The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1868-02-17
A Metrical system Of Coinage-Peti.
ton from the American statistical
AssOctattOu,

The petition OF the American Statistical As.
ISOLATION, adopted at Its late meeting 10 Boston,
and recently presented In both Houses OF Con.
grcss, respectfully SKIS attention to the follow
ing propositions and requests that the principles
inv olved in them may be incorporated in any law
that may be adopted in respect to the metrical
system Of weights, measures, and coins:
First. That the American Statistical Associa.
tion earnestly favors the speedy practical adop-
tion by the people Of the United States of the
metrical system OF weights and measures the
system of which the metre, the litre and the
gramme are respectively the units of length, of
capacity, and OF weight, and the use Of which,
by act Of the last tthe Thirty NINTH Congress,
has been rendered permissible in the United
States, in the making OF contracts, and has been
nccessitated by the requirements of several
branches Of industry.
Second. That our coinage should have simple
relations as to weight with the unit Of weight OF
the metrical system, the gramme.
Third. That the standard as to fneness OF our
| coinage, whether of gold or silver, should con.
tinue as now, nine.tcnths OF fine metal to one
tenth of alloy.
| Fourth. That in the opinion OF this association
no widely-extendcd and permanent uniformity as
to coinage can be secured through the adoption
by our Government OF any system which Is In
| conflict with the principles above IN entioncd.
/
| hncness OF the coins hereafter to be issued
should be legibly stamped thereon prior to issue.
| Sixth That the changes required for convert.
| ing our existing coinage into metrical one arc
slight that the rccoinage of the existing coins
| of the United States would be unnecessary;
that tho difference between the existing coinage
aud that proposed, especially as regards gold
coins of less denomination than ten dollars, is
very considerably less than the deviation now
| ali 81 80 thn int htah ia Fntrt nf a
grain for the gold dollar and the quarter eagle
and one half OF a grain for the half eagle, the
eagle and the double eagle.
Seventh. That In pursuance of the foregoing
the gold dollar should contain one and one hall
grammes OF fne gold, or Its equivalent, one and
two thirds grammes ofstandard gold, mine tcnthi
Hne,) and that other gold coins should be in pro
portion.
Eighth. That the silver half dollar and tn,
smaller silver coins hereafter to be issued should
contain OF fine silver at the rate of twenty 1--we
and one-half t22} y grammes to the dollar, or thei
equivalent twenty five 1857 grammes Of STANDARD
silver mine tcnths hne.)
c Ninth. That the gold coinage, as above dc
scribed, should be made legal-tender in paymen
i of sums OF all amount; and that the silver coin
> age should be subsidiary, and admitted as lega
n tender to an amount not exceeding ten dollar
in any one payment
d Note on Proposition Seucnih.-The weight of tn
"a existing gold dollar, when new, is slghtly-onl
. about thrce-tenths $40 of one per cent.-in eS
y cess of the proposed metrical dollar, the forme
10 containing Of fine gold sos grammes, or of star
In dard gold t9-lO hnel 672 grammes; an excess
:. about Ave one-thousandths n-0OOl Of a gramm,
10 or eight one-hundredths ts-lO0) of q grain, an
OF which is about one-third OF deviaton allowed tn
liz mint.
N Note on Proposition Eighh-The existing iegd
tendcr-sirer hye-franc piece of France contain
rs twenty-five grammes Of standard silver, thin,
~ tenths ine) or twenty-five and one. half grammt
re of fine silver, the same as herein proposed Ou
10 existing fractional and subsidiary silver coin
y are somewhat smaller than the above, about on'
~ half of one per cent, containing OF standRr
ID metal at the rate of 2+-sG grammes to the dola
x instead Of twenty-five grsmmes, the differenc
!. being incon siderable.
Note on Proposition Ninh.-It will be observe
that the proposed silver coinage has precisel
l. fifteen Q5l times the weight of the proposed gol
n coinage of the same denominations. The mar
. ket equivalent Is, and for the past sixty year
has been greater than this, the value of gold re
c. atively to silver having averaged for the pas
H. fourteen years 1873 times that OF silver Hence
by the above propositions, silver Is orerrdlued
= as, according to the experience of all commcrcii
Ell nations, 1t should be- But to prevent the silyC
is from driving the gold from circulation II
H. necessary, as proposed, that the silver should
A. lcgal-tender only In payment of sums of sma
W amount. The limit in the United States Is no
he Ave dollars; in England forty shillings tahor
e ten doilars.)