Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1867-01-17
The Metric System.

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The metric system of weights and
measures, which was first adopted
by the French Government, and is
new generally used in Europe, will in
all probability sooner or later be-
come the standard system in our own
country. Its great simplicity and
the ease with which it can be learned
and mastered, will eventually out
weigh the temporary disadvantages
attending the breaking up of our old
system and the introduction of the
new one. From late article in the
Springfield (Mass. Republican we
condense some items of interest upon
this subject. 1t appears that this
subject has already engaged the at
tention of our own government. At
the last session Of Congress report
was presented in the House of Rep
resentatives, by committee of which
Mr.. Kasson of Iowa was chairman, in
which the whole subject of weights
and measures was thoroughly dis
cussed, the Inconvenience and mac
curacy of our present system demon
strated, and the simplicity, accuracy
and beauty of the metric system fully
set forth. The report also gives in
teresting details Of the progress of
the new system in other countries
Nearly all the commercial nations of
the world have either already adopt
ed it, or have taken the preliminary
steps..to do SO. Ofthe aggregateS762,-
100000, of our exports and imports
in 1860, nearly $7OO,OOO,OOO, were to
and from nations that have either
entirely or partially adopted the new
system. In the coinage of our new
five cent peiccs, our Government has
made its first official recognition of
the convenience and excellence of
this decimal system of weights and
measures. Each one of these coins
weighs exactly five granlmes, and five
of them laid along in order on a fiat
surface mark off decimeter in length.
A word now as to the nature of
this system. The basis of the whole
scheme is the meter. This was found
by the French mathematiciaus by ac-
tually measuring an arc of the earths
circumference, and then calculating
from that the exact distance between
the Equator and the Pole. This dis
tance was then arbitrarily divided
by ten million. and that gave the
meter, unit of length, which, if it
were ever lost, could be recovered
again by new measurment of the
earth's circumference The meter
as thus found is almost exactly 1887
inches. The subdivisions of this, all
decimal, are marked by the Latin
prefxes, deci, cent?, mill the null
tipIes Of this, also all decimals, are
marked by the Greek numerals,
deka, becto, kilo. And thus freEa
the meter, as 4 basis, are formsa eis1
-s-~s-aSs OF leng measure. square mess
: iss - s's messl and weight meas
sure, which, with q money table and a
time table, are all that are required
to be learned. Our ordinary arith-
metics contain twelve or fourteen
tables.
The advantages of this system will,
upon moments reflection, be OBJ
vious. In all of the tables, the de-
nominations increase or decrease, as
the case may be, in tenfold ratio.
Now every scheol-boy knows with
how much greater ease he can mas
ter the subject OF simple numbers
than that of compound numbers
And simply for the reason, that in
the former the orders increase from
left to right, or decrease from right
to left, in q ten-fold ratio, while in
the latter the ratio of increase from
denomination to denomination is
constantly varying. The advantage
which simple numbers thus have
over compound numbers is the very
same advantage, which the French
or metric system of weights and
measures has over our ewn. We do
not hesitate to say that boy can be
taught practical arithmetic on the
metric system in one third of the
time which is now given to that work.
And not only will learning be sim
plified, but business likewise. AS
decimal fractions are easier than vul-
gar fractions, so will accounts kept
in decimal system be simpler than
our present methods. In our inter
national commerce also, we should
save the labor and time now cen
sumed in reducing the denomlna
tions, under which articles were
shipped frem foreign countries, to
the denominations current in this
country. Against all these marked
advantages there is the one dis ad-
vantage of breaking up old habits
and customs and introducing new.
But this would be but temporary, and