September 29, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



363 



quarters.^ The delegates, hlowever, devoted 

 very little time to consideration of tlie relative 

 merits of the metric system and the English 

 system, since the superiority of metric measure- 

 ments seemed to ibe conceded by every one 

 present. Discussion turned rather on questions 

 of the best methods of furthering general adop- 

 tion of the metric system. Eepresentatives 

 spoke on behalf of such diverse fields as archi- 

 tecture, astronomy, chemistry, civil engineer- 

 ing, education, electricity, medicine, optometry, 

 pharmacy, physiology, public health, and other 

 branches of pure and applied science. 



Physicists, chemists and pharmacists, on the 

 one hand, reported that the metric system is 

 already in general use and the battle won as 

 far as their portions of the field are concerned. 

 Representatives of the medical societies, on the 

 other hand, reported a surprising inertia on 

 the part of physicians to make use of gram and 

 milligram units instead of apothecaries' weight 

 in writing prescriptions, although only metric 

 units are used in recent editions of the pharma- 

 copoeia. Better instruction and drill in the 

 actual use of metric units was demanded of all 

 schools, and in particular of the medical 

 schools. 



The civil engineers and the architects stand 

 apparently in a passive attitude, content to 

 continue in the use of the English system until 

 a demand on the part of the public indicates a 

 greatly reduced inertia with reference to the 

 abandonment of inches, feet and miles. 



As far as the writer knows, this is the first 

 conference at which the relative merits of 

 gradual 'adoption of the metric system vs. com- 

 pulsory universal adoption have been debated 

 by a group of scientific men who have then 

 gone definitely on record as favoring the policy 

 of gradual adoption. The opposition has pro- 

 ceeded upon the assumption that the change to 

 the metric system must be completed suddenly, 

 or else it can not be made at all. As a result 

 they conclude that the change must be made at 

 an appalling cost to industry. The conference 

 went on record unanimously as of the opinion 

 that the gradual introduction of the- metric 



1 See this journal, June 23, 1922, ' ' Are Scien- 

 tists Encouraging Popular Ignorance?" 



system is praetieaible. The question of how 

 legislation may be used to assist in bringing 

 about the gradual change was not taken up at 

 this conference. 



Dr. W. A. Noyes read a paper by Dr. T. C. 

 Mendenhall representing the National Academy 

 of Sciences. In it Dr. Mendenhall combated 

 with historical facts many of the fallacious 

 arguments which have recently been advanced 

 against the spread of the metric system. The 

 paper will appear in full in Science. 



Formal action was taken by the conference 

 on four points, as follows : 



1. Voted, that it is the sense of this meeting 

 that we favor the gradual adoption of the metrie 

 system wherever practicable. 



2. Voted, that this body take up with the 

 United States Bureau of Education and other 

 agencies, a plan for the better teaching of the 

 metric system in the scliools. 



3. Voted, that the United States secretary of 

 commerce be asked to secure information as to 

 the extent to which the metric system is actually 

 used at present in those countries which have 

 made its use compulsory by law; and also in those 

 countries where its use is not obligatory. 



4. Voted, that the system of double-marking all 

 goods be encouraged. (This vote was adopted 

 by only a small majority.) 



W. V. Bingham, 



Secretary of the Conference 

 Cabnegie Institute op Technology 



ACTIVITIES OF THE ROCKEFELLER 



FOUNDATION 

 The Journal of the American Medical As- 

 sociation reports that the minister of educa- 

 tion has accepted on behalf of the Japanese 

 Grovernment an invitation from George E. Vin- 

 cent, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, 

 New York, to name and send a commission of 

 Japanese medical scientists to visit the medical 

 institutions of the United States and Canada, 

 as guests of the Rockefeller Foundation. This 

 idea originated from the success that attended 

 the visits to Amei-ica of similar commissions 

 from Great Britain, Brazil and Belgium. The 

 commission will consist of four or five men, 

 well known as representatives of the important 

 branches of medical science and of the prin- 

 cipal medical universities and institutes of the 



