292 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX, No. 1264 



metric tmits. This Step was taken witt great suc- 

 cess. The metric weights and measures were then 

 used exclusively throughout tihe factory. The out- 

 put of the factory was increased approximately 50 

 per cent, with the same woa-kiiig staff. The weigh- 

 ing in one department had previously been made by 

 an expert in the old weights and measures. After 

 tihe change to the metric system, this work was done 

 by a laborer with fewer mistakes than formerly. 

 Mr. Molitor estimated thai a saving of approxi- 

 mately 20 per cent, could be effected in the book- 

 keeping and calculations of factories which intro- 

 duced the metric weights and measures throughout. 



Dr. C. 0. Mailloux, consulting engineer, chairman 

 of the United States Committee of the Initerna- 

 tional Electro-Technical Commission, told of his 

 practical experiences in the use of the metric sys- 

 tem in tihe TJnnited States and foreign countries, 

 describing his last interview with Sir John Wolfe 

 Barry, wtio designed the London Bridge and other 

 engineering enterprises in England. He expressed 

 to Dr. Mailloux his firm conviction of the desir- 

 ability and necessity for adopting the metric 

 weights and measures in England and discussed the 

 practical stteps contemplated for their general use. 

 Dr. Mailloux pointed out the fact that the electrical 

 units throughout tihe world were based on metric 

 weights and measures and that this in itself was 

 indioa/tive of their ultimate adoption for all pur- 

 poses in Aimerica and England. 



Mr. Jesse M. Smith, past president of the Ameri- 

 can Society of Meclhanical Engineers, stated that 

 he had been in close touch with the metric move- 

 ment for fifty years. He had studied in Berlin 

 during tihe winter following the Franco-Prussian 

 War. The metric system was then used in the 

 text^books and also for practical work throughout 

 Germany. He had frequently used the metric sys- 

 tem in America and other countries since then, and 

 believed it to be only a question of time when the 

 metrie system would be adopted in all parts of the 

 world. 



Professor Eugene 0. Bingham, of Lafayette Col- 

 lege, was appointed chairman of the Committee 

 on Sections of the American Metric Association. 

 The following resolution on this subject was 

 adopted: 



"Besolved, that the American Metric Associa- 

 tion hereby requests the formation of local sec- 

 tions throughout the country. ' ' 



United States Senator John P. Shafroth, read 

 bill S5037, which he has introduced in congress 

 and asked for a discussion on the subject. This 

 bill is a step toward the general use of metrie 



weiglts and measures, malting exceptions where 

 such seem to be advisable for special work. The 

 bill was endorsed by the American Metric Associa- 

 tion. 



Secretary of Commerce, Honorable William C. 

 Eedfield was the principal speaker at the ' ' Metric 

 Dinner," held on the evening of the twenty- 

 seventh. After outlining his practical experience 

 as a manufacturer for thirty years and his travels 

 in other countries in the interests of his export 

 trade, he voiced the conviction that the metric 

 weights and measures should and would be adopted 

 for general use in the United States. The Secre- 

 tary of Commerce said in part: "I believe that 

 the metric system offers a return to simplicity, 

 offers an effectiveness of thought, offers more to 

 little children in our schools if you please, which 

 we are not justified in withholding from them. ' ' 



The following ofdcers were elected for the year 

 1919: President — George E. Kunz, New York; 

 First Vioe-President — Wm. Jay Sohiefiiin, New 

 York; Second Vice-President — Jesse M. Smith, 

 New York; Third Vice-President — ^David A. MoU- 

 tor, Detroit; Treasurer — Arthur P. Williams, New 

 York; Secretary — Howard Richards, Jr., New 

 York. 



The following were among the resolutions 



' ' Besolved, tihat the American. Metric Associa- 

 tion hereby expresses its desire to cooperate more 

 fully with those American industries and trades 

 using and contemplating the use of metric weights 

 and measures. 



" Sesolved, that the American Metric Associa- 

 tion send greetings to the universities, colleges and 

 other educational institutions and respectfiilly in- 

 vite their cooperation in bringing in the general 

 use of meters, liters and grams for the welfare 

 of America." 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of 

 Science, publishing the official notices and pro- 

 ceedings of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science 



Published every Friday by 



THE SCIENCE PRESS 



LANCASTER, PA. GARRISON, N. Y. 



NEW YORK, N. Y. 



Entered in the po»t-«fficc at Lancaster. Pa., ai second dan matter 



