AMERICA
NMETROLOGICALSOCIETY
.
ND E D
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in g svstems of weigh t s measu res an d m on eys an d to brin g
t h em in t o rel a t ion s o i si mpl e co m m en su ra b i l i t y w i t h ea c h o t h er
2 —T o sec u re u ni v ersa l a d o p t io n of com m o n u n i t s of measu re for q ua n t it ies in
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ci et y will en d eav or t c rry o u t i ts obj ects by a p ls t co ng ress
h igh er n st i t ut ion s pl e rni n g and to
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TH E
M E T R IC SY S T E M
BY
G E O R G E E A S T B U R N, M A
.
NE W
m
THE
j
a
.
,
PH D
YOR K
a nn er
AMERIC AN METROLOGIC A L
1 892
S OCIE TY
.
Press of J J Li ttl e
Co
Astor P ace, New York
l
.
.
.
METRIC SYSTEM
THE
Paper
read
at
.
the Annual
Meeting
Hel d in Philadel phi a
,
the School masters
’
of
November
29 , 1 889
MA
By GEORGE E AS TBU RN
,
.
CH A NGE,
.
,
Association,
.
Ph D
.
.
progress improvemen t are the watchwords of the
n ineteenth ce n tury
In almost every phas e of activity there has been a rej ection of
old modes an d a substitution of n ew machinery The spirit of
the times is displayed in the selection of t hat which is best
adapted to accomplish a desired end Wise men recogni z e the
fact t hat the true value of an y piece of mechanism depen ds chiefly
upon two thi n gs first its efficie n cy to do th e work in tended to
be do n e in the best possible man ner and secondly the con
sumption of the l east possible time i n the pe rforman ce of said
In other words quality of work an d consumption of time
work
re the two al l i mportan t factors that ente r into the calculation
a
i n dete rmini n g th e succe ss of all i n dustrial operations
Previous t o the appli catio n of steam an d electrici ty to the
developme n t of ci vilization internation al com munication was so
slo w an d commercial int ercourse so limited that the mean s by
which quan tity and cost of articles of traffic were ascertai n ed was
a matter of secondary i mportan ce 3 but in this age of steam trans
i
n d electrical communicatio n wh e n we must do i n a
o
n
a
t
r
t
a
o
p
day an amount of work at which our grandfathers woul d hav e
been contentedly engaged a mo n th when a brisk co mmerce is
carrie d on with almost every n ation of the earth the mode of
makin g calculations in business an d of representing the most
co mmon terms for expre ssing quantity in language tha t can b e
uni versally unde rs too d throughout th e civili zed world, beco mes a
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The Metri c S ystem
4
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mat ter
of most serious concern Throughout the whole sph e re
of commercial an d industrial operations th ere is not a si ngl e
piece of work executed that has n ot in some way or other the
necessity of the use of some means of meas uremen t con n ected
The grocer must u se his w eights and measures of
%wi th it
capacity i n disposing of his sugar tea an d cofiee his m olasses
frui ts an d vege tables ; the dealer i n dry goods must use his
m easures of lengt h i n selli n g his m uslins cloths sil ks an d vel
v ets
the pharm aci st an d the chemis t bring i nto con s tan t re qui
siti on de l icate weights an d measures in t heir i n vestigations ;
manufac turers builders an d architects have measures an d meas
u rem en ts i n their minds almos t con ti n ually
in fact i n all busi
n ess calculations quan ti ty i n dicated by meas u res of some kind
or other interposes the greatest obstacle i n fin din g cost
As there is su ch a n eed for weights an d m easures in order to
ren der i n tercou rse be t ween m an an d m an possible it is of the
highest importance that the syste m i n u se should be the best that
can be devised
As weights and measures serve onl y as a piece
of mechanism for ascertai n i n g quan ti ty in some particular phase
of business or investigation un questionably that system of weights
an d measures is the b e st
hich
is
best
adap
t
ed
for
the
easy
e
w
r
e
s
p
an d rapid cal c u lation of quanti ties i n which are i n v olved lin es
surfaces an d volumes The syste m whic h suppl ies these requi
sites is on e i n which the basic li n ear measure u ni t or some divis
i on or some multiple of the same is ta ken as t he b ase of the
un it for the computation of area of capaci ty and of weight an d
to facilitate calculatio n the n otation is decimal
This preface introduces to you my subj ect e n ti tled Th e
%
Metric System which I propose to treat u n der the fou r follow
i ng gen eral di visions
I The obj ections to the measu res now in use i n t he U n ited
S tates
II The advan tages of t he Me tri c System for the uses of meas
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men ts
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III What has bee n done to ward the un iversal adoption of
the system
IV What shoul d we as citi zens of th e U ni te d S ta tes do to
secure i ts e xclusi ve use at an early date i n our coun try ?
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Tk o Metri c S ystem
5
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OBJ E C TI ONS
TO TH E
WE I G H TS
A ND
M E A S URE S NOW I N U S E
.
U nder the first ge n eral head I prese n t the five followi n g
n amed o bjectio n s
1
E n tire absence of an y li n ear b asis u pon which qu an tities
of capaci ties an d of weight can be scien tifically compu ted
2 Mult i plicity of n ames
3 Di ffere n ces of val u es i n u n its of the same name
4 Irreg ulari ty of the n ota tion
5 Di ssimilarity to the weights an d meas u res of an y other
nat io n
To any on e acq u ai n ted with the Metric Syste m i t is eviden t
tha t one of the most val u able feat ures of a system of weights an d
measu res is a commo n li n ear basis from which areas volu mes
capacities an d weights may be easily calcu l ated In the weigh ts
an d me asu res n ow i n u se havi n g gi ve n the li n ear di men sio n s o f
a vol u me there is n o con n ecti n g commen surable u n it by means
of whic h the cap acity an d the weigh t may be directly fou n d The
con sequ en ce of this i n commen s u rability is the necessity an d in con
ven ien ce of firs t calcu l at in g fro m the li n ear dimensio n s give n
the c u bi cal con te n ts of the ca pacity or vol u me an d then by a
lo n g process of division or m ultiplication the capacity or wei ght
is fo u n d in t he denomination desired
S econ dl y the multiplicity of n ames u sed to design ate the u n its
fou n d in the v arious measu res con sti tu tes a very objectio n able
feat u re In ou r best arithmetics there are n ot less than twen t y
di ffere n t n ames given to u n its of len gth alon e ; ten to u n its of
su rface seve n to u nits of soli di ty fifteen to u n its of capacity
ten to u n i ts of weight— mak i n g si xty two arbitrary n ames of
u n i ts to desi gnate meas ureme n ts of li n es are as volu mes capaci
ties an d weights alon e Su ch a diversi fied mean i ngless hetero
n eou s n ome n clature as is fou n d in n a mi ng the u n i ts u sed i n our
e
g
tables of weights an d measu res is en ough to disco urage any
ordi n ary stu den t in the hope of ever mas terin g them an d to
cau se the most exacti ng teacher to feel j usti fied in excusi n g his
pupils fro m a thorough knowledge of the tab les an d of their
relatio n s to on e an other
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The Metr i c System
6
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The third objec ti on
that I offer to our weights an d m easu res
is that several of the u n its beari n g the same n ame d o n ot repre
sent the same q uan tity Let us first turn our at tenti on to the
weights There are in practical u se in our co u ntry t od ay fo ur
’
di fferen t sets of weights ; n amely the troy the apot hecaries the
avoird u pois an d the di amo n d
The u n it by which the v al u es of the weights of di fferen t
den omi n ation s are compared is the troy grai n Of the den omi
fer I men tion the
n atio n of weights the val u es of wh o se u n its di f
o un ce the poun d the h u n dred weight an d the ton The troy
oun ce co n tai n s 4 80 grai n s an d the avoird u pois oun ce 437% grai ns
There are t welve o u n ces i n a pou n d troy an d sixteen o un ces in a
poun d avoirdu p ois By m u ltiplyi n g 4 80 grai n s by 1 2 we ob tai n
g rai n s i n the troy po u n d an d by mu ltiplyi n g 4 37% grains
by 1 6 we obtai n
grai n s i n the avoird u pois pou n d thu s results
the pec uliar f ac t that an o u n ce of gold weighs 4 2% grai n s more than
grai n s
an o u n ce of le ad bu t that a po un d of lead we ighs
more than a po u n d of gold The ordi n ary h u n dred weight con tain s
1 00 avoird u pois pou n ds yet there is an other h u n dred weight
u sed in certai n speci fied cases which co n tai n s 1 1 2 po u n ds an d
the t wo ton s (each havin g in i t t we nty h u n dred weight of its own
kin d % bear the sam e ratio to each ot her as the h un dred weights
The coal dealer withi n the city limits of Phil adelphia is requ ired
to furn ish
pou n ds to the ton While the dealer j u st beyon d
the city limits s upplies his c u stomer with
pou n ds to the ton
Let u s n ow con si der for a few mo m e n ts the i rregularities in the
The measures of capa
u n its of capaci t ies havi ng the same n ame
city kn own u nder the respective names of wi n e ale o r milk an d
—
dry ha ve e ach three den om in ations the pi n t the q u art an d the
—
n
the
sa
e
n ame
n
two
of
these
meas
res
of
h
l
f
m
o
u
t
l
o
o
e
a
yet
g
same n ame hav e the same capacity Taki n g the c ubic i n ch as
the u n it of comparison the wi n e gallon con tai n s 231 c ubic in ches,
the ale or milk 282 c ub ic i nches and the dry
cu bic i n ches ;
an d di v idi n g these nu mbers respectivel y by 4 an d the n by 2 we
obtai n the proportion ate n u mber of c u bic i n ches for the qu art
In the absen ce of an y legal
an d pi n t of each of the me as u res
provision requ iri n g the testi ng an d the sealin g of weights an d
measures, one needs but l ittle kn o wledge of the tricks of trade
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The Metri c System
7
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t o see the opp o rtun i ties for practicin g deceit upo n the u n wary
cu st omer
In fact this diversity of capacity of units of the
same name, an d the appropriation of speci al titles to certai n
measu res open the way to an un c on ceal ed i n j u stice to a large cl ass
of prod u cers of on e of our most imp or tant daily n ecessities I
refer to the dairy men who reside alon g the lin es of railroad com
mu n i cati on with the city of Philadelphia When the mil k deal er
of this city co n tracts with the dairyman for milk he deman ds
as his right that he shal l recei ve as a quart the milk quart 70;
cu bic i n ches Then follows a mode of meas ure me nt whic h marks
the tran saction as u n j ust for after the milk has been brou ght
to the city the con su mer is n ot allo wed the pri vilege of buyi n g
the article as milk or ale but it has been so chan ged at least so
far as measu rement is concern ed that it is dealt out as wi n e or
This state of aflairs results from
5 72 cu bic i n ches to the qu art
the omission of the Uni ted States Go vern men t to enforce the u se
of the on ly system of weights an d measures which Con gress has
adopted an d in permitting l o cal auth orities an d association s
to establish their own cu stoms in traffic Just here I desire
to i mpress upon you r mi nds that of all the measures n ow in
common u se in thi s co un try the on ly single on e that is au thor
izod by l aw is the troy po und an d that the legislation en acted
with re feren ce to that weight was n ot to legalize its use as an
i nstru ment to facilitate traffic but merely to sec ure a un iform
stan dard by which the c oinage of E n gland an d the United States
might be c ompared and that the Metric System is the on ly
n d mea su r es for which natio n al legal au thor
t
a
w
e
h
system o
i
s
f
g
ity can be claimed in our cou n try
The fo u rth objection which I brin g t o yo u r notice is the irreg
This is exhibited i n its perfecti on i n the
u l ari ty of notatio n
tables of lin ear an d su rface measures i n the former of which the
factors i n red uc tion s are 1 2 3
and 320 an d in the latter 1 4 4
1 60 and 64 0
In fact this irregulari ty of n otation
9
combi n ed with the di versi fied variety of the tables of weights
and measures co nstitutes in an ed u cati o nal point of v ie w the
mo s t forc ib le objection t o them
The di fficulty of learning s u ch a mass of arbitrary names and
of rememberi ng so m any iri egul ar uncorrelated nu mbers is s o
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The M etr i c S ystem
8
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great that it takes mon t h s to acq ui re them an d con stan t reviews
to retai n them an d the n ece ssity of su bjecti n g the you n g to so
mu ch practice i n order to secu re pro ficien cy i n the performan ce
of the vario us forms of redu ction an d a readin ess i n the man ipu
l ation s of co mpo un d n u mbers; so m ultiplies the time and work
i n a ri thmetical i n s truc tio n i n the school room tha t arithmetic
m u st be taught con ti n u ou sly throu gho u t a school co urse of seven
or eigh t years ; while if the Metric System were as thorou ghly
established in the place of our weights and meas ures as the u se
of ou r system of mon ey is all n ecessary practical arithme ti c
’
could be tau ght in a few mon ths an d from on e to two years time
w ou ld be saved i n a boy s school life an d a grea t amou n t of
—
n
i
o
me tal v g r n ow wasted i n solvi n g the i n tricacies of compou n d
n u m bers— c ou l d be devoted to the more pleasan t occ upatio n of
i nvestigati n g some u seful scien ce or of e n joyi n g t he beau ties of
h
classics
t
e
L
It see ms to me that a tho ugh tful con sideration of the above
me n tion ed facts shoul d arouse every teacher to an in quiry
respectin g this un n ecessary bu rden to school life an d eventually
elicit from eve ry well wi sher of ou r coun try an i n terest in the
early i ntrodu ctio n of som e alleviati n g s ubsti tu te
In consideri n g my fift h an d fin al objectio n I wish to correc t a
common mi stake Most people thi n k that ou r measu res an d
th ose of En glan d are iden tical
S u ch is n ot the fact
While
their names are n early the same their val u es d iffer widely As
En glan d is the on ly co un try which i t is claimed has weigh t s
an d measu res similar to on rs if I prove that these are un like my
objection m u st be acce pted as valid Let us compare the valu es
of some of the m easu res u sed i n the two co un tries
The discrepan cies between t he me as u res of En gla n d an d the
U nited S ta tes a ppear in those in con stant u se ; the U ni ted
British gallon con tai n i ng
S tates wi ne gallo n is eq ual to
cu bic i n ches which is used for all su bstan ces both
dry an d liqu id an d which is on e eigh th of the imperial b u shel
of
cu bic i n ches Our bu shel con tain s
c ubic
i nches hen ce the U n i ted States bu shel is eq ual to
Bri tish
b ushel ; or p utti n g these statements in a di fferen t form 83
British gallons are equ al to 1 00 Un i ted States gal lons, and
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The
Metri c System
9
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bushels are equ al to 1 00 Un ited S tates bushels The
British h un dred weight and ton are twelve per cent hea vier than
T he Bri tish gallo n
weights of the sam e n ame i n ou r coun try
quart an d pint do not correspon d with those of any on e of ou r
They are 20 per ce n t greater than tho se
three measu res
of our wi n e measu re 3 per ce n t greater than those of ou r dry
u
ce
t
less
ha
those
of
our
ale
me
r
e
n
t
n
a
s
measure an d
per
No further argumen t is n eeded to Show that our weights and
measures are unlike those of any other coun try, an d it seems
t o me that their objectio n able features have been portrayed in
su ch a light that every earnest ad vocate of progress an d reform
shou ld be ready to cry out Can n ot somethi n g more co nv enie nt
be foun d to be su bstitu ted for these irrati o nal cu mbersome
I can ass ure you it can It h as al ready
weights an d meas u res
been fou n d It is n ot n ew It has so populari z ed itself by i ts
o wn i n tri n sic merits that it is des tin ed to be the u n iversal mean s
for the computation of all measureme nts This great i n ven tio n
i s the Metric Syste m which I n ow proceed to explai n
9 7 British
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ADAPTABI LITY
or
TH E
METRI C S YST EM
.
The Metric System s tands
in stron g con trast to the weights and
m easu res i n general use i n ou r coun try
Its conceptio n was the
result of an earnes t desire to es ta blish for the whole ci v ilized
world a un iform perman en t an d u n i versal syste m of weigh ts an d
measures
In examini n g the secon d gen eral di v isio n of my s ubject n amely
The ad van tages of the Me tric S ystem for t he uses of measu re
ments I shall strive to Show th at these ad vant ages promi n ently
consist
1 In the fo un dation of the system u po n an adopted i nt ern a
tion al li n ear u nit as a basis
2 In the facility i n which the un its of s u rface ca paci ty vol
u m e an d weight are derived from this li n ear basis
3 In the u n iformity the sig n i ficance an d the simplicity of
the n ome n clature
4 In hav i n g onl y one table of li n ear measure on e of capacity
an d on e of weight
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The Metri c System
10
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the appl icati on of decim al notation to all di visions an d
multiples of the basic u ni ts of weights and measures
The Metric Sys tem of Weights and Measu res is so n a med be
ca u se the fu ndame n tal linear base for the c alcul at io n of all the
“
denominations of measures is the meter T he word me ter
etym ologi cally con sidered mean s in the vario u s So u the rn Euro
pean languages a measu re ; hen ce it is an appropriate n ame to
gi ve to tha t meas ure which stands as the i n v ariable s tandard
li near u n it up o n which all other measures of wha tsoever kind are
t o be de pe n dent and the sys tem based upon it is as appropriately
entitled the Metric Sys te m
T he fixed len gt h of this meter was obtai n ed from a most care
ful compu tation of the length of the distan ce from the equ ator of
the earth to the n orth pole al on g the meridian passin g thro ugh
the ci ty of Pa / The len gth of the said d istan ce havi n g been
ris
determinedj i n order to o b tai n from it a co n ven ie n t measu re as a
basis for practical use i t was divided i n to
e qu al pa rts
he nce the meter is on e ten m il l ion th of the distan ce from the
eq ua tor to the poles or one forty mil l ionth of the polar circ um
T he meas u reme n ts by which the len gth of
xferen ce of the earth
the meter was established were so accu rately made that later de
termi n ation s by improv ed i n stru men ts an d methods prove that
the disti ng uished mathema tician s who ori gi n ally fixed t he le ngth
of the meter did t heir work wi th sufficie n t acc uracy for al l prac
tical pu rposes and this u ni t is preserv ed for all time to come in
the p rototyp e metre attes ted an d certi fied copies of whic h have
recen tly bee n furn ished to the civilized n ation s of the earth by
the In tern ational Bu reau of Weights an d Meas ures which is
mai ntai n ed by co n tribution s from twe nty two n atio n s amon g
Havi ng described
which are E ngla n d an d the U n i te d States
the base u po n whi ch the fo un datio n of the Me tric System rests
I will explai n the man ner in which the u ni ts of the o ther meas
u res are ob tai n ed an d s ho w how each is d epe n de n t u pon some
decimal di vision or decimal mu ltiple of t his fun damen tal lin ear
base the meter
T he u n i t for s urface is the are which is repre sented by a square
whose side is ten meters the u n i t fo r capaci ty is the l iter which
is a cu be whose rec tan gular li n ear meas urement s are on e t enth
5
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The
tri c S ystem
Me
m
11
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of a meter ; the u n i t for so
y is a cu bi c meter an d the unit
for weight is the gr am which is the weight of a cu be of dis
ti l led water at the temperature of greatest de n sity whose si de is
the h u n dred th part of a me ter
A slight exami n atio n of the
relations m en tio n ed abo ve will reveal the readi n ess by which the
qu an tity of su rface capacity soli dity or weight may be fou nd
whe n the li n ear dimen sion s of q uan tities are give n That is
that area in squ are te n s of meters equals the n u mber of ares ;
capaci ty in cu bic ten ths of a meter equals the n umber of lite rs
solidity is reckon ed in cu bic meters ; an d vol u me i n cubic hu n
dredths of a me ter equ als the n u m ber of grams of wa ter ; an d to
fin d the weight of an y su bstan ce all that is necessary is to fin d
its con ten ts in c ubic hu n dredths of a meter and mul tiply by i ts
speci fic gravity and the prod u c t i s the weight of the su bstan ce
i n grams
I n ow ask your atten tio n to the u n iformity sign i ficance an d
simplici ty of the n ome n clatu re of this system
Each of the above n amed u n i ts has its decimal div isio ns
an d deci mal mul tiples the v al u es of which are i n dicated by u ni
form an d sign ifican t pre fixes placed before the n ames of the u n its
of the measu res of the differe n t kin ds of q u a n tity The pre fixes
de n oti ng the deci mal division s are derived fro m Lati n and
begin n i n g with the smallest are mi l l i mean i ng a thou san dth ;
an d deci mean in g a te n t h
cen ti mea n in g a h un d re d th
No American certai nly sho uld find faul t wi th these for be
s ides their simplicity i n rep rese ntin g divisio n s of the basic u n its
of qu a nti ti es to the tho usan dth par t they are al ready familiar
to u s in the u se of mon ey of the Un ited States in the terms mills
ce n ts an d dimes which are employed to represe nt the thou
san dth the h u n dredth an d t he te n th part of t he u n it o f our
mon ey the dollar
The prefixes den oti ng the decimal m ulti ples are of Greek origi n
an d are Delt a mean i n g ten ; H elcto m ea n i n g h u ndre d
an d Ki lo
mean i n g tho u sa nd ; the i n i tial letter of each mu ltiple bei n g a
capi tal to suggest that i ts val u e is greater than the u n it of the
table
All the den o mi n ation s of measures of l e n gth su rface capaci ty
sol idity, an d weight can be represented by the five un i ts an d these
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The Metri c S ystem
12
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six pre fixes with the additio n al term ton so that only twelve
separa te n ames are requ ired whic h exh ibits a won derful si mpli
city of n omen clatu re when compared with the n ames of the
meas ures now used si n ce the n a mes of u n i ts of le ngth alon e are
In practice i t is n ot always fo u nd
n early d ou ble thi s nu mber
n ecessary to u se all these pre fixes to i n dicate division s an d mu lti
ples T hus in compu tin g area of lan d the Hektare an d its deci
mal di vi sio n s are the on ly den omi n at ion s in practical u se ; hen ce
the tables of measu res are arranged i n deci mal u n iformity but
o nly su ch div ision s an d mu l tiples are intro du ced as are requi red
i n practical comp u tations
The tables of weigh ts an d measu res u su ally given excl u di n g
cu bic measu re are fou r i n n umber an d they are gen erally
writ ten i n the fo rm of our table of mo n ey th us
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1 0 millimeters
make
1 0 cen time ters make
1 0 decimeters make
1
cen timeter
decimeter
meter etc
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1
1
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u
b
s
But in order to exp res s the relation of each m ultiple an d
m ul tiple to its associated un it I prefer the foll owin g form
stateme n ts for the tables
,
M EASURES
or
LE NG TH
.
A millimeter is 001 of a meter
A ce n ti meter is 01 of a meter
A decimeter is 1 of a meter
A meter is the un it of len gt h
A Dekameter is 1 0 meters
A He k tometer is 1 00 meters
A Kilometer is
meters
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M E A S UR E S
OF
A RE A
A centare is 01 of an are
A deciare is 1 of an are
An are is the u nit of area
A Dekare is 1 0 ares
A Hektare is 1 00 ares
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of
The Metri c System
13
.
M E AS URE S
or
C APACITY
.
A mil l il i ter is 001 o f a l iter
A cen til iter is 01 of a li ter
A deciliter is 1 of a liter
A liter is the u ni t of capaci ty
A Dek al iter is 1 0 litres
A He k toliter is 1 00 liters
A Kiloliter is
lite rs
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TABLE
or
WE IGHTS
.
A m i ll igram is 001 of a gram
A ce n tigram is 01 of a gram
A decigram is 1 of a gram
A gram is the un it of weight
A De k agra m i s 1 0 grams
A Hektogram is 1 00 grams
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As the ab ove classi fica ti on i n dicates, there is only one table for
each ki n d of quant ity, which is far preferable to the measures
n ow in vogue, which , as I hav e already stated, hav e fo ur differe n t
three of capacity and fo u r of weights The
fifth an d last superior featu re of the Metric System to w hi ch I
will refer is the incalcul able advan tage of a deci mal n otatio n
When treati ng of the objection s to the measures now i n use I
sh o wed wh at laborious work is req uired i n maki n g redu ctions
therei n Reduc tion s in me tric calculatio n on the other han d,
are efiected by merely mo vi n g the decimal poi n t or prefixi n g or
afi xin g ciphers ; for ins ta n ce i n red ucing m easures of len gth
fro m the lowest to the highest de n omi n at ions i n the two sys te ms
— that is t o chan ge i n c hes to m il es— i t is necessary to di vide suc
whi l e to redu ce milli meters the
cessi vel y by 1 2 3 5 } an d 320
uni t of which is on ly abou t on e twen ty fifth of an inch in lengt h
to Kilometers the uni t of which is a l i ttle more than si x ten ths
o f a mile and is used in the Metric System to i n dicate su ch dis
tan ces as we represen t by the mile all that is re qui red is to move
the deci mal po int six places t o the l eft
Wh ile the ease with
tabl es of l en gth ,
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Metri c S ystem
The
14
.
whi ch
this latter redu ction is made is su fficien t t o Show the great
s uperiori ty of the decimal n o tatio n it is n ot the o n ly advan tage
f the Metric System of len g ths over ou r li near m easu re for the
p
ratio of the Kilometer to the millimeter is
tim es great er
than the ratio of the mile to the i n ch the mile co n t ai ni n g
i n ches while the Kilo meter con tai n s
millime
ters As pre vi ou sly stated the system of measu res ah eady
explain ed fu rn ishes mean s for the meas u remen t of all commodi
ties of traffic bu t i n practice it is fou n d in man ip ulati n g with
small qu an tities as the chemist an d the dru ggist are con tin ually
requ ire d to do that tables of squ are an d cu bic meas ures com
posed of the squ ares an d cu bes of l in ear den omi n atio n s are more
con ven ien t for u se than those in which the a re an d the li ter are
the respective u n its Here agai n the advan tage of a deci mal
As the squ are millimeter is an ex
n otatio n is forcibly S how n
t remel y small q ua n tity it bei n g the h u n dredth part of a squ are
ce n time ter an d h en ce squ are millimeters are h un dredths of a
squ are cen timetre the table of squ are meas ure commen ces with
squ are cen timetres an d is wri tte n as foll ows
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T ARLE
S % UA RE M E A S URE S
or
’
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’
are equ al to 1 dm
’
’
are eq ual to 1 m
1 00 dm
’
’
1 00 m are equ al to 1 Dm
1 00 cm
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— this la tter
bei n g eq ual to an are the un it of the measures of area
As t his is a table for areas an d as similar areas are to each
other as the squ ares of their li k e li n ear dime n sion s the nu mber
of u n its in each precedi n g den omi n ation is the squ are of 1 0 or
1 00 times the n u mber of un its i n the s u cceedi n g one
As c u bic millim eters are so small e ach bei n g the th ou san dth
p art of a cu bic cen timeter an d their val u e is i n dicated i n tho u
san dths of a cubic ce n timeter the table o f c ubic m eas ure is th us
wri tten :
TABLE or O U RI c M E A S URE S
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cm
’
dm
‘
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As
simi lar
.
are eq u al to 1 dm
are equal t o 1 in
’
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%
.
capaci ties and s oli ds are t o each other as
t he
c ubes
The
16
Metri c System
.
The other me asu res
are no less proli fic s ources for fu rn ishi n g
fitti n g un its for different p u rposes ; but eno ugh has bee n said to
show the won derful adap tabili ty of the Metric System to the u ses
of man ki n d:
Hav in g con sumed so mu ch time in considering the con stitu
tion of the t wo systems of weights an d meas ures I shall hav e to
rese
n t wha t I have t o say un der the t wo heads yet to be treated
p
in the m ost conden sed form
In the first place a v eri fied stan dard meter made of an in vari
able and in destructible alloy of platinu m an d iridi u m is so
secu rely preserv ed that its destru ction is beyond prese n t h u man
possibility an d al so carefully veri fied and certi fied copies of this
stan dard meter are in the possession of al l ci v ili z ed n atio n s
In the secon d place an In tern atio n al Metrological Bureau
composed of represen tati ves from the n ation s adopti n g the Metric
System has the cu st ody of this prototype meter an d di rects the
m anu factu re of attested copies of said meter to be supplied to all
natio ns an d associati on s which m
ay wish them s o that acc uracy
an d un i form ity in all m eas u res distrib uted throu ghou t the world
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POP ULARITY
or TH E
M ETRI C
SYSTE M
.
Havi n g stated that a v eri fied stan dard meter is in safe deposi t
an d that the prod u c tio n of a uthe n ticated copies thereof is pro
vi ded for let us see with what fav or this Me tric System has met
at t he hands of ci vi lized n ation s
By govern men tal au thority the u se of the Metric Syste m is n ow
obligatory i n the foll owin g n amed co untries
In Eu rope Au stro Hun gary Bel gium Fi nl an d F ran ce Ger
m an y Greece Italy The Netherlan ds, Norway Portu gal Rou
man ia Spai n Sweden an d S witzerlan d
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Africa : Egyp t an d the French Col onies
In M erica : Argen ti n e Repu blic Braz il Chili Ecuador
Gu atem al a Mexico Peru Un ited States of Colo mbia Ur uguay
and Venezuela
In En glan d there is a stron g sen time n t in its fav or amon g men
In
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The Metri c S ystem
17
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of more advan ced thou ght ; in fact in 1 86 3 a bill passed the
Ho u se of Commo n s by a large majority m ak i n g the u se of the
Me tric System comp ulsory after three years ; bu t the bill was n ot
approved by the Hou se of Lords However in 1 864 a bill was
passed by both hou ses legalizi n g the system but n ot maki n g its
use obligatory
Al l ci v ilized n ation s of commercial impor tan ce except Great
Britai n Ru ssia Turkey an d the Un i ted States have the Metric
System in excl u s ive u se at their cu stom hou ses
There yet remai n s to be me n tio n ed w hat steps h ave bee n take n
toward the fin al adoption of the Metric System i n our own
co un try
F or m ore than twe n ty years Con gress has sho wn a dispos ition
to meet the people more than half way in t his good work both
by legalizi n g the system an d by f urn ishi n g the several S tates
wi t h sets of stan dard metric weights an d meas u res The follow
i ng is the text of the law approved July 28 1 866
Be it en acted by the Sen ate an d Ho u se of Represen tati ves of
Un ited States in con gress assembled that from an d after the
passage of th is act it S hall be lawful throughou t the Un i t ed
S tates of Ameri ca to employ the weigh ts an d m eas ures of the
Me tric Syste m an d n o con tract or deali n g or pleadi n g in any
cou rt sh all be deemed i n valid or liable to objec tion because the
weights an d measu res expressed or referred to therein are weigh ts
or meas ures of the Metric System
An d the followi n g act was approv ed July 2 7 1 86 6
Be it resolved by the S e n a te an d Hou se of Represe n tatives of
the U n ited States of Americ a i n co n gress asse m bled that the
Secretary of the T reas u ry be an d he is hereby au thorized an d
directed to furnish each State to be del ivered to the Govern or
thereof on e set of the s tan dard weights an d m easu res of the
Metric S vstem for the u se of the States respecti v ely
The possibility of the con ven ien ce n ow experien ced i n the
operation s of the Gen eral Pos tal Un io n which was formed at
Berne Switz erlan d in 1 874 by a con gress co mposed of represen
tati ves from all the cou n tries of E u rope (i n cluding e v e n Russia %
Egypt and the United States is an outcome of the Metric
Sys tem
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The Metri c System
18
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AS
a result of the formation of this Postal Uni on the fol
lowi ng act was passed by Con gress an d appro ved Ju n e 22 1 874
The Postm aster General sh all fu rnish t o the post offices
n amely
exchan gi ng m ails with foreign coun tries and to su ch other offices
as he may deem expedien t pos tal balan ces denomi n ated i n grams
of the Metric S ys tem fifteen grams of which shal l be the equiva
le nt for pos tal purposes of on e half ounce av oird upois an d so
All foreign mail m at ter is weighed in
on i n progression
accordan ce with the pro vision s of this act
E very time that we p ass a n ickel or a fractional silv er coi n we
are han dli ng a practical illu stration of the Metric System Our
five cen t piece weighs five grams
Our fracti o n al silver coi n s
represen t metric weights also The fifty cen t piece wei ghs 1 25
decigrams the t wen ty five cen t piece 625 cen tigrams an d the
ten cen t piece 25 decigra ms
Besides these sta tu tory provision s by C ongress the Metric Sys
tem has bee n pu t in to practical u se in some of the departmen ts of
p ublic service The Metric System of Weights an d Measures is
exclu sively u sed i n all the work d on e in the Assay Departme n t
in the Uni ted States Min t in Philadelphia
Si n ce 1 878 the
Metric System has been i n excl usive u se in the United States
Mari n e Hospital S ervice
The meter has been u sed in the o peratio n s of the Coast S urvey
ever si n ce the organ ization of the service
As all scien ti fic trea tises wri tten in Contin ental E u rope have
the resul ts of in vestigation s stated in the Metri c System and
becau se measuremen ts used in ma k i ng sci enti fic in vestigation s
everywhere are almost excl u si vely me tric for several years past
all the col leges of our co un try have m ade a kn owledge of the
Metri c Syste m a requ isite for admission
Re cen tly many i n d us trial an d scien ti fic association s of ou r
cou n try have becom e i n terested in metrolog ical reform The
Western Association of Architects and the Bos to n S ociety of
Civil E n gin eers deserve especial m en tion i n this com men dable
work the former of w hich at a con v en tion held in Chicago
Nove mber 1 9 1 886 ad opted the foll o wi ng resolu tion
Resol ved T hat this Ass o ciation rec ommen d the adop tio n of
t
s
n
etri
ystem
of
eigh
asur
s
and
that
the
pres
a
M
d
e
W
M
S
e
c
the
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The Metri c
System
19
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appoint a commi ttee whose duty it shall be to corresp ond
with o ther organ i z ations interested in this su bject, an d in c o n
n ecti on w ith them pe titi on Co n gress to pass a l aw maki n g the
u se of the Metric S ystem com pulsory af ter a reas o n able peri od
In closi n g the third gen eral di visio n of my su bject let me
recapit ulate a few of the most i mp o rtan t facts that we have
learn ed In the first pl ace we l earn that we are using a complex
irratio n al h eterogen eous lot of measu res s u ch as n o other n ati on
in the t l e world employs
In the seco n d place we l earn that we have at han d as an
admirabl e su bstitu te for these i n con ve n ien t meas u res a simpl e
scien ti fic homoge n eo us system of measu res n amely the Metric
Syste m
In th e thi rd place we l earn that almost all the ci vilized go v
ern men ts o f the earth b oth rep ublica n an d mo narchical have
compelled their su bjects to use this system in l egal tran sac
tion s
In the fourth place we learn that the Go vernme n t of the
United States the higher ed u cational i n stitu tions an d the
ad v ocates of the advan ce men t of so cial science have been
open in g the way for the excl u si ve use of the system i n our own
coun try
In the fifth pl ace we learn that as a peopl e we are sadly
behi n d the age in metrol ogi cal reform
ident
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M EANS SUGG E ST E D To SEC URE TH E E % CLUSIVE U S E or TH E
M ETRIC S YSTEM IN TH E U NITE D STAT E S AT AN E A RLY
DATE
..
In the face of this array of inco nt es table eviden ce both foreign
and domestic, in favor of the Metric System the question pre
se nts itself to us What sho uld we as citi z ens of the Un ited
States do in order to secure t o ou rsel ves the blessings that wo uld
accrue fro m the exclu sive use of the Metric Syste m in all busi
ness transactions ?
It see ms to me that the cou rse that sh oul d be pursued by every
intelligen t citi z en is v ery pl ain He sh ould dev o te a little ti me
to the study of this si mpl e an d inc omparably superi o r sys tem of
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The Metr i c System
20
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weights
measures
an d
It would n ot req uire more than an hou r
to learn an d to u nderstan d thoroughly the whole system and if
for his in form a
an y on e is ign o ran t of the fact I w i ll state
tio n that thro u gh the i n flu en ce of t he American Metrological
S ocie ty every gram m ar school or higher arithmetic p u blished
wi thi n the last ten years has i n i t the tables of the Metric Sys
tem with al l neces sary ex pl an ation s T hey occu py so little sp ace
i n the books that m ost teachers bei ng en tirely ign oran t of t heir
the
great valu e an d ign ori n g the fact that freq u en tly
mos t
recio
s
articles
come
s
all
pa
k
ages
pass
them
by
oticed
i
u
u
n
m
c
nn
p
Now this state of thi n gs sho u ld be corrected and I am thor
o u ghl y con vi n ced that the time has come for ou r govern men t to
declare that withi n a prescribed period the excl u sive use of the
Metric Syste m sho u ld be obli gatory T here is n ot a shadow of
dou bt abou t t he authori ty of govern me n t to do so
T he Co n stitutio n of the Un ited States makes special pro vision
for this v ery emergen cy in Article I S ec tion VIII Cl ause 5 i n
these words
Con gress shal l have power to coi n mon ey regu
l ate the val u e thereof an d of foreign coi n an d to fix the s tan dard
n
a
d
weights
meas
u
res
i
n
the
eightee
n
t
h
cla
se
of
the
A
n
d
u
p
f
\
same section
Co n gress is empowered to make al l laws which
shall be n ecessary an d proper for carryi n g i n to exec utio n the
foregoi n g powers
These are merely gen eral sugges tio n s
As I
believe in defini te declaration s an d speci fic proposals I wo uld have
laws e n acted maki n g the excl u si ve u se of the Me tric S ys tem
obligatory i n all kin ds of governmen t service after Janu ary 1
1 89 5 an d in all tran sactio n s betwee n citize n s of the Un i ted
States afte r December 31 1 9 00 T his le ng th of time is abu n dan t
to ed u cate the people for the chan ge Let the Fifty first Congress
of the Un i ted S tates pass the obligatory act as soo n as possible
an d th u s complete the good work comme n ced bv the T hirty n i n th
Con gress whe n i t adopted the Met ric System as legal weights an d
measu res of our coun try The n l et the Preside n t of the Un i ted
S tates tran sm it to the govern ors of the States c opies of the
e nacted law wi th an earn est recommen dation th at the gov ern ors
feren t States the necessi ty of
u rge upo n the l egi slat u res of the di f
pro vi di ng mean s for proper i n stru ction in the Metri c System i n
every school in the country
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The
Metri c System
Let every teacher i n ou r lan d
l et hi m become an en th u siastic
21
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n ot
only be a
PAI DA G OGOS,
but
the Metric
System an d the ed u cation of both the risi n g ge n eratio n and ad ul t
me m bers of the comm u n i tv co u ld be accomplished at very l it tle
ad ditio n al expe n se to each school district by f u rn ishi n g for each
school buildi n g a plai n set of me tric apparat us by providin g for
i mmediate i n s tructio n in the system an d by prohibiti n g after
Ju ne 1 89 5 i n str u ctio n in any other tha n the Met ri c System of
Weights an d Measu res All this accomplished a n ew era wo ul d
be i naug urated new joys would be added to school life both
the mathematics of
teacher and pu pil wo uld be greatly relieved
b usi n ess trades an d profession s would be red u ced to the mi n i
mu m inter n atio n al commerce wou ld receive a s trong i mpetu s
e very n ati o n al i n dustrial social an d person al i n terest wo u ld be
—
highly promoted al l becau se a lot of complex, irrat ion al an d
he terogeneo us weigh ts an d measures has been s u n k i n to eternal
obli vion by the su bstitutio n of the Simple scien ti fic an d h o mo
etric
yste
u
M
n
o
s
S
m
e
e
g
A NTH RC PA GC G OS
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