THIRD SESSION-MORNING OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1941

(The Conference reassembled at 10:00 a. m., C. L. Klocker, Vice President of the Conference, in the chair.) APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES

The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Briggs is unable to be here this morning and has asked me to read his committee appointments, as follows:

As the Committee on Nominations: C. L. Klocker, of Connecticut, Chairman; W. S. Bussey, of Texas; R. E. Meek, of Indiana; George M. Roberts, of the District of Columbia; George F. Austin, of Detroit, Michigan; L. E. Witt, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; R. W. Bodenweiser, of Mercer County, New Jersey.

As the Committee on Resolutions: Joseph F. Blickley, of Pennsylvania, Chairman; Erling Hansen, of Minnesota; W. T. Fossett, of Illinois; W. P. Reed, of Atlanta, Georgia; C. T. Quinn, of Lansing, Michigan; R. M. Johnson, of Birmingham, Alabama; C. P. Smith, of Suffolk County, New York.

DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE-SERVICE MEASURE-CONTAINERS

By C. E. HAWKINS, Sealer of Weights and Measures, City of Springfield,

Massachusetts

For the purpose of this paper I am going to confine myself to singleservice measure containers, and not to single-service containers which presuppose the use of an approved weighing or measuring device for quantity determination and the use of the container as a means of delivery only.

As the science of merchandising progressed, the problem of dispensing certain viscous or semisolid commodities received more and more attention. Such articles as ice cream, baked beans, chowchow, sauerkraut, pickles, and others had always been sold by measure, and under prescribed practice would require the use of a measuring element. These commodities lent themselves readily to sale in single-service measure containers where the quantity was determined by filling such a container from bulk and delivering to the consumer. This immediately brought up for consideration the sufficiency of such containers to accurately measure in relation to specifications for liquid capacity

measures.

In 1920 a law was placed on the statute books in Massachusetts permitting the use of paper or fiber cartons in the sale by measure of viscous or semisolid commodities, or mixtures of solids and liquids. It provided that these containers shall contain, and shall be sold as containing, 1 quart, 1 pint, 1⁄2 pint, or 1 gill, Massachusetts standard liquid measure. The containers must be of such shape and dimensions as may be approved by the Director of Standards for Massachusetts, and the director may authorize the manufacturer to have printed on each container a statement of its capacity in terms of Massachusetts standard

liquid measure, with the words "Approved by the Director of Standards for Massachusetts," and with such other marking as the director may require. Such cartons shall be legal measure only for such commodities as may be designated, and shall be exempt from the laws requiring the sealing of measures.

As I have mentioned, the sizes set up in this original legislation were the quart, pint, half-pint, and gill, which at the time seemed to suffice, as the principal use was in the retail field. This type of measure-container has developed very rapidly from its original retail use and has now entered the wholesale end of business, particularly in the manufacture and sale of ice cream. Paper or fiber containers have now largely supplanted the metal ice-cream measure. This use undoubtedly will spread into other fields, and the change to this type will be accelerated to a very marked degree should restrictions in relation to national defense be placed on the use of metals. With this in mind, legislation was introduced into the Massachusetts Legislature at its present session, and was enacted into law, whereby other sizes could be approved by the Director of Standards. The additional sizes which he may approve are the 2 quart, 1 gallon, 21⁄2 gallon, and multiples of the gallon. Filling machines at the various ice-cream plants are not readily and permanently sealable, and the sizes authorized in this 1941 legislation will permit the use of measure-containers as the real measure.

The same situation of using cartons as a measure is true in relation to molds, and the development has gone to paper molds supplanting the previous metal molds in which the cream is frozen. The prevalent size used in this manner is of 2-gallon capacity, and this is broken up into various sizes by means of impressions in the mold equally distant and designed to freeze the quantity in either pints or quarts. The ice cream stays in the 2-gallon mold until the product is frozen and is then subdivided and placed in paper cartons which are designated as transfer cartons. Some question may arise as to whether or not a 2-gallon mold with these impressions is a subdivided measure, but to our way of thinking this is not the case as the situation strikes us as somewhat analogous to a means of determining volume by dimensional measure. The prohibition against the use of a subdivided measure is largely on the basis of inability to observe the level of fill of the measure. In this case, the quantity is determined by a set marker, the dimensions of which can be readily ascertained, and the operator merely cuts the commodity along the lines of the impression.

Specifications on liquid capacity measures require them to be of sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand usage without becoming bent, indented, distorted, or otherwise damaged. These apply to measures which are to be repeatedly used, but are recognized in our requirements wtih some degree of reasonableness when it is considered that the measure is a single-use device. These cartons are principally cylindrical, but some are keystone shaped. While the cylindrical cartons are sturdy and rigid, the keystone-shaped cartons have sidewalls that are not so strong. The danger of using this keystone package is not one of insufficient measure, but rather of over-measure, and not fair to the dispenser of the merchandise in this respect. It has been found that the most practical way in making tests on this type

is to constrict the sidewalls during tests so as to simulate the condition of use where molds are used at the place of filling. When this keystone shape was first used it was general practice to use a mold to constrict the sides of the carton while being filled, but in some cases this practice is not being followed at the present time. The use of a mold is not necessary, of course, when the cylindrical type of carton is employed, owing to its greater rigidity.

A more recent development in the paper carton field is its use as a straight container for the dispensing of milk. While our statute in Massachusetts makes provision for paper or fiber cartons used as measure-containers for milk or cream, its language is not construed to be prohibitive of the use of a container which is not a measure but a container only. This is especially true when a measuring device is employed to determine the quantity of content which goes into the various cartons. We have, however, taken the attitude that the filling device must be sealed and the container must bear a statement of net quantity of content as required by law pertaining to food in package form. It is not necessary that these packages bear the seal of approval, as they are not measures but merely containers.

Prior to the enactment of laws on the subject of containers and measure-containers it was found that cartons of all shapes and sizes were being used by retail merchants. There was no control over the shape, dimensions, or strength, and no ready means of identifying the source of manufacture of the cartons. Some of these containers were of the conventional size of 1 quart, 1 pint, 11⁄2 pint, or 1 gill—but many were of other sizes. Due to lack of control, a lot of them were greatly deficient, and some were in excess of the tolerance for liquid-capacity measures, but especially where conventional sizes were not employed the sale was consummated on the basis of money's worth rather than on the basis of quantity.

By virtue of the provisions of our law the capacity of a carton must be printed on it, and the sale must be made on the basis of quantity determination. Manufacturers are assigned an identifying code which permits easy tracing of the source of manufacture. When a code has been assigned to a manufacturer there must be printed on the carton the capacity of the container in terms of United States liquid measure, and the words "Approved for Massachusetts" followed by the code designation. This restriction of the sizes which may be employed, and the ease of tracing the manufacturer of the cartons, has worked out very satisfactorily for all concerned.

There was submitted for tentative adoption at the last National Conference a special code for single-service measuring containers. This covered very much the same field we have covered in Massachusetts, but our requirements call for the specified marking to appear plainly and conspicuously on the side of the carton, or on the top and bottom. This latter requirement was deemed necessary as in many cases these cartons have detachable tops, and it is not considered plain and conspicuous if the marking appears on the top only. The capacities listed in last year's tentative code are for 1 gallon, 12 gallon, 1 quart, 1 pint, 1/2 pint, and 1 gill. In view of the spreading use of this type of measure-container to the wholesale field, it might be well to give consideration to the advisability of including larger capacities than were listed in the tentative code submitted last year.

"YOU'RE ON THE AIR"

Arranged and presented under the supervision of Arthur Stringer, National Association of Broadcasters

THE CHAIRMAN. I wish to call upon our secretary to introduce the next item on our program. Mr. Smith.

MR. R. W. SMITH. You will recall that last year we had on our program, as a prelude to the report of the Committee on Weights and Measures Education, a very interesting presentation by a representative of the newspaper fraternity; it was considered that the close relationship between the work of the committee and the newspaper field made that arrangement particularly appropriate. We shall shortly have another report from our Committee on Weights and Measures Education, and as a prelude to that report we are going to learn something about radio broadcasts, another medium which is available to weights and measures officials from time to time for the education of the people with whom they deal.

Arrangements for the next item on our program were made with the National Association of Broadcasters, and Mr. Stringer of that association has very kindly consented to handle this item for us; it will be something of a departure from the conventional, but I believe you will enjoy it. I wish to introduce to you Mr. Stringer, who will take over from this point.

MR. STRINGER. When Mr. Smith visited our offices and sold us a bill of goods, we were delighted to accept his invitation to appear on your program because, you know, you do not have to work very hard to get radio people to talk about themselves and what they have to offer. Since the time of that visit, as you know, there has intervened an unlimited national emergency, and that changes the whole picture. We had a paper all written for delivery but it is now in the wastebasket. Instead of that, we directed one of our script writers to prepare an original one-act play for delivery here this morning, and it tells the story of today's conditions regarding the availability of radio time throughout the nation.

In August of last year, at San Francisco, the National Association of Broadcasters went out one hundred percent for national defense. That meant that we would give ample time to the defense agencies. It meant that we would give time to organizations and people who could contribute to the national solidarity—but we are a nation of enthusiasts, and almost at once everyone who had an idea to sell or a course of action to promote, wanted time on the air. The next thing we knew we could just about fill 18 hours a day with speakers, one after another, and have two or three times as many more sitting out in the anteroom. Of course, that is not the best situation and we are on the spot, and so we are going to tell you about it in a play. Before we start the action, let me say that Mr. Smith wanted us to tell you something of the mechanics of broadcasting, how to prepare your speech, how to time your speech, how to sell your idea to the broadcast manager. In order not to let Mr. Smith down, we have brought a supply of a little pamphlet which answers all those questions, and I understand that these will be made available at the close of the session to those desiring copies.

(At this point there was presented a one-act play depicting the problems of the manager of a radio station in meeting demands for free time on the air. A cast of seven persons participated in this dramatic sketch.)