Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-06

states Is an OBJECT or great importance,
and will. l am persuaded. be duly attend
ed to- Thomas Jefferson. then Secretary
of State was requested by Congress to
prepare and report to the House proper
plan for establishing uniformity in
weights and measures.
Jefferson proposed two plans. The first
was practically to define and render uni
form an d
Two Distinct Plans stable the
Proposed by Jefferson. tenn to re-
duce the dry and liquid measure to cor
responding capacities by establishing a
single gallon of go cubic inches and a
bushel of eight gallons. or ., 100 cubic
inches" The second plan was Ito reduce
every branch of measurement to the
same decimal ratio already established
for coin, and thus bring the calculations
of the principal affairs of life within the
arithmetic of every man who can null
tiply and divide plain numbers. The
second plan, as will be noted is equiva-
lent to the metric system which since
then has been adopted so generally
throughout Europe.
Congress did not take any decisive ac-
ton upon the subject for some time. and
Washington again referred to the mat
ter in his third annual message. One
committee had reported favorably upon
the decimal system proposed in Jeffer-
sons second plan, but it was not until
the second session of the Fifth Congress
that the first act was ia ssed in regard
To weights and measures. This act pro-
vided that the surveyor of each port in
the United States should from time to
time, and particularly upon the first Mon
day in January and July in each year.
examine and try the weights, measures
and other instruments used in ascertain
ing the duties on imports with standards
to be provided by each collector at pub
lie expense for that purpose. and when
disagreements and errors are discovered
he shall report the same to the collector
and obey and execute such directions as
he may receive for the correction there
Of, agreeably 10 the standards aforesaid =
The first law regarding weights and
measures could not be put into operation
for more than
Delay in Uniform thirty FIVE
Weights and Measures. : y !
BY which the weights and measures in
1872 the question of uniformity of weights
again came up. but although number
Of bills We're proposed. no definite action
was taken. In the meantime considera BILE
change in the system of weights and
easurements were taking place both in
France and in England The French
law. adopting the metric system as com
pulsory, was repealed, that system
was in use side by side with many old
weights and measures and endless con
fusion resulted In England. the wine
gallon of o3l cubic inches and the ale
gallon of 2S2 cubic inches We're both in
use until 1924. when the new imperial
gallon, containing ten pounds of water
and capacity of 27T4 cubic inches. was
adopted. together with a measurement
eight gallons to one buShel.
Neither of these measures were in use
in this country. The United States could
not adopt the system or either France or
England without causing radical changes
in the systems of weights and measures
already in use. and there was no indica-
ton that either the metric system or the
English measures would be permanent
During all the years in which Congress
was considering the matter commerce
had been growing in the newly estab-
lished nation. and with national
standard to govern them. most of the
states had independently of each other
adopted standards of their own While
most of these were based upon the old
English standards. even those of the
same supposed denomination differed
widely. and there was continual confu-
sion. which has not been overcome to the
present day.
Congress took the stand that while con
fusion in commercial weights and meas
Coinage Standard be ignored
Adopted by Congress. 80 ,nssr.
tainty Of coinage could be permitted,
so, May Ii, 1928, a troy pound was adopt
ed the standard of coinage, in the act au-
thorizing the continuance of the mint in
The troy pound adopted
was procured from Great Britain by Al
bert Gallatin. minister of the United
States at London. and delivered by spe-
cial messenger to the director of the mint
I'm Philadelphia. The weight was OF
brass. an exact copy of the imperial troy
pound Of England 1t was inclosed in
sealed casket and kept under seal until
John Quincy Adams. President of the
United States could visit Philadelphia
and with some ceremony verify the seal
of Mr.. Gallatin.
Two years later the Senate passed
bill directing a comparison to be made of
the weights and measures In use at the
principal custom houses. AS was expect
ed discrepancies were found. although
the average value agreed reasonably well
with the English weights and measures
used al the time of the American revolu-
ton. The Treasury Department took
steps 10 correct this evil without waiting
for authority from Congress by having
the necessary weights and
measures for the customs service. The
divergence in weights and measures was
directly in opposition to the Constitutions
which required that all duties imports
and excuses should be uniform throughout
the country.
The Treasury Department could not
construct weights and measures until il
had decided upon certain units and the
amount which these units were to repre-
sent. After much consideration the fol-
lowing were adopted: The yard OF 36
inches, the avoirdupois pound of 1000
grains, tn Q gallon of 231 cubic inches and
the bushel Of ., 1907 ~ cubic inches
The standard yard was the thirty-six
inches comprised between the twenty
seventh and
Sets Are Placed sixty third
With the Governors. hr.s. :. ~.
pared for the coast survey in London.
Il t.,ra Hf 49,