Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-24

meters one dekasneter: ten dekameters one
hecfometer; ten hectometers, one kilome-
ter
To reduce one of these units to another.
you need simply to change the decimal
point Reduce inches to furiongs or miles
and see how many thousandfold more time
You consume.
In the matter of weight instead of our
~ grains equal one pennyweight; 10
pennyweights, one ounce; II ounces one
pound, In Troy weight. our t27 11-32
grains equal one dram. etc. in avoirdu-
pois weight, 40 grains equal one
scruple, in apothecaries weight, it is now
proposed to give Us. for all uses whatso-
ever, this simple decimal system: Ten
tigrams one decigr2nl; ten dacigrams one
gram, and so on. Similarly. for mea sures
Of capacity. it is proposed to adopt the
scale: Ten millliters equal one centiliter:
ten centiiiters, one deciliter: ten deciiters,
one liter, etc. In practice. il is even more
simple than it thus appears on paper. Just
AS we seldom such denominations as
mills, eagles or double eagles. in our cur
rency. a great number of these metric
denominations never enter into practical
use. lust you would say that your hat
cost "two-ffty,' without Specifying dol
lars and cents" the user OF the metric
system would say that the pole WAS two
fifty" long, the bucket he'd 'two-fifty' CT
the medicine weighed ''tWo-fifty.' With
US it would then be but a matter of dollars
meters, iiters and grams.
In Germany there Is no teaching of the
metric system at all. In the back of Il
book (which small children use is printed:
Remember that meter is 100 cenlinleters
and that a hecteliter is 100 liters'' That is
all there is said about the metric system.
There is nothing mere to learn because Its
denominations are but those of the decimal
system. The adoption of the metric sys-
tenn would save a year OF the boys school
time now devoted to arithmetic, and this
would enable him to advance further and
more rapidly than he does in science and
other things" said the head master of the
City of Iondon School lately. IN advocating
the adoption of the system by the British
Lord Kelvin, another advocate, says: The
present system is tme-wastinS and BRAIN
destroying i'll its confusons
What simpIifes matters still further Is
the interrelatjon between the demo 1linations
of length, weight and capacity. Thus one
cubic decimeter of water weighs one hlo-
gram and measures one Liter A still more
graphic idea of the common denominations
of the metric system may be had ty a-d of
some comparisons with Our common En-
glish units Thus. The meter, the funda
mental unit of the metric sys sem. IS bout
a yard and hand or yard and four
inches A decimeter is a hand, or four
inches while three decmeters are about
equal to our foot. \ half telegram or
''kilo" is about as much larger than our
avoirdupOis pound as the latter IS Larger
than our troy pound. while liter is trifs
smaller than our dry quart ana trIlle
larger than our liquid quart: or as 1t is
sometimes sta ed. tn meter is approXina e.
ly 10 per cent more than the yard, the liter
10 per cent more than the liquid quart and
the kilogram 10 per cent more than two
pounds ayoirdupols.
The Worlds Supreme Standards.
For the metric system the world is in
debted to Franco. Late in the eighteenth
century a commission appointed by the
national assembly to consider a standard
of length proposed that one-quarter of the
meridian passing through Paris be divided
decimalIy. One-ten-millionth of this arc
was decided upon as the meter, or prac-
teal unit of length from which all others
were to be derived The survey Of this arc
required seven years and when 1t was
completed 1T was decided to make the unit
of volume equal to the capacity of q
cubical vessel measuring one-tenth Of
meter on it's edges and the standard OF
weight, the actual weight of distilled water
filing the vessel at the temperature of
greatest density. 4 cylinder and bar of |
platinum carefully tested were deposited in
the Palace of the Archives of Paris as the !
standard kilogram and meter, from which |
units all weights and measures were to be |
derived Gradually the system was adopt |
ed by the principal countries of Europe |
and South America. Our Congress legalzed |
the use of the system In this country in
1896 although it did not adopt it as the |
At that time it directed the of |
flee of weights and measures of the coast |