402 



SCIENCE. 



LN. S. Vol. XIV. No. 350. 



' The Metric System in the United 

 States': Mr. Jesse Pawling, Jr., Central 

 High School, Philadelphia. 



A brief history of the action of Congress 

 in the subject of weights and measures is 

 given. This includes the passage by the 

 House and failure to pass by the Senate of 

 the bill of 1796 ; the petitions urging legis- 

 lation in uniformity of weights and meas- 

 ures from various states ; the bills of 1866 

 to legalize the metric system and to allow 

 it for the use of the post-offices ; the failure 

 to consider the bills of 1892 for the adoption 

 of the metric system for the exclusive use 

 in the customs service, though urged by 150 

 petitions ; the passage of the bill of 1896 

 and its reconsideration, which referred it 

 back to the committee from which it was 

 not reported, and the bills following this for 

 the same purpose, the adoption of the metric 

 system for the use of the Departments of 

 the Government, none of which were con- 

 sidered. 



The work of the English Decimal Associa- 

 tion has advanced the interests of the metric 

 system. The association has among its 

 members, members of Parliament and busi- 

 ness people of England. It has secured 

 the pledges of me-mbers of Parliament to 

 vote for the metric system. It has secured 

 the teaching of the metric system in the 

 schools. It circulates literature and has a 

 lecturer who addresses audiences wherever 

 a meeting can be secured in England. It 

 circulates reports of consuls on the metric 

 system in other countries. It has secured 

 the cooperation of the labor organizations. 

 Chamber of Commerce, and National Union 

 of Teachers. It has no dues and any one 

 can become a member. 



A similar organization may do good work 

 in this country for the interests of the metric 

 system. It could secure the cooperation of 

 Congressmen. It might aim at having the 

 metric system taught in the schools. It 

 could educate the people by literature and 



lectures like the English Decimal Associa- 

 tion. It might secure advertisements of 

 foreign goods in the metric system and in 

 many other ways popularize the metric sys- 

 tem with nominal or no dues. 



' The New National Bureau of Stand- 

 ards ' : Mr. Jesse Pawling, Jr. 



The new Bureau is to be located in the 

 suburbs of Washington, where it is free 

 from disturbance. It has an appropriation 

 of $300,000 and a laboratory costing about 

 1200,000 is to be erected. Great care is 

 to be exercised in selecting the personnel, 

 and none but those trained for the work 

 will be employed, as it is under civil ser- 

 vice laws. Members of the Bureau are 

 traveling to inspect laboratories of Europe. 

 When established the Bureau will employ 

 a number of young men just graduated 

 from universities, giving them opportuni- 

 ties to develop along the lines which they 

 wish to follow. It will invite specialists to 

 do work in their line. 



The Bureau standardizes three grades of 

 weights and measures : 



1. Those for commercial use. 



2. Those for manufacturing and technical 

 processes and professions ; and 



3. Those for extreme accuracy for scien- 

 tific purposes. 



' A Summary of the Salient Effects due 

 to Secular Cooling of the Earth ' : Professor 

 R. S. Woodward, Columbia University. 



The effects summarized in this paper are : 



(a) The slow process of heat conduction 

 in the earth's crust, leading to the conclu- 

 sion that nothing less than a million years 

 is a suitable time unit for recording the 

 historical succession of events. 



(6) The insignificant modification of the 

 process of conduction arising from the 

 hydrosphere, leading to the conclusion that 

 secular cooling goes on substantially as if 

 the earth had neither atmosphere nor 

 ocean . 



(c) The resultant effect on the litho- 



