Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-25

| OF WASHINGTON MAS JUST GOT IT'S SIT.
| n TRANCE that Congress has never legal
| H. lied the system Of weights and meas
| A3 ures at present in use in the United
kO States" said an officer Of the coast and
WosH geodetic survey TO . STAB reporter.
at was originally empowered by the Constitu-
ton to establish system Of coinage and also OF
weights and measures, but though il early set
up coinage system that is probably the most
admirable the world has ever seen, it has
never taken similar action regarding the hardly
less important measures and weights. Gu
riously enough, the only system of the sort that
it ever has legalized is the so-called Metric
system imported from France.
early in the present century there was
much agitation regarding the question of
weights and measures, which differed so widely
in this country that each state had its own
standards and every custom house reckoned on
a different basis of bushels and gallons. Both
Jefferson and Adams made reports to Congress
on the subject, and SO deeply did the latter 60
| into the question that he actually believed his
| fame in history would rest more upon his
work in this direction than upon any political
achievements of his own. In consequence Of
| this stirring up of the subject Congress di-
rected the Treasury Department to choose
1
I referred to Mr. Hassler, first superintendent Of
the coast survey, because he was the only COM
petent man available for the purpose.
TOO MUCH FOR THE COMMITTEE.
"Hassler was the man who had the celebrated
| interview with a congressional committee that
was appointed for the purpose of investigating
the coast survey office and determining whether
its expenditures were properly justified. He WAS
q Swiss. Whom the committee appeared at the
office Hassler said: Vat you want hereg' The
| committee informed the superintendent Of the
| object of the visit, upon which Mr.. Hassler re-
piled:
1 "'Go away from hero! I'm busy and hat no
| time to talk 10 You fellers Vat you know
about my work any way? Go of and don't
| bOdder mel
The committee returned and reported. upon
which Congress was convulsed with laughter
and nothing further was heard of the investi-
! cation.
ITO return to the point, however, Hasslcr
selected an English measure made by the cele-
brated Troughton and adopted thirty-six inches
| from it the correct yard which remains TO
this day the standard in this country and is
precisely the same as that in use III Great
| Britain. Also he adopted q standard bushel
and q standard gallon. the latter being vine
| measure-for there were all sorts OF gallons
| in the old days. one used for wine, another tor
milk, and on. Since then England has
| determined gallon and bushel of it's own,
| and these differ from ours considerably. In
the gallon the difference between the two
| standards is very considerable, the English
holding ten pounds of water. while ours con-
| tains eight and two tenths pounds only.
THE TROY POUND.
| "In 1925 when Adams was President, under
| authorization by Congress, troy pound adj
| justed to the British standard was brought to
| this country. The chief executive received it
and broke the seal with great ceremony in the
| presence of distinguished gathering. This
| pound, although tho national legislature did
| not pass any law absolutely legalzing. 1t may
| be looked upon as a standard i'll a higher sense
| than those selected by Individual preference.
! In 1886 Congress made an enactment providing
| for the construction by the bureau Of weights
and measures OF accurate copies Of this troy
pound and OF the standard. standard adopted
the states. According to the law,
which is still in force, each stats
was entitled to set OF these weights and
| measures. Washington, newly admitted to the
| Union, got hers about a month ago. Most of
these states have adopted by laws these copies
| of their own standards, while the others use
| them as such. SO, although the standard are
not legalized for the nation they are accepted
by the people. The troy pound spoken or, of
| brass, and hollow. is now in the Philadelph ia
| mint, but il is not regarded weight of
| ideal accuracy by any means. The reason why
| the coast survey was originally made the bu-
| reau Of weights and measures also Is that Mr..
| Hassler was superintendent OF the coast survey
| At the time when he was requested to select
| the standards.
| When, about the year 1910, the British
| houses Of parliament were destroyed by fire,
| the old English standards we're burned. A
commission was, therefore, appointed to make
new standards Among other things this COM
mission constructed an imperial yard, two
| copies OF which. one bronze and the other iron,
were presented to the United States. At the
same time avoirdupois pound Of brass,
gilded known as the British imperial pound,
was given us also.
| METRIC SYSTEM.
1T is q curious fact that Congress has le-
galized the metric system in this country,
though it has never done so much for the
| weights and measures in ordinary use. The
time when this system will replace all others in
\ every civilized country is not far of. Every
| European nation except Russia and England
has it already. In 1872 representatives Of all
| the great powers, including several South
an international bureau of weights and
measures They appointed commission
| of distinguished scientific. men to
construct new standards for the meter
platinum with 10 per cent OF iridium was
chosen for the material Of both. For the kilo-
| grams a quantity of the two metals IN the pro-
| portions mentioned was finally powdered,
made into a cake, heated red hot, melted in q
| lime furnace, poured into molds forged
under hammers, rolled to extreme thinness be-
tween steel cylinders, melted again, cast in q
| big iugOt, heated red hot, forged into a square
bar, rolled into a cylindrical bar and finally
chopped up into forty little cylinders, each OF
which was exactly kilogram in weight.
So accurately were they adjusted that
| the final rubbing down to reduce
them to exactness was done with the bare hand,
lest any coarser material than the skin should
rub of a little too much. The meters were
manufactured in pretty much the same way.
! On the second day Of the present year one Of
these meters and one kilogram were brought
| from France and formally presented by q coast
survey officer to President Harrison, who broke
! the seal in the presence Of . gathering Of dis
! tingushed statesmen and citizens. Another
| kilogram and another meter were brought over
about the same time on another ship, in order
that no chance should be taken OF
| losing these standards, which could not
possibly be replaced. Both the meters and the
Kilograms are At present slowed away among
the other weights and measures at the branch
coast survey Office in the Butler building, OPP
| posite the Capitol The meters are sealed up
in boxes awaiting the preparation of vault for
their reception, and the little cylindrical Kill
ograms, wonderfully heavy for their size, in
asmuch ~ their density is three or four times
as great 80 that Of brass are covered each of
them with two bell glasses and stand upon
small discs Of polished quartz crystal in order
that no dust may touch them.
MEASURE OF coxTKNrs
| "The meter being Q measure of length and
the kilogram one Of weight, where does the
| measure of contente correspopdjn0 IN the 0s /