The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-22
METRIC SYSTEM
GROWS IN FAVOR
Merchants, Professional Men and Ed
ucatorS Join in Expressing
Approval of 1t.
TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY
ONLY ONE BUSINESS MAN WHO
HAS DOUBTS ABOUT PLAN.

system of weights and measures as
against the system now used in the
| United States is growing in Salt Lake.
Merchants, both wholesale and retail,
bankers and educators have expressed
their approval of the system. All de-
| clare the metric system will save time
and money Educators are in favor of
it because of the time saving to stu
dents. Merchants favor it because of
the saving of time of employees, and
the simplicity of the system taken as a
whole.
A large petition of business men in
Salt Lake may be prepared and forr
warded to congress favOring the adop-
ton of the metric system.
Superintendent Nelson Favors It..
1.-The metric system will mean time
saving of at least one-tenth 10 all stu
dents if adopted in the United States
said A. G. Nelson, state superintendent
of public instruction. Il believe the
| benefit will be greater for the merchants
and business men generally. L put the
students first because they are upper
most in my min0.
IF the metric principle which is
the decimal principle. is beneficial In
| the monetary system of the United
States, why is it not just as beneficial
| in all commercial branches? / shall DE
glad when it is adopted as the only
system of measurement used in this
country"
I do not care to express any lengthy
/ opinion as to the relative merits of the
metric and the present system of men
suration," said L. H. FarnswOrth, CASH
/ Ter of Walker Bros. bank yesterday.
4 suppose it is a good thing for mer-
chants, but I am not really qualified to
speak. The decimal principle works
beautifully in hanks. / believe it viii
work fully as well in stores"
University President for 1t.
Il favor the metric system because
it is much more simple than the present
system in use in the United States"
said J. T. Kings bury, president of the
University of Utah yesterday. 1T has
been proved that the metric system is
the better one in scientific experiments.
Why should not the metric system be
equally good for commercial uses? It
would mean u saving all along the
| line.
Most of the foreign goods now re-
! ceived In Salt Lake come marked in the
metric system. If the same mensura-
ton were used in the United States
/ it would save time and money. The
benefit to the student is almost meal
/ culabIe. 1t seems that fOur-fifthS of
/ the time now devoted to learning all
sorts of tables will be used for some
thing else. The student viii thus be
put ahead years in his ability to learn"
City Chemists Views.
For scientific purposes-yes; for
commercial puTpCses-nO,' is the man
ner in which Herman Harms, city
chemist epitomized his opinion. q
have always favored the use of the
metric system for scientific work L
use it almost constantly in my exper-
iments. It saves time and is accurate,
something no other system can boast
of. Commercially, the metric system
would entail a great deal of annoyance
to business men. Once established,
however, the workings of the system
would simplify matters greatly. 1 OBJ
ject to the metric system commercially
for no other reason than the annoy
ance caused by the change from the
old to the new,
For the past three or four years
some of the larger. drug houses have
been attempting to establish the metric
system commercially. One of these is
z. r. SqUibb & Sons. This concern
could well afford to take the fnititaive,
for il is one Of the biggest drug houses
in the world. Within the past three
months, I notice that Squibb & Sons
are going back to the old tables, using
troy and avOirdUpOis weights rather
than the metric units"
What MIR. Marriott Says.
Il am in favor of the metric system
and always have BEEN" said J. NJ.
Marriott 'I learned the good points
of neurology in Switzerland, the coun-
try of my birth. 1t seems strange that
the United States, usually the first to
lead desirable reforms, is so backward
in taking up the metric system.
when I was in England a short
time ago it took me over a month to
get right on the monetary system
over there. It took me twice as long
tu get right on the system of mensura-
ton used in America when 1 first came
to this country. With the metric sys-
TEN it would be a simple matter for
any foreigner to come here and grasp
mensuration. He would know what he
was buying and in what quantities.
THE grocer and butcher would be
affected financially more than any
other class by a change to the metric
system. Different scales would be
necessary, and that means a good deal
OF money to merchant IF I were
sure that the change would be made
soon I should begin placing my orders
for new scales at once.
Z shall be glad to lend all my aid
to any movement which has for its
object a change from the present
system of rnensuration to that of the
metric system. There are so many
good points in the metric system that
it would be hard for me to enumerate
all of them"
Market Man Against 1t.
Il shall have to be shown all the
good points of the metric system be-
fore I shall be convinced that it will
be better for the United States than
the one now in USE said Thomas L.
Nipper, proprietor of the Palace Mar
ket, yesterday. 81 suppose there are
many reasons why the system should
be used but are there not just as many
reasons why a change should not be
made? I favor reform to some extent
but I believe quick changes are not
good. am conservative in all things,
and / want to be convinced beyond
any shadow of doubt that the metric
system is the better one before I shall
he in favor of IT After I have studied