2002-10-09

Mr. James McCracken

NIST Weights and Measures Division

Laws and Metric Group

lOO Bureau Drive MS 2000

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2000

Dear Jim:

I am writing as an American consumer. First of all, the idea of allowing
industries to use metric only on their products\' labels is not a bad
idea. Most Americans now buy many, many products that come in metric
sizes and are not, as a result of the metric size, dazed or confused. We
consumers do not walk into a grocery store to buy a 67.6 fluid ounce
sized bottle of soft drink--we get the two-litre bottle. likewise, we
don\'t actually pay much attention to labels; generally, we will buy the
\"big\" box or the \"small\" bottle of something.

The same thing could go for the sale of gasoline by the litre. Who
counts up how many gallons he or she buys? Speaking for myself, I
usually fill it up or get so-many-dollars\' worth of gas. The number of
gallons is never noticed, except if I want to get a car wash
cheaper-then I pay attention to the number of gallons I buy. But I could
do the exact same thing with the number of litres if that what was on
the pump.

Comparing metric quantities is much easier than with the units presently
used. Unit pricing would be obsolete if items were sold by the kilogram
and 100 grams, or litres and millilitres.

No multiplying or dividing by 4, 6, or 12.

Recently, President Bush mentioned in his speech about Iraq and
terrorism the fact that Iraq has produced \"30 million litres of
anthrax.\" A very chilling thought, but I noticed that he didn\'t say
gallons or quarts. Another interesting fact is that his father, when he
was President, signed the executive order giving metric a higher
priority in government agencies.

Allowing businesses to decide for themselves whether or not they wish to
use metric-only information would also be beneficial to them. Industries
could modernize on their own time schedules and also to prepare for the
European Union requirements. Exporters would like being able to use
metric-only because they know that their trading partners want metric
units. It is also cheaper for our companies to use only one measurement
system\--this makes American companies more competitive and it is good
for U.S. consumers because that translates to cheaper products.

Metric is the world\'s measurement language. Fewer and fewer cultures
are familiar with U.S. measurement units, and many are increasingly
unwilling to overcome this hurdle in order to purchase and use American
goods. It is difficult for the U.S. firms to produce their goods at
prices which are attractive to other nations. They do not need the
additional handicaps of non-standard sizes and a measurement system
which is the exception rather than the rule.

11 HIDEAWAY ROAD

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03064-1133

USA

2002-10-09

2

I am an American who happens to like the metric system. I am a consumer
as well, who buys camera film, soft drinks, bottled water, eyeglasses,
perfume for my wife, CD-ROMs, cars, medicines, skis, flower seeds, wine
and liquor. I watch my children run in track and field events at their
high school and college; I read about the Olympics and their events; I
see local road races go by near my house. I read the Nutrition Facts on
food products. I pay my electric bill. I have traveled outside of the
United States, and I hear and read international news. All of these
mentioned use the metric system, and I have not gone crazy or lost my
American-ness as a result.

Yours most sincerely,

John H. Woelflein