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Show J ONE USELESS OFFICE j ( I State Sealer of Weights and I n Measures. ' NO TESTS EVER MADE Official Nevor Called Upon as j Provided For. I l JStato Auditor C. H. Tingoy, Wno Has ti j Held tho Office Three Years, Has Ej j Performed No Service. f There is a public office In tho State of V. i Utah that might Just a9 well be abol- H , Isbed for all the business that is trans-pi trans-pi ' J aoted. The ofllco in question is that of tj State Scaler of Weights and Measures. H It is an ex-oflflcio position and is occu- 4 pled by the State Auditor. For three 1 1 years State Auditor C. H. Tingcy has jf held the office, and during that time he I has not been called upon to act in the ! official capacity of Sealer of Weights (j , and Measures. And It is oafe to say ( ; that no other Incumbent of tho office has aver made a single test of instruments of weights or measures of quantity. The largo set of Government scales that stand in the Auditor's outer office I are only in his way and tho source of trying explanations to all who notice J thorn. The scales are unquestionably t the largest balances in the city, or for jj that matter in the State. Tho Auditor W also has a pair of smaller scales and nu- merous measures of standard quantity. Iiju- ij When Mr. Tlngey assumed office the j ocales were stored in the Hooper block I and apparently had never been used flH I since received from the Government at vH the time of Statehood or before. I WHAT THE LAW PROVIDES. I Section 2724 of the revised statutes of Utah provides that the standard of weights and measures adopted and used , by the United States Government shall ) be the only legal standard In this State. The law also provides that the County Clerks shall act as ex-oftlclo sealers of weights and measures for the various ( counties, and that they shall test their 1 balances and measures with those of the I State Sealer, but never has a County Clerk aeked tho State Auditor to 'attach his official seal to any test of their standarda It Is believed that there are not half a dozen Clerks In the State of Utah who know that they hold this 1 ex-offlclo office. It Is the duty, however, how-ever, of the County Clerk to make tests i for the officials holding similar positions 1 1 under the municipal go'ernments. JQit is. the County Clerks who have anardo and -are aware of their pres- clice hVve no Idea, of the Importance connectpdwith their position as official Sealer ofWelghts and Measures, and ' neither do they know whether they are In standard condition. City sealers go ' about their work of testing scales, but there is no telling the condition of their aiJc),i standards, and consequently no rellabil- 7 I tjr 01111 be Dlaced upon their tests. There mi Is no telling tho extent to what the mjt scales and measures are off in this Stato JM'l and how the citizen Is cheated by un- scrupulous merchants. A ' MUST BE INVITED, j j J. , There is no provision in the State laws 1 which permits the State Sealer to make i f tests unless asked to do so by the county JL sealers. The law prevents him from iiJjR testing the standards even when asked m3L to 'do so. Tho statute governing the XHB 1 matter reads as follows: Z ."2725. State Sealer. Duties. Tho V. State Auditor Pball be ex-officlo Stato Sealer of Weights and Measures, and shall procure and have the care and custody of tho authorized public stand- H1 ard of weights and measures. He Bhall . try and prove by such standards all fH which may belong to any county, and fH ) be sent or brought to him for that pur- Ihi ;j pose by the County Sealer, and shall IHi I seal such, when found to bo correct, by aKm stamping upon them the letter U with Ib jvJi a senl which ho shall have and keep for H ' . jf that purpose." H "f PARK CITY TRIED ONCE. Q As an instanco of the limited author- Krf2 lly of thG state Sealer to take the lnl-KjYV lnl-KjYV tlativo in tcstLug tlie standards of test-firffd test-firffd ing those of cities when requested to do U so the following circumstance is cited: HHf'. Recently the sealer at Park City sent in wBjWv do' liquid measures used as stand- W a erd there and asked that a lest be made LB I i and certified to by Mr. Tlngey. As tho ' test could not be officially made the llV li State Sealer had to refuse to comply H ij with the request and notified the city jlM) M jjealer of his limitations. The Park City Ja measures are now standing boxed In gHi! M the State Auditor's office waiting for !H Vj iutber instructions as to their disposi- H S Anent this matter the Governor is In JK yi receipt of a letter from the Bureau of H 1 Standards in the Department of Labor uBr, m and Commerce at Washington, stating Wf m that a meeting of tho custodians of tho S Jl standards in the various States will bo held at the capitol on April 15th. Tho 'T, vltt object of the meeting Is to discuss any 1 rfl improvements that might be made in the I State laws regarding the proper testing J of weights and measures. It l very lm- probable that the Utah custodian attend J fl the meeting or that a representative be $ "M nt. |