Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-12-12

such values being expressed decimally.
Some engineers of the present day have
the verniers of their therdolites divided
decimally.on account of the great conve-
nience of the decimal division in laying
out railroad curves. An object is offered
to this system on account of the unit base
being too small; for instance, in naming
the distance between New York and San
Francisco, if expressed in meters, the
mind cannot grasp so large a number
Do we name the distance between the
cities above-named in yards, the base of
our system?
In mechanical engineering, the cente-
mer-is the unit; in physics, the millime-
ter. The itinerary unit is the kilometer.
The unit of weight in commerce is the
kilogram; in analytic chemistry, the
gram; hectOliter in dry measure and liter
in liquid measure, although the capacity
of large casks is represented in higher
denominations, as we now use the hogs
head, barrel, etc., although the gallon is
the unit.
Let us take some examples and illus
trate the Inconvenience of our present
system" The distance from Washington
c. H. to Columbus, will suppose to be "a
kilometers, or, when reduced to yards
69992. .116S. Now, which is the easier to
retain in the memory, 81 k. or 69992. .116S
yards? But reduce it to higher denomi-
nations,' some will say. Let it be done.
Instead of 81 kilometers, we shall have
80 miles, 245 rods, 3 yards, l foot, 1o.2O4s
inches; all this to express the distance
between Washington G. Hand our Cap
ital.
The hectare is the agrarian unit of the
new system, and contains 2.471 acres,
which is large enough to measure all
farms. Examples might be given of farms
containing certain number of hectares,
which, being reduced to the old system,
would contain acres, square rods, square
yards, square feet, and, in case the land
is very valuable, square inches. And the
capacity of tank, containing a certain
number of kilometers, may be expressed
in hogsheads, gallons, quarts, pints and
gills. However, some who have not ac-
quainted themselves with the beauty and
simplicity of the decimal, still prefer the
''simple, short and comprehensive ex-
pressions'' of the old system.
will not attempt to follow these OBJ
ieetors further in their lament, but can
not refrain from giving one more exam
| pie, which has as much weight as any Of
fered by the assailants of the metric sys-
TEN: How embarrassing it must be to the
honest man, who, setting out to buy a
round of beef for his dinner, after there
have ceased to be any pounds, is aston
ished at finding he will have to pay for the
amazing number of grams expressed by
the figures 1926, or, in case heis bankrupt
by the large demand, will be permitted
ing 3 Kilograms, 5 hectograms, deca.
grams and 8 grams.
I wish to present parallel to this: He
goes to his tailor, to purchase coat, anG
he states to him price, in a sum express
ed by the four digits named above, and in
the same order; and, as all the readings
are made&in the ''lowest unit" and the
cent being the lowest money unitAiEl- -tllS
price named, the tailor is under the ne
cessity of Informing him thathe can havt
the coat for 1926 cents, and it will not b.
lawful for him to vary the expression il
any manner, unless he say, by way of al
tentative, that he will give him the Goa
for 8 eagles, 3 dollars, dimes and cents
would advise the man not to buy hi
meat by the pound, after pounds havt
gone out of date, but to content himsel
with a round 3 Kilograms, or, in case he i
very hungry, say 80.
Many of the objections offered agains
this grand reformation are evidently to-
groundless to justify their consideration
where amusement is not the principal OBJ
ject sought after. Many, who once raiset
objections, seem scarcely to have been Sc
rious in offering them. Since they wer
} made, public opinion on this subject ha
: undergone material change, and man,
of those who once criticised are nov
, among the most ardent advocates for wha
the majority of the world has made it
international system of weights an
: measures.
l It is not expected that this system wi
: make its way in the world against tn
will of the people. 1t is not expected ths
l the people of the United States shall b
coerced into receiving it by the force {
sFimperial edicts," or by the terror of til
r bayonet. They will, sooner or later, we
+, come it. They will conscious
t the many Inconvenience to which the
j are subjected; inconvenience whic
: they have learned to endure without r.
: fecting on their causes or suspecting thi
d they were unnecessary, in the nature
: things; and, when fully awake to tt
e slavery in which they live, they will bur
y it's shackles and rejoice in the deliverant
e which the metric system brings. Th
t, can not take place, of course, until Il
a people are informed. Educational inf
:" ences must be invoked. The young shou
be educated to thorough understandil
p of this system, and be perfectly famili
y with its practical applications. The m
a. trio ought to be taught in all our school
at 1t ought to be taught there as being t
Of system actually in use among half t
v inhabitants of the civilized world, a.
30 without any regard to the question whet
a er it is to be ours or not; and it ought, tt
ne with special refence to this question,
ne order that another generation may ms
lis it and settle it inteligently. And, VIII
he a generation shall have grown up, il
w whose minds this knowledge shall hs
us entered along with the first rudiments
nd their learning, the question will no lon!
&C. have two sides; and then, when the U
'se ted States shall cast away all otl
Mt weights and measures for the metric,
people will not run after our Congr'
as men, shouting: "Give us back our va
,ed gallon, gram" etc. as we are told
'ns people of England shouted in 1852: e
yer us back our eleven days. when the Gre