20 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



most able helper. The Galesburg meeting sets a high 

 standard of efficiency and excellence that is going to be 

 hard to equal. 



Henry C. Cowles, Chairman; 



H. J. Van Cleave, 



A. R. Crook. 



It was voted that the resolutions submitted be adopted 

 and placed on file. 



The report of the Committee on Metric System was 

 presented by A. C. Longden, Chairman, Thomas G. Hull 

 not being present. 



Report of the Committee on Metric System 



This committee was appointed in 1922 to co-operate 

 with other scientific organizations whose purpose it is 

 to promote the Metric System of weights and measures 

 so that the public in general may become familiar with 

 the advantages of the system and proper legislation 

 enacted. The chairman of the committee has been in 

 touch with the "World Metric Standardization" council 

 and the ' ' American Metric Association ' ', offering, the ser- 

 vices of the committee to those organizations. It would 

 seem that education is necessary before any legislation 

 is enacted, since the majority of individuals do not ap- 

 preciate the value of the Metric System. This education 

 should be undertaken in the schools. As yet, the com- 

 mittee has not arranged such a program. Possibly the 

 science clubs of the Academy could assist in the move- 

 ment. 



It would seem timely to bring to the attention of the 

 academy a few facts regarding the history of the Metric 

 System and its present status in this country. James 

 Watt, the British inventor, was the originator of the 

 "Dollar — Meter — Liter — Gram" system. Both George 

 Washington and Thomas Jefferson urged very strongly 

 upon the early American Congress the adoption of all 

 four of these items. The decimal dollar system was 

 adopted but the others after prolonged discussion were 

 allowed to be dropped. In 1866 Congress legalized the 



