The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-02

Contractors and Others Believe It's
Adoption Without Due Consid-
Grafton Would Cause Confusion.
ADMIT IT'S GREAT MERIT
HESITATE, HOWEVER, TO APP
PROVE CHANGE OF SYSTEMS.

Well known citizens gave interest
ing opinions yesterday on the adoption
of the metric system, but it was the
general impression that the change
should not be made too suddenly.
There was also some opposition to IT.
The LittaueT bill, now before congress.
provides that the metric system shall
be adopted in the government depart
ments after Jan I, 1908.
For the practical man." said George
w. Snow of Snow & Sheriff., engineers
and contractors, our present system
is probably as good as the metric. For
scientific uses, however. the metric is
undoubtedly the better. Although there
might be great advantages in having
the metric system it seems to me that
ii would take almost a generation to
make the change completely. as there
are many who have used the old sys-
tenn for twenty or thirty years, and
they wouldn't want to learn new
method. 1t has occurred to me that
our foot is just about the right length
for practical work; the meter is too
long and the decimeter, one-tenth as
long, is too short"
Bad for Manufacturers.
1T seems to me that the greatest los
2
would be the manufacturers" said F.
E. Arnold Of Charles Moore & Co, en-
gineers. "They have standard gauges
of all the tools they make, and IL the
system was changed they would have
to have these made over. OF course /
the metric system would have been bet
ter if we had started with it. In max !
ing plans by the metric system they /
figure everything in millimeters, and 4
ha Of L oe / -
Gated for the shopman. as in large dis
tances the numbers will run into the /
thousands and hundreds of thousands"
Favors the System.
There is no doubt but that the met
rio system is the best" said Joseph /
Dederichs. contractor. when 1 first /
went to school in Germany they had the
same system as we now use. When L /
was about fourteen they changed to /
the metric system, and in a short time |
all the school children knew the new
system better than they could ever /
hope to know the old one. 1t takes
about half the time to work problem /
with the metric system as 1t does with /
ours, and then there are no fractions /
at all When they made the change in
Germany it did not cause much trouble,
and I don't think it would cause the |
as much trouble as
some think it would The metric sys-
tenn should have been introduced here
a long while ago. Such progressive
as ours ought to use it"
THE metric system is probably the
best" said Harrison Clement OF Clem-
ent C Strange engineers and contract
ors. although after constant use some
bad points might develop. The large
who export machinery
to Latin countries already use inter-
tools so that with the same
tools. machines can be made and meas
ured in either system. The ehect or a
change has been greatly exaggerated,
although if a bill which gave five years
or so TO make the change was BENG
I would certainly indorse II
A sudden change would not benefit
anv one. The change would certainly
make mathematics much easier for the
school children I have talked with en-
gineers who say that for railroad Work
thev prefer the English system TO the
metric. and that in Mexico wherever II
is possible they use our system for TINS
work. There is one thing about our
system that is good and that Is the
foot. I think that the metric unit or
length is unwieldy for practical use
when orr foot is divided into tenths.
though. there is a great deal of trouble,
and l call it an abomination- OF course,
many books would have to be thrown
away if the systems were changed. 1
have read that even now in France the
different trades use different tables. al
though about % per cent of the work
Is done by the metric system"
THE decimal system is preferable TO
,urs any time" said J. z. Gallagher,
manager OF the Utah Mining Machin-
cry and Supply company Il would Ia
yor a change If we were given stand
ard gauge of all tools and parts of
tools and If we make a change, these
would probably be changed. One of the
hest points about the decimal system
Is the small chance for mistakes. Whlle
with ours even the best are liable to
oh -