The record-union., 1896-04-19

chief of these, however, as we look upon
it, is the betterment of rural conditions.
That is to say, as men improve the IA
cilities for movement from city to coun-
try and from farr, to street, they mingle
the advantages of the two. They give
to the ruralist the benefits of the town
and to the townsman the relief, rest
and freedom of the country
Just what that means needs no elab-
grafton. But there is another phase Of
the matter equally as important. The
wheel will enable the men of small
| means and hard labor to economize
while enlarging the comforts of life by
living in the suburbs at least possible
cost for movement while toiling in the
shops, marts and factories of the city.
This will enhance content and remove
from town-temptations and just that
much tend to better the home life of toll
ers and fortify the saving spirit.
Now that the metric system is to be-
come the legal system of the Nation, let
US ask ourselves is it SO very difficult
to learn? One member of Congress de-
clared in the recent debate concerning
it that he did not believe he could learn
it in ten years. That may be, for there
are Congressman and congressman.
But it probably never dawned upon him
that in fact he uses the metric system
wi
When he says that ten mills make one
cent, ten cents one dime, ten dimes one
dollar, he uses a metric system. BY
multiplication of units he gets new to-
tails, each of which he gives a new name.
That is all the metric system does, only
it carries the thing through all meas
urement so that liquids, solids, space
length and breadth may be measured
by the same instead of different stand
ards. We concede that it will be some
what difficult for an adult to ''un-
learn" the old methods and substitute
the new. But no man should saw he
cannot do it, This idea of adopting a
uniform system is not new. 1t has been
before Congress a great many years
and before the people for nearly cent
ury. If we multiply or divide by ten in
all things, as in the money illustration
we have just given, we would have a
metric system. Thus, as we say ten
| cents make one dime, we could say
| then ten inches make one loot, and ten
| feet a yard, and ten pints a quart, and
ten quarts a gallon, and ten anything
else something else, and that would
| give us a uniform system. But, of
course, such a table would not fit into
| our uses, but the illustration will serve
| to indicate what is sought to be at
| tined, and is reached under the metric
| system. For instance, take the metric
weight, a gramme, and it enables US
to indicate that ten grammes make a
| decagramme, 100 grammes a hecto-
gramme, 1000 grammes a kilogramme.
In dry measure the unit is the litre, so
| ten litres make a decalitre, and 100
litres hectoitre, and SO on. 1t seems
to us that even a Congressman could
understand that. Certainly the Ameri-
can schoolboys will, readily. For in
stance, will it be difficult to teach the
people that the metre always refers to
length, the are to surface or area, the
litre to capacity, the gramme to weight?
Then, will it be difficult to teach them
| that deci expresses the tenth part
cent? the hundredth part, and milli the
thousandth part? That deca means
ten times the value, hecto one hundred
times, kf1o one thousand times, and
myra ten thousand times the value? We
think not. However, we did not set out
to give the metric tables, they are as
certainable more easily, but we wish
to impress those who doubt with the
Congressman that the new system can
be learned easily, that they are in error
We have said that probably mature
men not in clerical positions will ad-
here to the old system, but, assuredly, it
will not be because of incapacity to
learn the new.