PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED 



SOCIETIES 



THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 712th meeting was held on October 12, 1912. In opening the 

 meeting President Rosa remarked upon the present limitations of the 

 field of the Society's activities, but stated that it had had a long and 

 honorable career. 



Mr. L. A. Fischer of the Bureau of Standards addressed the Society 

 on Some types of false weights and measures found in the United States, 

 in which it was pointed out that Congress has never adopted any of 

 the standards now in customary use, altho it is the common impression 

 that the yard, pound, gallon, and bushel are fixed by legislation instead 

 of being fixed by custom, which is true. Due to the fact that we have 

 no national legislation, the states have been compelled to enact legisla- 

 tion entirely independent of one another, and often laws of neighboring 

 states have conflicted. As little or no attempt, however, was made to 

 enforce them until recently, their diversity was of no importance. 



A few years after the establishment of the Bureau of Standards or 

 in 1904, invitations were sent to the governors of the states to send 

 delegates to a conference to be held in Washington the following year 

 for the purpose of securing uniform laws and regulations for' weights 

 and measures. Only eight states and the District of Columbia sent 

 delegates, but so much interest was manifested by the delegates who 

 attended, as well as by the authorities in those states which, for one 

 reason or another, were unable to send representatives, that it was 

 decided to hold subsequent conferences each year. Altogether seven 

 conferences have been held, and much work of a constructive nature 

 has been accomplished. A model law was drafted, and this law has 

 been adopted with modifications to suit particular states, by thirteen 

 states. In order to bring home to the authorities in the states that 

 failed to become interested in the movement for better conditions, and 

 also for the purpose of assisting the weights and measures officials in 

 the states that were active, the Bureau made an investigation of the 

 conditions of the weights and measures in general use thruout the 

 country, as well as to investigate the manner of their use. Every state 

 in the Union was visited, and inspections were made in 184 cities or 

 towns ranging in size from New York City, with a population of 4,500,- 

 000, to Carson City, Nevada, with a population of 2200. A number 

 of stores using weights and measures were visited in each town or city 

 and the condition of the scales, weights and measures was noted. 



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