Evening star., 1920-02-15
Dollars and Cents System
for Weights and Measures
The Problem as Viewed by Sterling Heilig,
Special Correspondent in Paris, Who
Writes of Special Advantages.

France, Belgium. Portugal. Italy and
Spain. The Dutch East Indies "a great
field for US, from San Francisco) use
metric units So do Siam. 1ndo-China
and Siberia In China the sages Of the
republic, stepped in Confucius and the
classics. have, nevertheless. adopted
metric units. exclusively, for the use OF
426.0O0.000 population. as soon as the
change can be made. At this moment
they are the standards for twenty-eight
treaty ports.
AS for South America. you cannot
do business anywhere down there
without coming into contact with
drummers who quote goods. machines
and detached parts in these weights
and measures of the interchangeabl.
have a great advantage.
interchangeable.
Why. II you were lost on desert
island and had a French 10-cent sill
per piece in your pocket you could.
with it alone. reconstruct all metric
weights and measures. and find them
all Interchangeable. without fractions
or.reducing.
Parisian barrow women peddling
cent pieces. into the balance along
with their certified 10-gramme
weights. They are equally exact.
And engineers can use French coins
diameter and thickness, when they
are put to it. for linear measurements
of almost exquisite minuteness
We can do the same with the Amer
lean dime and scent nickel piece-if
we know enough-and it takes ten
minutes to learn.
Exactly. We came just that near to
adopting the meter-liter-gram units
on several occasions. The coinage
was getting ready for it. Yes. put
200 scent American nickel pieces
into the scale, and they will weigh
exactly one liter of distilled water at
grade. In 1875. it seems. the United
States adopted the metric system for
our coinage. We fivvered the rest,
in spite of Thomas Jefferson
The A, E. F. in France lived close to
Thomas Jefferson. The Stars and
Stripes editorial Offices were next
door to Jefferson's mansion in the
Rue Taitbout when he was in Paris
as minister. Jefferson advocated.
urged and fought for our adoption of
the entire metric system for ouf
weights and measures generally, and
he almost made it. but not quite. That
failure. which was the sorrow Of his
later life. has cost since then up to
years time of American school chill
dren learning complicated weights
and measures. and at. say. 500 per
year apiece for their board, a treas
ure equal to $4,000, ,000. 900. OF
course they may have learned some
mated) lost year in every American
chiids life since 1855. Fortunately
Yes. I say. fortunately, or we would
all he broke by this time
We have just been celebrating the
centenary of James Watt. inventor
at
SYSTEM truly great man. It was
he who thought out. about 1880, the
yet simple plan of applying
the decimal notation to all weights
ana measures. Thomas Jefferson
grabbed it for our coinage) six years
always a live country. adopted watts:
metric units exclusively in 1893. No
less man than the great Talleyrand
put it through.
We had another great man in
france shortly after John Quincy
young American of culture. citizen
OF the world. Between 1919 and 1921,
when Secretary Of State, he labored
IN his spare moments at a report de-
manded by Congress- upon the
weights and measures Of the different
nations and the system best for the
United States. He rose at am. to
find time for it. For it. one year, he
gave up his periodical visit to his
father, old ex-President John Adams,
at Quincy. 1t was the year 1920. and
it almost broke the poor old mans
heart.
John Quincy Adams report in favor
OF the exclusive adoption of meter
liter-gram by legal enactment was a
wonderful piece of work-ali present
day scientists are agreed upon that
So. naturally. it fell dead. No trade
or profession likes interiopers,
science. perhaps. least Of all: and 80
far as immediate success went the
very strength of John Quincy Adams
initiated most strongly against him.
Science could not believe (did not de-
sire to believe) that the report could
be sound and yet literary, artistic and
historical.
Some may feel. perhaps. the same
of this present Sunday story.
So the school children of America
went on losing billions Of dollars.
Adams report on weights and meas
ures was not adopted. A man who
produced a gem like that must be a
dealt with history and philosophy
quite as much as with physics. Rich
ard Rush. who was very intelligent.
laid his finger on the weak spot.
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"I have finished first perusal of
the report on weights and measures" :"
wrote the millionaire philosopher Of
PHILADELPHIA, "and / must say, with
far more interest than 1 ever expected
to feel. 1t is not always that
elaborate deductions of science come
recommended by SO much literature
and eloquence. l have always thought
the subject dry; but I see that it is
most fruitful. ! had thought 1t cir
cumscribed: but / see that it embraces
everything.'
AS Rush intimated. the report was
too broad for any cotemporary audi
ence It contained too much science
for the general public. too much lit
erature for the profession. too much
food for that annoyed feeling gem
Later-in 1s6s-Charles Sumner got
of one of the most eloquent appeals
ever made in behalf Of the metric
system. 1t was on the floor OF the
United States Senate he said:
"A system of weights and meas
ures born of philosophy rather than
chance is what we seek. To this
end old systems must be abandoned.
A chance system cannot be universal
Science is universal: therefore, what
is produced by science may find 4
home anywhere"
And the school children of America
went on losing billions Of dollars.
But business is somewhat universal
also.
Competition. you know, the world
emulation, higher standards OF com
fort and ease for all, ana all tnat
sort Of thing.
Il have heard men say that Amer
ica can sell and is selling quantities
Of goods abroad without the use OF
the metric system" says the United
states Secretary Of Commerce. Ger
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