The Washington herald., 1921-04-20
METRIC sXgFEM MUsf CONE,
SAY NEW nILL's ADVOCATES.

I6IFF ?.'.f Fs1IEHB
METRIC sxgrEn MUsf CONE,
SAY NEW bILL's ADvoCATE.
The United states governn,ent has
an opportunity to standardiss its
weights and measures by the adop-
tion Of the metric bill. introduced
in the sixty-stxth Congress and
which will probably be reintroduced
In the present Congress, George
Campbell Moody. school teacher, Of
sprinkneid, Mass. said yesterday ct
the Ebbitt House.
There has been q hope In my
mind for years that some day /
movement would be inaugurated for
the standardifation Of wSi6hts ana
Moody. The bill which was intro
duced during the last Congress- to
hx the metric system a. the single
standard for weights and measures
10 being backed by The World Net
ric Standardization Council" rep
resentins many organisations IA
favor Of the measure.
The Standardization proposed
would not be an abrupt change, but
gradual transition from yard,
quart and pound, to meter, liter ana
gram. The bill would not 60 into
the workshop or the factory, II
would not call for the use OF metric
weights and measures in pfoduc-
tion. but only in commercial trans
ACTIONS. The bill concerns itself
Chiefly with the merchandising OF
goods and does not attempt to die
tate to the manufacturer what di-
mehsions he shall use In making
his goods.
DECIMAL MEASUREMENT Is
URGED F0R WORLD TRADE.
"The objection has been raised
that the manufacture would be
forced to convert the machinery
now in use into junk upon the ex-.
piration Of the ten-year period, but
he 10 at perfect liberty to continue
employing the same machinery, pro-
vided he lists the product In metric
dimensions. The bill expfessly pro-
vides: That nothing In this act
shall be understood or construed as
applying to the construction or use
in the arts. manufacture or indus
try, Of any specification or drawing,
tool. machine, or other appliance
or implement designed. constructed.
or graduated In any desired sys-
tenn"
In order to gradually accustom
the consumer to the new system.
after two years all package goods
would be labeled according TO the
metric standard. but until the ex-
piration of the ten-year period the
old markings could be retained.
The metric system, when once as
simulated by the consciousness OF
the buying public. Is exceedingly
simple. Only three names are used
the meter and It's decimal values
for measures OF length; the litre and
its decimal values for measures Of
capacity: the gram and It's decimal
values for measures of weight. The
system Ii the most logical thing in
the world and would DO away with
the confusing variety OF measures
now in use in the English speaking
countries Of the world. The three
units are simply related: one cubic
decimeter equals one litre, one litre
OF water equals one kilosfam.
PROPOSED CHANGE WILL NOT
SCRAP PRESENT MACHlNEhY.
1T has often been argued that the
cost of new machinery and other
would be ruinous to industry. The
testimony OF experts disproves this
argument. In England and other
countries the metric system has
been successfully introduced, dis
proving the big cost" argument. A
Birmingham, England, arm intro
duced the metric system into it's
plant in 1907 and At the end Of two
years the cost Of the change was
estimated at one-half per cent OF q
years profits. The saving In cler-
ical labor. II was estimated. would
make up for that trifiing cost at the
end Of one year.
Here in this country we have the
testimony OF A. z. Kennedy, eiec-
trical expert in the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, who de-
clares that No ordinary machines,
such rs lathes, drills. shapers, etc,
would have to be changed IL the
metric system is adopted. The same
old tools would go on making the
same old things. hut the numerical
values Of the sises would be altered.
AT the present time the sizes Of
parts are seldom exact unit sizes.
They have ordinarily to be ex-
pressed In units and decimais, esp,-
cially when precision is required,
SO that under the new system there
would be merely . recataloging un-
der new units and decimals.
'Nor will there be any necessity
for confusion resulting from the
adoption of strange names. In this
country We can very easily accom-
modate the new terms to the old.
VIZ: word yard for meter, word
quart for tire and word pound
Tor 800 grams. as hasN been sug-
eested by one proponent Of the
metric system"