
 be assessed and collected in the same manner and by 
 the same officers as the said mercantile tax is now col- 
 lected, and the amount so collected to be paid into the 
 hands of the city treasurer. 27 May, 1871, 9, P. L. 
 1289. 
 
 m. Inspection Fees 
 
 100 i) For each cart, wagon or other vehicle used by 
 any retail coal dealer in delivering anthracite coal in 
 the city of Philadelphia, stamped by the said inspectors, 
 and which stamp is the consumer's guarantee of its 
 proper capacity, the owner shall pay to the said inspector 
 one dollar. 27 May, 1871, 10, P. L. 1289. 
 
 n. Retail Dealers to Furnish Delivery Tickets Show- 
 ing Quantity in Each Load Penalty 
 
 101 i) It shall be unlawful for any retail coal dealer of 
 the city of Philadelphia, to deliver any quantity or quan- 
 
 123 
 
titles of anthracite coal, which shall have been sold by 
 weight, without each such delivery being accompanied 
 with a delivery-ticket, whereon shall be distinctly ex- 
 pressed in tons, fractional fourths thereof, or pounds 
 avoirdupois, the quantity or quantities of coal contained 
 in the cart, the wagon or other vehicle used in such deliv- 
 ery, with the name of the purchaser thereof, and the 
 dealer from whom purchased; and for each failure or 
 refusal to produce such delivery ticket when called for 
 by either of the inspectors or the purchaser of the coal, 
 the driver or owner of the vehicle shall be compelled to 
 pay a fine of ten dollars. 3 Apr., 1872, 4, P. L. 773. 
 
 o. Procedure for Recovery of Penalties 
 
 102 i ) All penalties provided by this act, and the act to 
 which this is a supplement [To regulate the weight of 
 anthracite coal delivered by retail coal dealers in the city 
 of Philadelphia. 27 May, 1871, P. L. 1287.], shall be 
 recoverable by action of debt in the same manner as 
 penalties are now by law recoverable, to be brought in 
 the name of the coal inspector; one-half of said hms 
 and penalties to go to the city of Philadelphia, and the 
 other half to go to the said inspector; and corporations 
 and companies violating this act, or the act to which 
 this is a supplement, shall incur like penalties with indi- 
 viduals. 1 3 Apr., 1872, 6, P. L. 773. 
 
 2. Grain and Salt Imported 
 
 a. Governor to Appoint Measurer of Corn and Salt 
 
 103 i) There [shall] be appointed by the [governor] 2 
 of this commonwealth some proper and discreet person, 
 to be the measurer of all kinds of corn and salt imported 
 or brought into the port and city of Philadelphia for 
 sale ; which officer, before he enters on the duties of the 
 
 1 Repeal clause, section 9. 
 
 1 22 Apr., 1794, 3 Smith's Laws, 185. 
 
 124 
 
office, shall take and subscribe before one of the judges 
 of the court of common pleas for the county of Philadel- 
 phia, an oath or affirmation, that he will in all things 
 well and faithfully execute the office of measurer of corn 
 and salt, within the city and port of Philadelphia, accord- 
 ing to the best of his knowledge and ability, and the 
 directions contained in this act. 22 Sept., 1785, 2, 2 
 Smith's Laws, 350. 
 
 b. Measurer of Corn and Salt to Measure Imported 
 Grain and Salt 
 
 104 i ) The duty of the said officer shall be : 
 
 To provide, at his own cost, a sufficient number 
 of barred half bushel measures for corn, and unbarred 
 half bushel measures for salt, made of dry, well sea- 
 soned white oak, and to have the same compared with 
 and regulated by the public standard half bushel meas- 
 ure kept in the city of Philadelphia, at least twice in every 
 year that the same shall be used : 
 
 To employ a sufficient number of able-bodied and 
 trusty persons, to act as his deputies, in the measuring 
 and striking all kinds of corn and salt, which shall be 
 imported and brought into the city or port of Philadel- 
 phia for sale, which deputies, before they shall take upon 
 themselves to measure any corn or salt, shall take and 
 subscribe before one of the said judges, the like oath 
 or affirmation hereinbefore mentioned : 
 
 The said officer shall, upon notice to him given in 
 writing, that any ship, shallop or vessel, boat, cart or 
 wagon, hath imported or brought into the city or port 
 any corn or salt, and that the same is sold and ready to 
 be delivered to the purchaser, send one or more of his 
 deputies, within two hours, to measure the same ; which 
 deputy or deputies, taking with them a sufficient num- 
 ber of the said half bushel measures, therewith shall well 
 and faithfully measure the same, and forthwith deliver 
 
 125 
 
to the seller an account of the number of bushels by him 
 measured and delivered, and a duplicate thereof to the 
 buyer; and shall every day, on which he shall measure 
 any corn or salt, return to the said officer an account 
 of the whole quantity by him measured, with the name 
 of the seller and buyer, and the ship, vessel, boat, cart 
 or wagon, from which the same was delivered. 
 
 The said officer shall keep a fair book, in which he 
 shall register the date, names of the sellers and buyers, 
 the quantity and species of the corn and salt measured ; 
 which book shall be open for the inspection of the sellers 
 and buyers, at any time when they shall have occasion 
 to refer to the same. 22 Sept., 1785, 3, 2 Smith's 
 Laws, 350. 
 
 c. Measurer of Corn and Salt May Remove Deputies 
 
 105 i) Upon like complaint [made by any two dealers 
 in corn or salt, dwelling in the city of Philadelphia, the 
 township of the Northern Liberties or district of South- 
 wark], to be made to two of the jusitces of the court of 
 common pleas for the county of Philadelphia, that any 
 of the deputies of the said officer has misbehaved him- 
 self, or neglected his duty, the said two justices shall 
 . . . summon the party complained of, and if they 
 see cause deprive him of the office of deputy-measurer, 
 after which he shall not be qualified to measure any 
 grain or salt bought or sold within this city or port. 
 22 Sept., 1785, 7, 2 Smith's Laws, 352. 
 
 106 2) The measurer of all kinds of corn and salt, im- 
 ported or brought into the port of Philadelphia for sale, 
 shall have full power and authority to remove any 
 deputy measurer, and appoint another, or others, from 
 time to time, as he may deem necessary; and if any 
 deputy or deputies, after such removal, shall measure 
 any grain, seed, salt or coal, contrary to the meaning of 
 this act, he shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay 
 
 126 
 
a fine of fifty dollars, to be recovered in the same man- 
 ner that any other debt is by law recoverable. 16 June, 
 1836, 4, P. L. 683. 
 
 107 3) Upon complaint made to the said measurer, by 
 any two citizens of this commonwealth, that any of his 
 deputies have misbehaved themselves in the performance 
 of their duties, or have neglected the same, and if he 
 shall find the said complaint to be true, he shall remove 
 such deputy measurer from office. 16 June, 1836, 5, 
 P. L. 683. 
 
 d. Buyers to Receive Certificates of Weight 
 
 108 i) The head measurer, and his deputies, when 
 weighing grain, shall keep true and accurate accounts of 
 the same, and furnish to buyer and seller a certificate 
 of the weight; and whenever their services may be re- 
 quired, by buyer, or seller, to weigh grain, the charges 
 therefor, shall be no greater than for measuring; and 
 for all grain that a deputy may either measure or weigh, 
 he shall make return to the head measurer. 12 Apr., 
 1867, P. L- 74- 
 
 e. Fees 
 
 109 i ) The fees to be received by the several inspectors 
 in the city and county of Philadelphia shall be as fol- 
 lows, to wit. 
 
 By the measurer of corn and salt. 
 
 In performing the duties enjoined upon him by law, 
 for every one hundred bushels of . . . salt, seven 
 cents. 
 
 By the deputies of the said measurer. 
 
 For every one hundred bushels of salt which they 
 shall measure and keep an account of, ten cents. 27 
 Mar., 1821, i, P. L. 133 (7 Smith's Laws, 418.) 
 
 127 
 
 294769 
 
110 2) The fees to be received by the measurer of 
 grain, or his deputies for the port and city of Philadel- 
 phia, shall be forty cents for every one hundred bushels 
 of grain of whatever description, including flaxseed, 
 beans and peas, which he or they shall measure, and 
 keep an account of, agreeably to law, and the provisions 
 of any act so far as they are altered or supplied by this 
 act are hereby repealed. 12 Apr., 1842, 19, P. L. 265. 
 
 111 3) If any person whose fees are fixed by this act, 
 by colour of his office or occupation, by custom or under 
 any other prefense whatsoever, shall take any other or 
 greater fees for services performed in pursuance of this 
 act, than are hereby allowed, he shall be deemed guilty 
 of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof before any 
 [magistrate] 1 of the city . . . of Philadelphia, or 
 justice of the peace of the county of Philadelphia, pay 
 a fine of fifty dollars, one-half to the commonwealth, 
 and one-half to the party injured. 27 Mar., 1821 
 P. L. 134. (7 Smith's Laws, 419.) 
 
 112 4) Nothing in this act contained shall extend, or be 
 construed to extend, to any retailers of corn or salt, in 
 or out of any store or the public market-places in the 
 city, township or district aforesaid, nor to entitle the 
 said officer to the reward aforesaid, upon any corn or 
 salt which has been once measured in manner aforesaid, 
 and delivered into -any store, warehouse or granary in 
 the said city, township or district. 22 Sept., 1785, 8, 
 2 Smith's Laws, 352. 
 
 3. Lime 
 
 a. Standard Bushel Measure 
 
 113 i) The bushel used for the measuring of lime in 
 the city and county of Philadelphia . . . shall be of 
 
 1 Constitution, 1874. . 5. Sa- 
 
 128 
 
the following denominations, to wit: thirteen inches 
 and a half in diameter at the bottom in the clear, fifteen 
 inches diameter at the top in the clear, and thirteen 
 inches and forty-seven hundredths perpendicular depth 
 in the clear. 23 Mar., 1819, i, P. L. 150. (7 Smith's 
 Laws, 192.) 
 
 b. Courts to Appoint Officials to Brand Bushel 
 Measures Penalty 
 
 114 i ) It shall be the duty of the several courts of com- 
 mon pleas, within the city and counties aforesaid, to 
 appoint one or more suitable persons in each of said 
 counties, as to them shall appear necessary, whose duty 
 it shall be, after being for that purpose duly sworn or 
 affirmed, by a judge, alderman or justice of the peace 
 [magistrate in Philadelphia] 1 , of the city or proper 
 county; and a certificate of such qualification, filed in the 
 prothonotary's office, to procure a brand and mark 
 every bushel intended to be used for the measuring of 
 lime, with the letters L. B. in the manner that weights 
 and measures are now stamped or marked in the city 
 of Philadelphia; for which service he shall be entitled 
 to receive twenty-five cents for each bushel so stamped 
 or marked. 23 Mar., 1819, 2, P. L. 150. (7 Smith's 
 Laws, 192.) 
 
 115 2) If any person or persons, in the city or counties 
 aforesaid, shall use, for the measuring of lime, a bushel 
 of any other dimensions, or not stamped as is herein- 
 before directed, he or they shall forfeit and pay the sum 
 of five dollars for every such offence, to be recovered 
 before any alderman or justice of the peace [magistrate 
 in Philadelphia], 2 upon due proof to him made, in the 
 same manner that debts of like sum are recoverable, to 
 
 1 Constitution, 1874, art. 5, 12. 
 
 2 Constitution, 1874, art. 5, 12. 
 
 129 
 
be paid to the treasurer of the county wherein the offence 
 was committed, for the use of the county. 23 Mar., 
 r. 1819, 3, P. L. 151. (7 Smith's Laws, 192.) 
 
 4. Marble 
 
 a. Governor to Appoint Measurer of Marble 
 
 116 i ) The governor ... is hereby authorized and 
 required to appoint a measurer of marble, whose duty 
 it shall be faithfully to measure all marble, in the rough, 
 brought into the city and county of Philadelphia for 
 sale, when thereto required by the parties, or either of 
 them, whose compensation shall be one cent per foot for 
 cubic marble, and one fourth of a cent per foot for slab 
 marble. 14 Apr., 1838, 9, P. L. 460. 
 
 5. Wood and Bark 
 
 a. Standard Cord Penalties 
 
 117 I ) All cord wood brought to market within the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, shall be at least four feet in 
 length, including one-half the kerf, and the cord shall 
 be computed at the rate of eight feet in length, four 
 feet in breadth and four feet in height, while stowed 
 and packed, the straight wood shall be placed by all 
 venders of cord wood compactly in the lower part of the 
 pile, and the crooked wood in the upper part thereof, 
 and a reasonable and fair allowance shall be made by all 
 corders or venders of wood for the loss sustained by 
 crooked or uneven wood. 10 Mar., 1817, 2, P. L. 92. 
 
 118 2) If any person shall expose to sale within the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, any wood less than four 
 feet in length, it shall be liable to be seized by any 
 corder of wood and forfeited, one half to the use of the 
 said corder, and the other to the guardians of the poor 
 of the city [department of public health and charities in 
 
 130 
 
Philadelphia], 1 district or township in which it shall be 
 seized ; but in case the person exposing the wood for sale, 
 shall deem himself aggrieved thereby, he may appeal to 
 any alderman or justice of the peace of the city [magis- 
 trate in Philadelphia] , 2 district or township in which the 
 seizure is made, who shall hear, try and determine the 
 same : and if any person shall, within the said limits, sell 
 as a cord of wood or bark, for fuel, any quantity less 
 than the standard measure prescribed by this act, unless 
 the- same shall have been previously measured by a 
 corder, and is sold without any change since such meas- 
 urement, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars; 
 and if any corder shall refuse or neglect to perform the 
 duties enjoined on him by this act, he shall, for every 
 such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars; 
 and if any corder shall purchase any wood for the pur- 
 pose of selling it again, he shall forfeit and pay the sum 
 of one hundred dollars, which several penalties and for- 
 feitures may be recovered as debts of a similar amount 
 are by law recoverable before any alderman or justice 
 of the peace within the city [magistrate in Philadel- 
 phia], 2 district or township in which the offence shall 
 have been committed, and shall be one half for the use 
 of the person prosecuting for them, and the other for 
 the guardians of the poor of the said city [department 
 of public health and charities in Philadelphia], 1 district 
 or township. 10 Mar., 1817, 3, P. L. 93. (6 Smith's 
 Laws, 415.) 
 
 1 i June, 1885, art. 10, P. L. 48, art. 15, P. L. 58; 8 Apr., 1903, 2, 
 P. L. 156. 
 
 "Constitution, 1874, art. 5, 12. 
 
X. LAWS AND ORDINANCES INTENDED TO 
 GOVERN THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF 
 FRUITS, BERRIES, VEGETABLES, AND 
 BREAD IN MARKET HOUSES AND MARKET 
 STANDS BELONGING TO THE CITY, BUT 
 INOPERATIVE, WHOLLY OR IN PART, BE- 
 CAUSE OF LACK OF OFFICIAL SEALERS OF 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 
 
 1. Clerks of the Markets to Test Weight of Loaves of 
 
 Bread Penalty 
 
 119a. All loaf-bread made for sale, within this com- 
 monwealth, shall be sold by the pound avoirdupois, and 
 every baker or other person, offering the same for sale, 
 shall keep at his or her house, or at such other place at 
 which he or she shall at any time offer or expose for sale 
 any such bread, sufficient scales and weights, lawfully 
 regulated, for the purpose of weighing the same; and if 
 any baker or other person shall . . ; sell or offer 
 for sale any loaf-bread, in any other manner, the con- 
 tract respecting the same shall be void, and the person 
 offending against this act shall, on conviction, forfeit 
 and pay the sum of ten dollars for every such offence, 
 one-half to the use of the informer, and the other half 
 to the use of this commonwealth; and it shall be the 
 especial duty of the clerk of the market, in any place 
 where such officer is appointed, to discover and prose- 
 cute all persons offending against this act. 1 i Apr., 
 1797, 2, 3 Smith's Laws, 295. 
 
 2. Clerks of the Markets to Test Accuracy of Marks Sei- 
 
 ting Forth, in Terms of Dry Measure, the Capacity 
 of Containers of Fruits, Berries, and Vegetables* 
 Penalty 
 
 120a. The several clerks of the markets 2 are hereby au- 
 thorized and instructed to test the correctness of such 
 
 This act is in force. Johnson v. Kolb, 3 W. N. C, 273. (1876.) 
 
 3 The power of the clerks of the markets to enforce the ordinance of 
 
 October i, 1858, is confined to the public markets. Warwick's Opinions, 1884; 
 
 91. 
 
labels, stamps, or marks [on every basket, box, tub, or 
 other article used for the sale of fruits, vegetables, or 
 berries, in market houses, or market stands, showing in 
 plain characters of at least one inch in size, the capacity 
 in fractional parts of a bushel i] as often as they may 
 judge proper, by measuring the contents of any basket, 
 box, tub, bucket, or any other article, by sealed measures 
 of this city; and if any clerk should find any basket or 
 other article which will not contain the quantity repre- 
 sented by the figures or characters marked thereon, or 
 if he should find any basket or other article without such 
 marks, in either case, such basket, box, tub, or other 
 article, with its contents, shall be forfeited, one-third to 
 the clerk, and the other two-thirds, with the basket, box, 
 or tub, shall be delivered by the clerk to the [department 
 of public health and charities.] 1 ! Oct., 1858, 2, O. 
 
 359- 
 
 3. Sales to be Made Only by Legally Regulated and 
 Stamped Weights and Measures and by Accurate 
 Scales Penalty 
 
 121a. No person shall use steelyards or spring balances 
 within the market houses, market places or market lim- 
 its [belonging to the city], nor shall sale be made rjy 
 other weights and measures than such as shall have been 
 legally regulated and stamped, and by just scales. 12 
 Dec., 1865, 12, O. 415. 
 
 122b. Any person or persons who shall be guilty of vio- 
 lating any of the provisions of the above ordinance, shall 
 pay for each and every such offence such fines as are 
 hereafter stipulated, together with the costs thereon to 
 be recoverable as fines are now recoverable by law. The 
 penalties follow : . 
 
 Section 12 . . .the sum of twenty dollars. 2 - 
 12 Dec., 1865, 19, O. 416. 
 
 , 1885, art. 10, P. L. 48. art. 15, P. L. 58; 8 Apr., 1903, 2 
 
 133 
 
 P. L. 156. 
 
 - Repeal clause, section 20. 
 
XI. GENERAL PENAL PROVISIONS, INOPERA- 
 TIVE IN PHLADELPHIA BECAUSE OF 
 LACK OF OFFICIAL SEALERS OF WEIGHTS 
 AND MEASURES 
 
 1. For Failure to Comply With Recommendations of 
 
 Sealers, or for Selling by False Beams, Scales, 
 Weights, or Measures 
 
 123a. In case any maker, vender or proprietor of beams. 
 scales, weights or measures, within the city or county of 
 Philadelphia, or county for which a sealer has been ap- 
 pointed, shall neglect or refuse to comply with the 
 requisitions which the regulator of weights and meas- 
 ures is authorized and directed to make, or shall sell by 
 false beams, scales, weights or measures, such person or 
 persons so offending shall, for each and every offence, 
 forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars, which may be 
 sued for, and recovered as debts of the like amount are 
 by law recoverable for the use of the poor of the city. 
 district or township, in which such fine shall have been 
 incurred: Provided, That the provisions of the tilth 
 and sixth sections of this act 1 shall not be so COIIMI i 
 to extend to such beams, scales, weights and measures, 
 as shall not be used by the proprietors thereof, for the 
 purpose of buying and selling the same. 15 Apr.. 1845, 
 7, P. L. 444. 
 
 2. For Offering for Sale any Unsealed Dry Measures 
 
 124a. It shall be the duty of any person or persons offer- 
 ing dry measures for sale, within the limits of the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, to have the same stamped 
 and sealed by the proper officer of said city and county. 
 and any person found guilty of offering or exposing for 
 sale any dry measure without having the same sealed 
 
 1 These sections were repealed by implication by 8 Mar.. 188}. I' I, 6 
 See p. 1 8. 
 
 134 
 
and adjusted by the proper officer as aforesaid, shall be 
 liable to a penalty of five dollars for every such offence, 
 to be collected as debts of like amount are now collected, 
 one-half to go to the informer, and the other half to the 
 use of said county. 1 18 Mar., 1842, 6, P. L. 126. 
 
 3. For Altering Sealed Measure, or Selling by the Same 
 
 125a. Any person who shall, in any way, alter any meas- 
 ure, so that the capacity thereof is diminished, after the 
 same shall have been adjusted and sealed, or shall, in 
 buying or selling, use any measure so altered; and any 
 person who shall alter any scale, beam or weight, so as 
 to impair the adjustment thereof, after the same shall 
 have been adjusted and sealed; and any dealer, vender 
 or weigher, who shall have in his possession any scale, 
 beam, weight or measure, so altered as aforesaid, shall, 
 on conviction thereof, before any alderman or justice of 
 the peace [magistrate in Philadelphia], 2 forfeit and pay 
 the sum of ten dollars; and if the person so convicted 
 refuse or neglect to satisfy such forfeiture, with costs, 
 immediately, or produce goods and chattels sufficient 
 whereon to levy the said forfeiture, together with cost, 
 then the said alderman or justice of the peace [magis- 
 trate] 2 shall commit the offender to the jail of the county 
 wherein the offence was committed, there to be kept at 
 hard labor for the space of thirty days. 21 Apr., 1846, 
 i, P. L. 467. 
 
 4. Appeals 
 
 126a. Any person who shall be convicted as aforesaid, 
 and shall think himself or herself aggrieved by such con- 
 viction, may remove the proceedings, by certiorari, to 
 the next court of quarter sessions, held for the city or 
 county wherein the offence shall have been committed; 
 
 1 Repeal clause, same section. 
 
 2 Constitution, 1874, ar *- 5> 12 - 
 
and on the hearing of the certiorari, the court may, if 
 they think proper, examine testimony; but no judgment 
 shall be reversed for any matter of form, if it shall be 
 proved to the satisfaction of the court, that the offence 
 charged has been committed by the defendant. 21 Apr., 
 1846, 2, P. L. 468. 
 
 5. Disposition of Fines 
 
 127a. One moiety of the forfeitures in money accruing 
 and becoming due for any offence against this act, shall 
 be paid to the overseers or guardians of the poor of the 
 city, borough or township, wherein the offence shall 
 have been committed [department of public health and 
 charities in Philadelphia], 1 and the other moiety to the 
 person or persons who shall prosecute and sue for the 
 same. 21 Apr., 1846, 3, P. L. 468. 
 
 1 i June, 1885, art. 10, P. L. 48, art. 15, P. L. 58; 8 Apr., 1903, 2, 
 P. L. 156. 
 
 136 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 Suggestions for National and State Laws Adopted by the 
 National Conference on Weights and Measures at the 
 Third Annual Conference, May 16-17, I 97 
 
 National Law 
 
 The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is authorized 
 to furnish a complete set of standard weights and measures, 
 adopted or accepted by the National Bureau of Standards, 
 to any State, Territory, and the District O'f Columbia, under 
 the following conditions: 
 
 Sec. i. That the office of state commissioner of 
 weights and measures be established. 
 
 Sec. 2. That facilities such as suitable quarters and 
 equipment be provided for the state commissioner of weights 
 and measures at the expense of the State or Territory. 
 
 Sec. 3. That the state commissioner of weights and 
 measures be required to make an annual report to the gov- 
 ernor, a copy of which shall be filed with the National 
 Bureau of Standards, giving, in addition to other informa- 
 tion, the number of weights, measures, and balances tested, 
 sealed, or condemned by him, together with an inventory of 
 the standards and apparatus in his possession. 
 
 Sec. 4. No weighing or measuring device shall be 
 used for the purpose of trade until the type has been ap- 
 proved by the National Bureau of Standards. Any type so 
 approved may be used anywhere in the United States : Pro- 
 vided, That nothing in this act shall prevent the state com- 
 missioner of weights and measures or local inspector from 
 condemning such device if its operation should be defective. 
 
 Monthly bulletins giving a description of any weighing 
 or measuring device approved by the National Bureau of 
 Standards shall be sent to the state officer of weights and 
 measures of each state. 
 
 137 
 
Sec. 5. Model regulations for the guidance of state 
 commissioners of weights and measures and local inspectors 
 shall be prepared by the National Bureau of Standards in 
 cooperation with the National Association of State Com- 
 missioners. 
 
 Sec. 6. The model regulations, prepared and issued 
 by the National Bureau of Standards, shall govern the pro- 
 cedure to be followed by the state commissioner of weights 
 and measures and local inspectors in inspecting, testing, 
 and sealing all weights, measures, balances, or measuring 
 devices. 
 
 Sec. 7. The net quantity of the contents of all pack- 
 ages shall be plainly stated in terms of weight or measure 
 on the outside of the package. 
 
 Local Law 
 
 Sec. 8. The weights, measures, and balances received 
 from the United States under a resolution of Congress, 
 approved June 14, 1836, and such new weights, measures, 
 and balances as shall be received from the United States as 
 standard weights, measures, and balances in addition thereto 
 or in renewal thereof, shall be the authorized standards by 
 which all county and municipal standards of weights and 
 measures shall be tried, proved, and sealed. 
 
 Sec. 9. There shall be a state commissioner of weights 
 and measures to be appointed by the governor, in such man- 
 ner and at such salary as may be fixed by the respective state 
 legislatures; and deputy commissioners may be appointed 
 as required. 
 
 Sec. 10. The state commissioner of weights and meas- 
 ures shall have the exclusive custody and control of the state 
 standards received from the National Government, which 
 shall be kept in a fireproof room provided by the State, when 
 not in actual use. He shall maintain the state standards in 
 good order, and submit them once in ten years to the 
 National Bureau of Standards for inspection. 
 
 138 
 
Sec. 1 1. The state commissioner of weights and meas- 
 tires shall keep a complete record of standards, balances, 
 and other apparatus in his possession, and take a receipt for 
 the same from his successor in office. 
 
 Sec. 12. The. state commissioner of weights and meas- 
 ures shall be sworn, and shall give bond to the State for five 
 thousand dollars, conditioned on the faithful discharge of 
 his duties. 
 
 Sec. 13. The state commissioner of weights and meas- 
 ures or deputy commissioner shall inspect all standards used 
 by the county and municipal inspectors at least once in five 
 years, and shall keep a record of same, and see that they 
 are kept in proper adjustment with the state standards. He 
 shall visit the various cities and towns of the State in order 
 to inspect the work of the local sealers, and in the perform- 
 ance of his duty he may inspect the weights, measures, and 
 balances of any person (or corporation) which are used for 
 buying or selling goods, merchandise, or other commodities, 
 and for public weighing. 
 
 Sec. 14. Every county and municipality in the State 
 shall appoint a sealer, with a sufficient number of deputies 
 to inspect at least once a year every weight, measure, bal- 
 ance, or measuring device of any kind used in trade within 
 the jurisdiction of said county or municipality. 
 
 Sec. 15. Any two or more local authorities may com- 
 bine the whole or any part of their districts upon such terms 
 and in such manner as may be agreed upon. 
 
 Sec. 1 6. An inspector appointed in pursuance of an 
 agreement for such combination shall, subject to the terms 
 of his appointment, have the same authority, jurisdiction, 
 and duties as if he had been appointed by each of the authori- 
 ties who are parties to the agreement. 
 
 Sec. 17. Every county and municipality shall provide 
 the local sealer with suitable standards, apparatus, and quar- 
 ters to enable him to properly perform his duties, all of 
 
 139 
 
which shall be subject to the approval of the state commis- 
 sioner of weights and measures. 
 
 Sec. 1 8. It shall be the duty of the sealer to faithfully 
 devote his time to the performance of the duties of his office, 
 and to test all weights, measures, scales, beams, and steel- 
 yards used in trade, or other machinery used for weighing 
 or measuring, within his district, at least once in every year ; 
 and upon being notified in writing by any person that any 
 weight, measure, scale, beam, or steelyard used in trade, or 
 other machinery for weighing or measuring any article 
 intended to be purchased or sold in such district, is inac- 
 curate, or believed to be so, or not according to the standard, 
 to at once make an examination of the same. 
 
 And in the exercise of such duties he shall have full 
 police power to enforce any and all reasonable measures for 
 testing such weights and measures, and also in ascertaining 
 whether false or short weights and measures are being given 
 in any sales or transfer of articles of merchandise taking 
 place within such district. 
 
 Sec. 19. Every local sealer shall make an annual re- 
 port of the weights, measures, and balances tested by him, 
 together with an inventory of the standards and working 
 apparatus, to the state commissioner of weights and meas- 
 ures. 
 
 Sec. 20. All weights, measures, and balances which 
 can not be made to conform to the standards shall be de- 
 stroyed by the sealer. 
 
 Sec. 21. The local sealer shall report monthly to the 
 state commissioner of weights and measures the names and 
 occupations of all persons convicted for the use of fraudu- 
 lent weights, measures, balances, or measuring devices, who 
 shall publish the same in a daily paper of general circulation 
 throughout the state. 
 
 Sec. 22. Any person who neglects or refuses to pro- 
 duce for said sealer all weights, measures, or balances in his 
 possession, and used in trade, or on his premises, or refuses 
 
 140 
 
to permit the sealer to examine the same, or obstructs the 
 entry of the sealer, or otherwise, obstructs or hinders a 
 sealer under this law, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding 
 twenty-five dollars, and in a second offense of fifty dollars. 
 
 Sec. 23. A local standard which has become defective 
 in consequence of any wear or accident, or has been re- 
 paired, shall not be legal, nor be used by the local sealer 
 until it has been reverified by the state commissioner of 
 weights and measures. 
 
 Sec. 24. Any sealer or deputy sealer of weights and 
 measures shall forthwith, on his appointment, give bond in 
 the sum of one thousand dollars for the due performance 
 of the duties of his office, and for the safety of the local 
 standards and the stamp appliances for verification commit- 
 ted to his charge, and for the surrender immediately on his 
 removal or cessation from office to the person appointed by 
 the proper authority to receive them. 
 
 Sec. 25. If a sealer or deputy sealer stamps a weight 
 or measure without duly verifying the same by comparison 
 with a local standard, or is guilty of a breach of any duty 
 imposed upon him by law, or otherwise misconducts him- 
 self in the execution of his office, he shall be liable to re- 
 moval or to pay a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars 
 for each offense. 
 
 Sec. 26. A local standard shall not be deemed legal 
 nor be used by the local sealer for testing any weight, 
 measure, or balance unless it has been verified by the state 
 commissioner of weights and measures within at least five 
 years of the time at which it is used, or whenever necessary. 
 
 General Regulations 
 
 Sec. 27. No weight, measure, balance, or measuring 
 device of any kind shall be used in trade until it has been 
 examined and sealed by the state commissioner of weights 
 and measures or local sealer. 
 
 141 
 
Sec. 28. All computing devices shall be tested as to 
 the correctness of the values, and all values, whether in 
 money, figures, or graduations, shall be correctly placed, so 
 that when any commodity is weighed thereon the money 
 value registered shall be the true value of the commodity 
 weighed. 
 
 Sec. 29. Every weight, except when the small size of 
 the weight renders it impracticable, shall have the denomi- 
 nation of such weight stamped on the top or side thereof in 
 legible figures or letters ; and every measure of capacity shall 
 have the denomination thereof stamped on the outside of 
 such measures in legible figures and letters. 
 
 A weight or measure not in conformity with this sec- 
 tion shall not be stamped by the state commissioner of 
 weights and measures or local sealer. 
 
 Sec. 30. Every person who uses or has in his posses- 
 sion for use in trade any weight, measure, scale, balance, 
 steelyard, or weighing machine which is false or unjust 
 shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars, or 
 in the case of a second offense, fifty dollars, and any con- 
 tract for gain, sale, or dealing made by the same shall be 
 void, and the weight, measure, scale, balance, or steelyard 
 shall be liable to be forfeited. 
 
 Sec. 31. A weight or measure duly stamped by the 
 state commissioner of weights and measures or a sealer, or 
 by the National Bureau of Standards, shall be a legal weight 
 or measure throughout the state, unless found to be false 
 or unjust, and shall not be liable to be restamped because 
 used in any other place than that in which it was originally 
 stamped. 
 
 Sec. 32. Where any fraud is willfully committed in 
 the using of any weight, measure, scale, balance, or steel- 
 yard, or weighing machine, the person committing such 
 fraud, and every person party to the fraud, shall be liable 
 to a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars, or in case of a 
 second offense fifty dollars. 
 
 142 
 
Sec. 33. All dealers in milk and cream who use glass 
 bottles, jars, or other receptacles for the distribution of milk 
 or cream to consumers shall bring in such bottles, jars, or 
 other receptacles to the office of the sealer of weights and 
 measures in their respective cities and towns, to be sealed as 
 aforesaid; but no fee shall be charged or received for seal- 
 ing them. If a bottle, jar, or other receptacle has once 
 been sealed by the sealer of weights and measures it shall 
 not in any case be necessary to have it sealed again at any 
 time while it is used for the distribution of milk or cream 
 to consumers. Glass bottles, jars, or other receptacles 
 sealed under the provisions of this section shall not be legal 
 measures except for the distribution of milk or cream to 
 consumers. 
 
 Sec. 34. Every person who, in putting up in any bag, 
 bale, box, barrel, or other package, any hops, cotton, wool, 
 grain, hay, or other commodity sold in bags, bales, boxes, 
 barrels, or packages by weight or measure, puts in or con- 
 ceals therein anything whatever for the purpose of increas- 
 ing the weight or measure of such bag, bale, box, barrel, or 
 package, with intent thereby to sell the commodity therein, 
 or to enable another to sell the same, for an increased weight 
 or measure, is punishable by fine of not less than twenty- 
 five dollars for each offense. 
 
 M3 
 
 2947610 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 Model Uniform Regulations for State Legislation on the 
 Subject of Weights and Measures Adopted by the 
 Sixth Annual Conference on Weights and Measures, 
 Feb. 17-18, 1911 
 
 Sec. i. The weights and measures received from the 
 United States under a resolution of Congress approved 
 June 14, 1836, and such new weights and measures as shall 
 be received, from the United States as standard weights 
 and measures in addition thereto or in renewal thereof, and 
 such as shall be supplied by the State in conformity there- 
 with and certified by the National Bureau of Standards, 
 shall be the State standards, by which all county and mu- 
 nicipal standards of weights and measures shall be tried, 
 proved, and sealed. 
 
 Sec. 2. There shall be a State superintendent of 
 weights and measures, who shall be appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
 Such superintendent shall be appointed for a term of five 
 
 (four) years and shall receive a salary of 
 
 dollars a year. There shall be a deputy superintendent of 
 weights and measures and inspectors of weights and meas- 
 ures, the deputy to be appointed by the superintendent of 
 weights and measures and to hold office during the super- 
 intendent's term of office; the inspectors to be appointed 
 from an eligible list prepared by the Civil Service Board 
 and under the rules of said Board. The superintendent of 
 weights and measures shall be allowed for salaries for the 
 deputy superintendent of weights and measures, inspectors 
 of weights and measures, clerical services, traveling and 
 contingent expenses for himself, his deputy, and inspectors 
 such sums as shall be appropriated by the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 3. The superintendent of weights and measures 
 shall take charge of the standards adopted by this article as 
 
 '44 
 
the standards of the State, and cause them to be kept in a 
 fire-proof building belonging to the State (or in a safe and 
 suitable place in the office of the superintendent) from 
 which they shall not be removed except for repairs or for 
 certification and he shall take all other necessary precautions 
 for their safe keeping. He shall maintain the State stand- 
 ards in good order and shall submit them at least once in 
 ten years to the National Bureau of Standards for certifica- 
 tion. He shall at least once in two (five) years try and 
 prove by the State standards all standard weights, meas- 
 ures, and other apparatus which may belong to any county 
 or city, and shall seal such when found to be accurate by 
 stamping on them the letter " " and the last two figures 
 of the year with seals which he shall have and keep for that 
 purpose. He shall have and keep a general supervision of 
 the weights, measures, and weighing and measuring de- 
 vices offered for sale, sold, or in use in the State. He 
 shall, upon the written request of any citizen, firm, corpora- 
 tion, or educational institution in the State, test or calibrate 
 weights, measures, weighing or measuring devices, and in- 
 struments or apparatus used as standards in the State. He, 
 or his deputy, or inspectors, by his direction, shall at least 
 once annually test all scales, weights, and measures used in 
 checking the receipts or disbursements of supplies in every 
 institution for the maintenance of which moneys are appro- 
 priated by the Legislature, and he shall report in writing 
 his findings to the Supervisory Board and to the executive 
 officer of the institution concerned, and, at the request of 
 such board, or executive officer, the superintendent of 
 weights and measures shall appoint in writing one or more 
 employees then in the actual service of each institution who 
 shall act as special deputies for the purpose of checking the 
 receipts or disbursements of supplies. He shall keep a com- 
 plete record of the standards, balances, and other apparatus 
 belonging to the State and take a receipt for same from his 
 successor in office. He shall annually, on the first day of 
 , make to the Governor a report of the work 
 
 M5 
 
done by his office. The State superintendent, or his deputy, 
 or inspectors, at his direction, shall inspect all standards and 
 apparatus used by the counties and cities at least once in 
 two years, and shall keep a record of the same. He, or his 
 deputy, or inspectors, at his direction, shall at least once in 
 two years visit the various cities and counties of the State 
 in order to inspect the work of the local sealers, and in the 
 performance of such duties, he may inspect the weights, 
 measures, balances, or any other weighing or measuring 
 appliances of any citizen, firm, or corporation, and shall 
 have the same powers as the local sealer of weights and 
 measures. The superintendent shall issue from time to 
 time, regulations for the guidance of county and city sealers, 
 and the said regulations shall govern the procedure to be 
 followed by the aforesaid officers in the discharge of their 
 duties. The State superintendent of weights and measures 
 shall forthwith, on his appointment, give a bond in the penal 
 sum of $5000.00, with sureties, to be approved by the Gov- 
 ernor for the faithful performance of the duties of his 
 office, and for the safety of the standards entrusted to his 
 care, and for the surrender thereof immediately to his suc- 
 cessor in office or to the person appointed by the Governor 
 to receive them. The deputy superintendent of weights and 
 measures and each inspector of weights and measures shall 
 forthwith upon his appointment give a bond in the penal 
 sum of $1000.00, with sureties, to be approved by the (Sec- 
 retary of State or Attorney General), for the faithful per- 
 formance of the duties of his office and for the safety of any 
 apparatus entrusted to his care. 
 
 Sec. 4. The board of county commissioners of each 
 county and the common council of each city required to 
 appoint a sealer under this act, shall procure at the expense 
 of the county or city, and shall keep at all times, a complete 
 set of weights and measures and other apparatus of such 
 materials and construction as the said superintendent of 
 weights and measures may direct. All such weights, meas- 
 
 146 
 
ures, and other apparatus having been tried and accurately 
 proven by him, shall be sealed and certified to by the State 
 superintendent as hereinbefore provided; and shall be then 
 deposited with and preserved by the county or city sealer as 
 public standards for such county or city. 
 
 Whenever the board of county commissioners of a 
 county or the common council of such city shall neglect for 
 six months so to do, the county auditor of the county, or 
 the city clerk or comptroller of said city, on notification and 
 request by the superintendent of weights and measures, shall 
 provide such standards and cause the same to be tried, 
 sealed, and deposited at the expense of the county or city. 
 
 Sec. 5. There shall be a county sealer of weights and 
 measures in each county, who shall be appointed by the 
 board of county commissioners for a term of five years. He 
 shall be paid a salary determined by such board, said salary 
 not to be less than ($1000.00) a year, and no fee shall be 
 charged by him or by the county for the inspection, testing, 
 or sealing of weights, measures, or weighing or measuring 
 devices. Where not otherwise provided by law, the county 
 sealer shall have the power within his county to inspect, 
 test, try, and ascertain if they are correct, all weights, scales, 
 beams, measures of every kind, instruments or mechanical 
 devices for measuring, and tools, appliances, or accessories 
 connected with any and all such instruments or measures 
 kept, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, or used or employed 
 within the county by any proprietor, agent, lessee, or em- 
 ployee in proving the size, quantity, extent, area, or meas- 
 urements of quantities, things, produce, articles for distri- 
 bution or consumption, offered or submitted by such person 
 or persons for sale, hire, or award; and he shall have the 
 power to and shall from time to time weigh or measure 
 packages or amounts of commodities of whatsoever kind 
 kept for the purpose of sale, offered for sale, or sold or in 
 the process of delivering, in order to determine whether 
 the same contains the amounts represented, and whether 
 
they be offered for sale or sold in a manner in accordance 
 with law. He shall at least twice each year and as much 
 oftener as he may deem necessary see that the weights, 
 measures, and all apparatus used in the county are correct. 
 He may for the purpose above mentioned, and in the general 
 performance of his official duties, enter and go into or upon, 
 and without formal warrant, any stand, place, building, or 
 premises, or stop any vendor, peddler, junk dealer, coal 
 wagon, ice wagon, delivery wagon, or any dealer whatso- 
 ever, and require him, if necessary, to proceed to some place 
 which the dealer may specify, for the purpose of making the 
 proper tests. Whenever the county sealer finds a violation 
 of the statutes relating to weights and measures, he shall 
 cause the violator to be prosecuted. Whenever the sealer 
 compares weights, measures, or weighing or measuring in- 
 struments, and finds that they correspond or causes them to 
 correspond with the standards in his possession, he shall seal 
 or mark such weights, measures, or weighing or measuring- 
 instruments with appropriate devices to be approved by the 
 State superintendent of weights and measures. He shall 
 condemn and seize and may destroy incorrect weights, 
 measures, or weighing or measuring instruments which in 
 his best judgment are not susceptible of satisfactory repair ; 
 but such as are incorrect and yet may be repaired, he shall 
 mark or tag as "Condemned for Repairs" in a manner pre- 
 scribed by the State superintendent of weights and measures. 
 The owner or users of any weights, measures, or weighing 
 or measuring instruments of which such disposition is made 
 shall have the same repaired or corrected within ten days, 
 and they may neither use nor dispose of the same in any 
 way, but shall hold the same at the disposal of the sealer. 
 Any apparatus which has been "Condemned for Repairs" 
 and has not been repaired as required above shall be con- 
 fiscated by the sealer. 
 
 The county sealer shall keep a complete record of all of 
 his official acts and shall make an annual report to the board 
 of county commissioners and an annual report duly sworn 
 
 148 
 
to on the first day of . , to the State superintendent 
 
 of weights and measures on blanks to be furnished by the 
 superintendent. The county sealer of weights and meas- 
 ures shall forthwith on his appointment give a bond in the 
 penal sum of $1000.00, with sureties, to be approved by 
 the appointing power for the faithful performance of the 
 duties of his office. 
 
 PROVIDED, However, That nothing in the above shall 
 be construed to prevent two or more counties from com- 
 bining the whole or any part of their districts as may be 
 agreed upon by the boards of county commissioners with 
 one set of standards and one sealer, upon the written con- 
 sent of the State superintendent of weights and measures. 
 A county sealer appointed in pursuance of an agreement for 
 such combination shall, subject to the terms of his appoint- 
 ment, have the same authority, jurisdiction, and duties as if 
 he had been appointed by each of the authorities who are 
 parties to the agreement. 
 
 Sec. 6. There shall be a city sealer of weights and 
 measures in cities of not less than 25,000 population, accord- 
 ing to the latest official state or United States census, to be 
 appointed by the Mayor from a list to be furnished by the 
 Civil Service Board and under the rules of such board, 
 where such board exists ; otherwise, he shall be appointed by 
 the Mayor by and with the advice and consent of the county 
 council. He shall perform in said city the duties and have 
 like powers as the county sealer in the county. In those 
 cities in which no sealer is required by the above, the county 
 sealer of the county shall perform in said cities the duties 
 and have like powers as in the counties. 
 
 PROVIDED, However, That nothing in the above shall 
 be construed to prevent any county and the city situated 
 therein from combining the -whole or any. part of their dis- 
 tricts as may be agreed upon with one sealer, subject to the 
 written approval of the State superintendent of weights and 
 measures. A sealer appointed in pursuance of any agree- 
 
 149 
 
ment for such combination shall, subject to the terms of his 
 appointment, have the same authority, jurisdiction, and du- 
 ties as if he had been appointed by each of the authorities 
 who are parties to the agreement. 
 
 Sec. 7. Any person who by himself or by his servant 
 or agent or as the servant or agent of another shall offer or 
 expose for sale, sell, or use or retain in his possession, a 
 false weight or measure or weighing or measuring device 
 or any weight or measure or weighing or measuring device 
 which has not been sealed by the sealer of weights and 
 measures within one year, in the buying or selling of any 
 commodity or thing, or for hire or award; or who shall 
 dispose of any condemned weight, measure or weighing or 
 measuring device contrary to law or remove any tag placed 
 thereon by a sealer of weights and measures, or any person 
 who by himself or by his servant or agent or as the servant 
 or agent of another shall sell or offer or expose for sale 
 less than the quantity he represents, or sell or offer or ex- 
 pose for sale any such commodity in a manner contrary to 
 law; (or any person who by himself or by his servant or 
 agent or as the servant or agent of another shall sell or 
 offer for sale or have in his possession for the purpose of 
 selling any device or instrument to be used to or calculated 
 to falsify any weight or measure), shall be guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not less 
 than twenty (20) dollars or more than two hundred 
 (200) dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three 
 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment upon a 
 first conviction ; but upon a second or subsequent conviction 
 he shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty (50) 
 "dollars or more than five hundred (500) dollars, or by 
 imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, 
 or by both such fine and imprisonment. 
 
 Sec. 8. The superintendent of weights and measures, 
 his deputy and inspectors, and the county and city sealers 
 of weights and measures, are hereby made special police- 
 
 150 
 
men, and are authorized and empowered to arrest, without 
 formal warrant, any violator of the statutes in relation to 
 weights and measures, and to seize, for use as evidence, and 
 without" formal warrant, any false or unsealed weight, 
 measure or weighing or measuring device or package or 
 amounts of commodities, found to be used, retained or 
 offered or exposed for sale, or sold in violation of law. 
 
 Sec. 9. Any person who shall hinder or obstruct, in 
 any way, the superintendent of weights and measures, his 
 deputy, or inspectors, or any county or. city sealer, in the 
 performance of his official duties, shall be guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor, and shall be punished upon conviction thereof, in 
 any court of competent jurisdiction, by a fine of not less than 
 two (2) dollars or more than two hundred (200) dollars 
 or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 
 ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 
 
 Sec. 10. Any person who- shall impersonate, in any 
 way, the superintendent of weights and measures, or his 
 deputy or inspectors or any city sealer by the use of his 
 seal, or otherwise shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and 
 shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred 
 (TOO) dollars nor more than five hundred (500) dollars 
 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both 
 such fine and imprisonment. 
 
 General Regulations 
 
 Sec. ii. Bottles used for the sale of milk and cream 
 shall be of the capacity of half gallon, three pints, one quart, 
 one pint, half pint, and one gill, filled full to the bottom of 
 the lip. The following variations on individual bottles or 
 jars may be allowed, but the average content of not less 
 than 25 bottles selected at random from at least four times 
 the number tested must not be in error by more than one- 
 quarter of the tolerances : 6 drams above and 6 drams be- 
 low on the half gallon; 5 drams above and 5 drams below 
 on the three pint; 4 drams above and 4 drams below on 
 
the quart; 3 drams above and 3 drams below on the pint; 
 2 drams above and 2 drams below on the half pint; and 2 
 drams above and 2 drams below on the gill. Bottles or 
 jars used for the sale of milk shall have clearly blown, or 
 otherwise permanently marked in the side of the bottle, the 
 capacity of the bottle and the word "Sealed;" and in the 
 side or bottom of the bottle the name, initials, or trade mark 
 of the manufacturer, and a designating number, which 
 designating number shall be different for each manufac- 
 turer and may be used in identifying the bottles. The 
 designating number shall be furnished by the State superin- 
 tendent of weights and measures upon application by the 
 manufacturer, and upon the filing by the manufacturer of a 
 bond in the sum of $1000 with sureties to be approved by 
 the (Attorney General or Secretary of State), conditioned 
 upon their conformance with the requirements of this sec- 
 tion. A record of the bonds furnished, the -designating 
 numbers, and to whom furnished, shall be kept in the office 
 of the superintendent of weights and measures. 
 
 Any manufacturer who sells milk and cream bottles to 
 be used in this state that do not comply as to size and mark- 
 ings with the provisions of this section shall suffer a pen- 
 alty of five hundred (500) dollars, to be recovered by the 
 Attorney General in an action against the offender's bonds- 
 men to be brought in the name of the people of the state. 
 Any dealer who uses, for the purpose of selling milk or 
 cream, jars or bottles purchased after this law takes effect 
 that do not comply with the requirements of this section 
 as to markings and capacity, shall be deemed guilty of 
 using a false or insufficient measure. 
 
 Sealers of weights and measures are not required to 
 seal bottles or jars for milk or cream marked as in this 
 section provided, but they have the power and shall from 
 time to time make tests on individual bottles used by the 
 various firms in the territory over which they have jurisdic- 
 tion, in order to ascertain whether the above provisions are 
 
 152 
 
being complied with, and they shall report violations found 
 immediately to the State superintendent of weights and 
 measures. 
 
 Sec. 12. It shall be unlawful to sell or offer to sell in 
 the state any coal or charcoal in any other manner than by 
 weight except by written agreement to the contrary. No 
 person, firm, or corporation shall deliver any coal or char- 
 coal without each such delivery being accompanied by de- 
 livery ticket and a duplicate thereof, on each of which shall 
 be in ink or other indelible substance, distinctly expressed in 
 pounds, the gross weight of the load, the tare of the deliv- 
 ery vehicle, and the quantity or quantities of coal or char- 
 coal contained in the cart, wagon, or other vehicle used in 
 such deliveries, with the name of the purchaser thereof and 
 the name of the dealer from whom purchased. One of 
 these tickets shall be surrendered to the sealer of weights 
 and measures upon his demand for his inspection, and this 
 ticket or a weight slip issued by the sealer when the sealer 
 desires to retain the original shall be delivered to the pur- 
 chaser of said coal or charcoal or his agent or representa- 
 tive at the time of the delivery of the fuel; and the other 
 ticket shall be retained by the seller of the fuel. When the 
 buyer carries away the purchase, a delivery ticket, showing 
 the actual number of pounds delivered over to the pur- 
 chaser, must be given to the purchaser at the time the sale 
 is made. 
 
 Sec. 13. All bread baked and kept for the purpose of 
 sale, offered or exposed for sale, or sold in the state, shall 
 be sold by weight. To each loaf of bread shall be 
 attached a label, plainly showing its weight and the firm 
 name of the manufacturer thereof, the size of the stamp 
 and type used to be specified by the State superintendent of 
 weights and measures. It shall be unlawful for any person 
 to make for sale, sell, or offer to sell, pr procure to be sold, 
 any bread other than such as shall be in accordance with 
 the provisions of this section. 
 
 153 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 URN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate 
 
 &E1^ 
 
 CTD L.D 
 
 . 
 
 UC.u 
 
 05 
 
 JAN -9 1959 
 
 LD 21A-50m-9 '58 
 (6889slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of Calif orni 
 
 Berkeley 
 
Bureau of in 
 
 inicipal 
 its and 
 
 j/56563 
 
 '/$ , 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 

 THE BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
 
 is an incorporated organization which aims in a 
 non-partisan way to promote efficiency and econ- 
 omy in the conduct of municipal affairs. 
 
 Its support is derived from private subscrip- 
 tions, and its final appeal is to enlightened public 
 opinion. 
 
 Its scope is as wide as municipal activity ; 
 comprehending finance and accounts, public works, 
 safety, health, charities, and education. 
 
 Its method is investigation, report to respon- 
 sible officials, and constructive suggestion. 
 
 To be ever alert in the public interest, to con- 
 duct its activities judicially, to get the facts and yet 
 to be trusted and to keep faith this is its ideal.