New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-15
DECT.NALS IN TRADE.

Among the resolutions considered u! TIE WI"
gress Of Chambers of Commerce of the Bri'ish
Empire In London last week were two when
were emncntly practical. and by no means
contentious from the political point OF view
one related to the currency ana the other I'D
thc weights and measures of the Empire The
. former referred to the simple decimal system
of dollars and cents which. originating In the
United States. Is now In use throughout all
British North America. and Is even extending
to some degree into other parts Of the En-
miro II contrastrd II with the hybrid duodcci-
mall igintesimal system Of pounds, shililhes
and pence In vogue In Great Britain ana else
where in the Empire. and urged that the latter
be made to conform with the former IL was
not proposed TO abolish the historic poundS'
shillngs and pence. but merely so to modify
them that the pound will be exactly equal To
81. and the shilling to - cents rs indeed they
are commonly rcckoncd to be.
This II is evident would greatly simplify
computations and facilitate trade between an
fcrcnt members Of the Empire. 1t would also
be II decided step toward IN International ana
universal money standard such standard
has often been suggested. but has g"neraiI!
been regarded as an academic impracucaDlll'y.
Why. it is difficult To see. There Is today SUD
stantially such an agreement between 'hnAdh
and The United States. and there positively Is
between nine or ten countries OF Europe. Ih're
seems no good reason why II should not h" OK
tended 10 all nations OF the civilized world
Each. Of course. might retain lis own noncn
claturc Just as the same coin Is to-day called
I'm France the franc. IN Italy the Ira. in Greece
the drachna. in Servia the dinar In Spain the
pcscta in RuInania the ley. and In bulgaria the
lcva. though II would bc better still 10 have
common International names for AT least the
principal coins. But what Is important Is To
have "A common unit Of value so that the state
mcnt of sum Of money in the terms Of one
country may be- instantly translated into the
terms Of another. without rcsOrting 10 arith-
mctcal computations: and that such an inter
national system should bc arranged on III"
decimal scalc Of notation Is n matter that nd
mllS Of not the slightest doubt
Til. other declaration was In favor OF sim
liar adoption. for similar reasons. Of the metric
system Of weights and measures. lnqucstion-
ably the mixed systems ~ ounces. pounds and
tons ~ inches feet and yards ~ pnis quarts
nnd gallons. are awkward and cumbersome
They compare with the purely decimal metric
system just A. the British currency does with
the American II would Lee a great advantage
10 any single country 10 eNchang" the one for
the other II would Dee still greater advan
fagc TO international trade 10 have all nations
adopt tn" same system. AZ present England
and America use ~" pound. France and most
Of Europe The h.logrammc. China IN" picul
Egypt the Okla. Japan the rim. AMI Russia the
rood In The United States the use OF the
metric system has been sanctioned To some OK
tent. but IN Great Britain the use of IN" old
standards e. still compulsory. The gain. in sim
pliciiy and accuracy. which would be- Effected
10y universal adoption Of the decimal system
IS beyond all reckoning Such change. as in
deed also III" chang" 81 the currency standard.
would have To- be- effected gradually. and would
entail vast amount Of work For several
years after the adoption Of the new system II
rnigli bc necessary IN most business documents
- state quantities In terms of both the old and
new. Moreover II is perfectly evident thar the
decimal system Is not and cannot bc OF uni
vcrSal application For example. time cannot
b. measured by It. Yet despite these difficulties
and limitations It's promise Of hcncicencc il
So great ne to commend il to the practical con.
siGoraion Of every people.