Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-05-03

that can be done the airship would be a
commercial factor worthy of Mr. Nor
gan's merging attention. Until it can be
done the airship is an interesting toy and
nothing more.
Count Won Zeppelin, the Berlin airshp
inventor, who has been working on the
problem for over thirty years, has just
abandoned it. lie has spent several for
tunes in experiments, subscribed for him
by governments and scientific societies
who had faith in his ultimate success. His
most notable performance was in July,
1900, when he went up in his aluminium
ship and travelled safely from Friedrich
shafen to Immens tadt, thirty-five miles,
with five passengers on board. But all
the sailing was done with the wind. The
German government supported his ex-
perlments with liberal appropriations,
but finally withdrew its aid, believing
that the count had failed to solve the
problem of how to steer a ship through
the air against the lrtnd.
Lord Kelvin has Just declared that this
is in fact an unsolvabe problem. Thorn
as Edison is of the same opinion. Indeed,
to the average man the very idea of driv-
ing ponderous body through the air
contrary to the will of forty-mile-an-
hour wind is much like the impossible
idea of man lifting himself by his own
bootstraps. Yet Santos-Dumont Is still
sanguine of doing it, and in the Sunday
World Leo Stevens, of this city, tells
why he thinks that travel in airships in
steel cases will eventually be "as safe as
steamboating on the rivers. New York
World.
THE METRIC SYSTEM FOR AMERICA.
A bill before congress making COM
pull sorry the use of metric system in all
departments of the government, except
in completing the survey of public lands,
after July / next, has recently been the
subject of exceptionally interesting dis
cussion.
Lord Kelvin appeared before the COM
mittee last week to argue in favor of the
bill, the purport of which he has long
urged on the British government. He
does not advocate the immediate use of
the metric system, however, but believes
that a certain length of time must be al
lowed in which the public may become
familiar with it. Many other men pIomi-
nent in scientific and manufacturing life
have appeared before the committee
Their testimony in regard to the adop-
ton of the metric system falls into two
classes. The men of science-chemist
mineralogists and those in similar bust
nesses-thinl that the change should be
made compulsorily as soon as possible
those who manufacture and produce
while they admit that the metric system
has many advantages over the present
complicated systems in use, look at the
matter from the point of view of the ac
countant. and do not want an immediate
change. In fact, they do not want the
use of the metric system made compul
sory; they would like to have the system
made more familiar TO the public, bu
wish to use the English system alongside
of the metric system, whenever it /:
more convenient.
Mr.. Mcfarland, acting cepresiden
of the Westinghouse company. pointed
out the expense that would have to be
incurred in adapting the various STANDARD
machines to the new system. taking VI
especially the standard American screws
, used all over the world. Were the metric
! system adopted, the Standardization o
screws, bolts and nuts would be de
: stroyed: even if the French system
t should be imposed only after lapse o
wears, there would be considerable ex
: pense in making the change. Nava
= Constructor Linnard agreed with him
pointing out the need that would eXis
l for replacing at once all the machiner
e in the navy yards; and Admiral Melville
G engineer in chief of the navy, dwelt Of
that necessity as a reason for not making
t the change compulsory at once.
i Mr.. Mcfarland said that the genera
:. superintendent of the Westinghouse con
@ pany, who had been an apprentice i
+ Germany when the metric system wa
+ adopted there, is opposed to Its establish
t ment here. On the other hand, anothC
It German was referred to who also ha
been at work when the change was mad
g in Germany; he was quoted as sayin
5 that it was made without difficulty.
+ The question of imposing compulsoril
e at certain date a system of weight
G and measures hitherto practically III
e knoE n to the public, is certainly not cas-
|, of solution; it is made more difficult b
;. the fact that since Germany adopted II
# metric system, the greatest steps
e commercial science have been taken, ii
O whole modern development of electricit
e having occurred since 1877, and ii
It chief growth of the machinery trad
having been since that time, so that tt
diffoultv axnariapcod thap uould pot \