Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-11-28


measures" II is both practical and inn
portant because it is the subject Of divine
command and bccuu,c ii determines just
dealing between man and man in SO large
Il part of the intercourse and transactions
of life The temptations to deception in
the use Ot a false balance and an unequal
measure are now very many and he prac-
ticc of fraud widely extended. And the
more so from the C chat weights and
measures and their true standards are
NOW varied and compicatcd and difficult
of comparison for common people. Adult
tcrmion OF simplc- iu food and
drink and clothing, false and foul
mixtures. these all belong To the
the category of false measures. and are
helped by them. Deception through
false measures ANA mixtures tend to
weaken the morals OF the people, destroy
both public and private credit. aud, in
decd. ali faith between man and man.
To correct false measures and mixtures
would greatly help correct false practices,
and make everyday life safer healthier
and happier.
Modern governmental Efforts to remedy
defects in weights and measures and make
them International date from near the
close Of the last century. France has led
the way i'm them. In ltgN her govern
money, ami no little mathcmai zeal, as
Economical and scientific knowledge, and
made, as it is now conceded. Il mistake in
the choice of her standard unit, the
metre adopted the metric system. Since
then She has been interchangeable in her
efforts to lead other civilized governments
to adopt the same. She compelled, under
the reign of Napoleon. some OF tine weaker
states of Europe, Sweden, Italy Spain and
Portugal to adopt her metric, and
England and Germany, whom she could
not compel.
/ In the United States, efforts to obtain
equal and uniform weights and measures
are coeval with the formation of the gov
eminent They were part OF the subject
of debate and regulation in the convention
to frame and adopt the constitution. Adj
iuSted as best they could be in the COnVen-
tons that framed and adopted the COnsti-
tuition jefferson made an early report on
the subject to Congress. Nor did the sub
iect rest there. About the close of the
second decade of the government. an eff
fort was made in Congress to adopt the
metric system as the system of the govern
mcnt and country. Il was pending this
effort that, in lN2l, John Quincy Adams
made to Congress his mastery report ON
the subject. Adams brought to bear on
the subject and Wuve into his report, an
amount of time. patience, learning and
taithfuluCSS that has not yet been exceeded
nor probably ever surpassed, if cQualcd,
in any report on this subject or any other
yet made to the Congress of the ntcd
States
The report Of Mr.. Adams was one of
those vast laborS which the philanthruplst
undertakes, not for fame or pcCuuiary re
ward, but for the welfare of man. The
subject mad occupied for sixty years many
nn(yrr and all thr nhilusn,,hirni and mnth-
rmoticnI learning of France and I;rrnt
Rri.nin had during thai urriud been in
rnlsnntlv dirrctrd tnwnrjs il Mr.
Adams's undertaking is wei dr,cribed bv
his binvronhrr Morse ms n fearful and
nnnrrssiyr tnsk" and his report described
hvltL, ..,,,,n nntbnritvns -, .,,lid ,,,d ,nn,r.
nitrrnt moyrm,u. nt research and rrfIrc-
ton which has not been slIper,rClrd bynnv
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hnnr., i'm Ms iu1r.ttml.inns ana rrycr
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