Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 84.djvu/367

Rh section. All of these latter amendments seem to be excellent ones and do much to strengthen the weights and measures law of the state.

Oklahoma during the years 1910-1911 revised the list of legal weights per bushel, required certain commercial feeding stuffs packed in sacks to bear a statement of the net weight of the contents, made some changes in the coal mining law, and standardized the weight of flour and meal put up in barrels and sacks and required the weight to be branded on the same. As in the case of Kansas, flour in cloth sacks may be branded with the gross instead of the net weight.

Oregon passed one general and four special laws relating to weights and measures at the 1913 session of its legislature. The general law establishes a state department of weights and measures under which the state treasurer (who it appears from the context is subsequently referred to as the state sealer) is required to appoint a deputy state sealer and has authority to appoint such assistant and clerical aid as may be necessary to place in practical operation the provisions of the act. He is further authorized to procure such standards and other equipment as may be necessary for the proper execution of the duties under the law and to procure and use only such standards as have been passed upon as correct by the National Bureau of Standards and to have the state standards tested by that bureau once in ten years. The county courts of the several counties are required to appoint competent sealers for such term and at such compensation as they may decide; but such sealers may be removed from office by the deputy state sealer for incompetency, or neglect of duty. The county sealer is required to visit at least once in each year every place of business where weights and measures are kept for the purposes of trade. The law places no restriction upon the rights of cities to enforce ordinances providing for the sealing of weights and measures or regulating the sale of commodities, provided such ordinances are not in conflict with the standard adopted by the state. It is made unlawful in selling any commodity by weight or measure to include the weight or measure of anything other than the weight or measure of the commodity itself. The law, while lacking in some respects, contains a number of excellent provisions and may in general be said to be a good one. The four special laws referred to above, provide as follows: One establishes a weight of 100 pounds, inclusive of the weight of the sack, as the standard weight of a sack of potatoes, unless otherwise specified by contract; another stipulates that in selling farm or range products where no special agreement is made to the contrary, no deduction shall be made for the weight of the sack containing the products; another refers to the sale of butter, and requires among other things that this product when offered for sale in rolls, prints or squares, shall be plainly marked "Sixteen ounces, full weight," or "Thirty-two ounces, full weight," and shall contain the number of ounces so marked; and the fourth law amends a former act and places all track scales used by railroad companies under