June 23, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



667 



with a view to a more complete standardization 

 of the inch and the foot the world over and to 

 draft legislation . . . legalizing it in various 

 countries as a world standard along with, if not 

 superseding the metric system, p. 211. 



The reader is referred to the report to see that 

 the true spirit of the argument of the report 

 has been preserved and also to get tke pro- 

 metric side. 



Such a tissue of deliberate misrepresentation 

 needs merely to be presented to scientific men 

 for its refutation line upon line. Were it true 

 that American scientists and teachers are 

 spreading ignorance, this report would deserve 

 to be a "best seller." But the challenge which 

 it contains should not go umnet. The Council 

 of the American Chemical Society at its recent 

 meeting voted to ask the various scientific, edu- 

 cational, engineering, medical and pharma- 

 ceutical societies to send representatives to the 

 Pittsburgh meeting of the society in September 

 to consider what further steps can be taken 

 toward the gradual introduction of the metric 

 system. Here is an opportunity to answer the 

 challenge. 



The best answer to Mr. Halsey's contention 

 that it can not be done is that it is being done. 

 There has just come to hand the current schedule 

 of chemicals of the national government, which 

 is class 4, which has practically all pure chem- 

 icals listed in metric units only. Henceforth 

 all pure chemicals appearing on the general 

 schedule of supplies will be listed and pur- 

 chased entirely in the metric system for the six- 

 teen bureaus of the government. 



In a volume which has just come from the 

 press entitled Metric System for Engineers, 

 written by Charles B. Clapham, a London engi- 

 neer, the author gives an unbiased answer to 

 many of the anti-metric arguments. For ex- 

 ample, he sa3's : 



All the metric screws likely to be required 

 can be cut on the usual English and American 

 lathes, well within the accuracy required for manu- 

 facturing purposes, if one additional change wheel 

 is provided, p. 33. 



He says significantly, p. 148 : 



In considering the cost and inconvenience 

 aspect, it is to be feared that many false objec- 

 tions have been put forward ; etc. 



He notes that a hundredweight contains 112 

 pounds, that a "stone" if used in weighing 

 potatoes consists of 14 pounds, but when 

 weighing butcher's meat contains only 8 

 pounds ! This is far surpassed, however, by 

 the complexity of the United States bushel. 

 The use of the metric system is steadily grow- 

 ing, every school-boy talking of wave-lengths 

 in hundreds of meters. Much further informa- 

 tion on metric progress is given in an excellent 

 work on World Metric Standardization pub- 

 lished by the World Metric Standardization 

 Council of San Francisco. 



The Valve World for May, 1922, states: 

 More than 215 member organizations of the 

 Chamber of Commerce of the United States have 

 gone on record in favor of gradual metric stand- 

 ardization. More than 15,000 manufacturers and 

 engineers have petitioned Congress to enact 

 metric standards legislation, and these represent 

 concerns capitalized at several billions of dollars. 

 The states of Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, 

 Utah, Illinois, California, North Dakota and 

 Teimessee have officially memorialized Congress 

 to adopt the metric system as the sole S3'stem of 

 weighing and measuring for the benefit of all the 

 people of the United States. 



One is reminded of an old couple up in Ver- 

 mont who went to town; and, passing a shop 

 window, Lucjf remarked, "George, why don't 

 you buy a new hat in place of that disgraceful 

 old thing?" To which George replied without 

 going inside to inquire the price of the hat he 

 saw, "I can't afford it. I'd have to get used 

 to a new one. Besides I like the old one and I 

 couldn't wear two." 



Eugene C. Bimgham 



AMERICAN COMMITTEE TO AID 



RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS WITH 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE 



Russian scientists have been almost com- 

 pletely cut off from access to western European 

 and American literature since 1914. This iso- 

 lation, coupled with great physical hardships, 

 is naturally interfering with the progress of 

 their work, although it has by no means en- 

 tirely put a stop to it. 



Through many sources appeals are coming 

 from Russian botanists, zoologists, chemists. 



