ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



Phii.adei.phia, Pa., June, 1919. 



A League of Nations Means the Metric System. 



A few years ago we published an editorial in the News 

 endorsing efforts made in the House of Representatives to 

 enforce the use of the Centigrade thermometric scale in United 

 States Government publications. The strongest argument for 

 such action was that the Centigrade scale was already in well 

 nigh universal use. 



The progressive World Trade Club of San Francisco is 

 urging the United States and Great Britain (the only large 

 nations not using the Meter-Liter-Gram system) to take ad- 

 vantage of the present opportunity in the world's history and 

 legalize the exclusive use of the metric system of weights and 

 measures. The same reason for this change exists as is the 

 case in the matter of thermometry. 



As entomologists we have been giving the size of insects in 

 millimeters for many years, and when we go back to some old 

 description and have to translate "lines," or some other an- 

 tique unit, into modem equivalents, we feel a sinking of the 

 heart. Let us, in these days of a League of Nations, inter- 

 nationalize our standards of measurement as well as our polit- 

 ical relations. Let everyone urge his Congressmen to do their 

 utmost to accomplish this result. 



Stop Thief! 

 What is the mental attitude of the thief toward himself? 

 Does the knowledge that he is a thief lower him in his own 

 estimation? It is with sorrow and regret that we admit that 

 there are thieves among entomologists. The individual who 

 will steal from a museum where collections are kept for the 

 benefit of all interested is of the mean kind of person who 

 has no real love for the pursuit and is usually of the collector 

 type who spends his life in sticking specimens over labels and 

 ticking them off in a list and reminds one of many postage 

 stamp collectors. It is almost impossible to g^ive access to a 

 collection and stand over each person every minute to prevent 



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