Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-11-13
FIXING LENGTH STANDARDS.
How . Constant Unft ~ Measuremen
Is Fixed and Maintained
fn England.

poSlJlnS Parliamentary copies or the
imperial standards of length along the
floor of Westminster hall. says the Lon
don Telegraph, OF recent date.
The delicate undertaking. which IL
being carried out in its initial stages by
the first commissioner OF works, viii be
taken over on its completion by the
standards department Of the board Of
trade as the responsible authority In
such matters. The standards, It h IN
derstood, win be identical with those
which were placed some years ago In
Trafalgar square There are, IN fact,
four sets, the first ranging from one foot
to an imperial yard, while The second IL
q pole or perch, the third q chain OF IS
feet, and the fourth the standard meas
ure OF 100 feet Students OF history
scarcely need being reminded that King
Edward decreed that there should be
but one standard measure-that kept at
Winchester-for all England, and Mag
ma Charta contained similar provision
with regard TO weight. Strict enforce
ment of the law was found impractfcab1e
for generations, great number OF GUS
tomary weights and measures contin-
uing IN use, especially In transactions
relating to land, corn and wool. Finally.
however, parliament insisted upon the
observance Of general uniformity. Since
1926 an imperial system OF weights and
measures has been in vogue throughout
the kingdom and an act passed IN 1873
inflicts heavy penalties for using weights
and measures not recognized by the law.
Naturally, the man in the street" re-
Quires to know how the standards are
asoertained and established. CHIEF
among che earliest standards OF length
were the palm, the foot and the cubh-
There were two leading cubits-the ma
tural cubit of Egypt. Chaldea, Phoenicia
and Greece, and the royal cubit Of Mem
phis. The Greek foot passed into italy.
where It was divided into IL inches. The
Romans used three-foot ufna, while the
Saxons adopted an ell, or yard of 3e
inches, based on the Roman foot. THIS
measurement remained in England, al
though the lapse Of time saw various
notifications in the ell. So matters
progressed until 1760. when copy Of an
old yard measure found in the tower q
London was maze for select eoEnn6fttee
of the house Of commons. and IN 1924
THIS copy was lesaHsed by parliament.
with direction that '7n the evszS ~ tn
befBg Dosa the ss8ze1Da fks6aa De rseev.
cred By rnahsng lke 1eBssh u . Hse1
time seconds psndulum IN the Ndtads
Of E0HAdn 70 vGSNENH 9tesa feS1l equal
10 3S.t-Se3 szs1ss-" UafsFsE1atefy, tie
ssanea1d 6aszpDsa1eA, ct SAe srs1t IRE
wfifsA 4sslzey6d Che kssses Of nAxslE-
meas a 1seA aza. % sksssnmitess SUB
ssRusu0A GHIetssea By Che nssyszUAes
soyN AspUfSed aga1aet tie Hcsu1aey Ct
the psadciun xsfAoz, tAe ddty q rsstsF.
ing tAs fuzA s1aAezeA was fntrusssd 10 q
royll aslAH1zAeA. D Vas not til 19S4
that tie tasf taking
the hsa sSseHa3y evidence ava1la61e.
The scnmssseszsss produced q standard
bar II euA rectal The distance between
t1o u1as On Witch, crossing gold studs,
Is ons yssd at q degrees Fahssnhefe E4d
50 inches baza1st1ie pressure Author
tied copies Of fhfs ieeszized standard are
preserved ct the mint, The royal -
ser~aaozy 81 oHe0NsA, Trafalgar
square and elsewhere, 50 That the k6di-
tion xew being made in Westminster
hail h q p7ecaution which expeYfeaeska
shown to be necessary in matter vitality
affecting the commercial life Of the ~
ton.