DAIRY MEETING. I3I 



The United States has been more backward in adopting legis- 

 lation regarding weights and measures than any other country 

 on the Globe. Even in Japan the regulations are way ahead of 

 ours. Their laws are stricter in regard to the use of false 

 instruments, also against short weights. It is the same in Can- 

 ada. In a few of the states some laws have recently been 

 passed. In New Jersey the legislation provides that anybody 

 who sells or ofl'ers for sale any instrument that is not correct 

 is liable to a fine of $100. There are a great many instruments 

 offered for sale throughout the United States that are not 

 correct and are advertised as not being correct. It was only 

 a short time ago that a circular* was sent out over the United 

 States advertising a certain make of scales, and it was stated in 

 the circular that by using those scales you could buy 30 pounds 

 of pork loin and retail it at the same price. You couldn't do it 

 on any other scales but you could do it on those. That is one 

 of the reasons that these different laws are being passed, 

 together with the amount of short weight that is being given in 

 the various trade customs that have sprung up throughout the 

 country. A man starts giving short weight in some form or 

 other and then somebody else adopts this custom because he 

 likes it and somebody else adopts it because he is driven to 

 it by unfair competition, and it is called a trade custom. About 

 every dry goods house in New York, up to last year, was 

 overmarking sheets and tapestries. If a sheet was marked 

 80 X 92 it was very probably 72 x 80, and so on. And when 

 that was called to their attention, they said that was a trade 

 custom, and it couldn't be stopped. The way they did finally 

 stop it was this : The most of those articles were imported and 

 they found a law in the United States Custom House that no 

 overmarked goods should be brought in; consequently eight 

 or nine of the dry goods houses had to employ an army of 

 men to go down and remeasure and remark the goods. 



As a matter of fact, all through the United States there is 

 a revival going on now, in weights and measures. The diflferent 

 authorities and the public are waking up and want to know why 

 they cannot get 16 ounces for a pound at all times, and some 

 of the states are passing very rigid laws on these lines. In 

 the last session of the legislature Mr. Buckley was made the 

 sealer of weights and measures and I know he will do every- 



