The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-06-05
THE METRIC SYSTEM

From the recent report OF the Con
/ gress.oHal committee to which was re
ferred the pill to adopt the weights and
measures Of the metric system as the
. standard weights and measures Of the
United States are selected the follow
I ing considerations in favor Of the sys-
TEN:
The intense commercial rivalry OF na-
lions warns Us to leave nothing IN
done which may further cur own inter
ests. and there can BE no DOUBT that 5he
Introduction Of the metric system would
/ greatly facilitate international conner
( cial transactions Without doubt Great
Britain and Russia would follow he
initiative of this country in this mat
+ ter tReport O. Secretary Of the Treas
uTy Cor 1880.
/ The advantages TO be gained by the
adoption Of the metric system as com
! pared with the one in present use are
/ far greater than the benefits derived
| from the adoption Of decimal system
/ Of coinage in place OF the English mon
etary system.
/ Very few persons arc familiar with
/ the weights and measures common in
/ the United States One has hut to re-
/ call the tables Of our three different
/ systems OF weights the apothecary,
/ troy. and syoirdupois-t0 illustrate this
fact. And while the yard may be stated
as our standard of length. We find in
/ practice various arbitrary multipIes OF
the yard and foot. IN addition 10 the
+ ordinary cubic measure we find three
| systems of measuring capacity - dry
/ measure. liquid measure, and apthe-
cary's fluid measure An examination
4 Of the tables Of our weights and meas
ures discloses the fact that there are 81
/ different IS used, Of which 10 are
not Invisible By 2. and that there are IS
/ terms used which have TWO OF more
meanings. Certainly. any effort to re-
place this cOngIomeratc system with d
simple logical one. similar 20 our
monetary system, is worthy Of the con-
siderations OF Congress
( The fact that the metric system was
first adopted by France has given rise
to the custom Of referring to It as the
French system It is interesting tc note.
however. that one Of the first TO propose
a decimal system OF weighs and meas
. ures was James Watt. the inventor Of
! the steam engine. The adoption OF a
/ decimal sys TEN Of coinage by the United
States was one Of the strongest infu-
ences leading to the adoption Of the
metric system by France
| The advantages Of the metric system
may be briefly stated as its decimal
character throughout, the simple reIa-
lions between the units making it pos
sibIe to derives all others from the unit Of
length. the ease with which it is learned
and remembered, the saving Of time and
the increased accuracy with which com
Iputations may be made Estimates made
/ by the department OF education and
others show that the work Of at least
two-thirds Of a year in the life OF every
child would be saved by the adoption of
the metric arithmetic
More than 90 per cent Of our com
merce is now carried on with countries
using the weights and measures OF the
metric system, and it is evident that the
commerce OF the world must soon con
form to the metric basis.
In 1886 Congress legalized the metric !
system From that time on It has been
growing in favor and in practical use. It
is here to sta~ not only n scientific
work, but in commerce and manufactur- !
ing 1t is now used by about two-thirds /
.of the people OF the world. Russia. /
Great Britain and the United States
being the only non-metric countries.
The committee believes that the
time has come for the gradual retire
ment Of our confusing. illogical. ira /
tionat system AID the substitution Of
something better The first step in this
direction should be the introduction OF
the metric weights and measures into
the departments of the Government. The /
Use of these weights and measures will
simplify their work. It will famfIfarize
the people with them and encourage
their application to the common affairs
Of life"
The great difficulties which seem to
stand in the way Of the general adoption
OF this system have probably been over
estimated. Tor its introduction into Ger
many, Austria, and other Eu-o2ean
countries was accomplished with little
or no confusion.