Our System of Weights and Measures 169 



of the department might be lightened, in 

 fact, for I presume that goods imported 

 from foreign countries employing the 

 metric system are invoiced in the coun- 

 tries of their origin by the metric system, 

 and the Treasury Department, or the im- 

 porting merchants, at all events, would 

 thus be saved the labor of translating the 

 measures. The work of translation of 

 the department would thus be limited 

 practically to imports from Great Britain 

 and her colonies. 



The Chairman: Of course the equiva- 

 lents of the metric system of weights and 

 measures are enacted into law now. 



Mr Bell: I believe so. I understand 

 that the use of the metric system is al- 

 ready permissible in the United States by 

 law. It is now competent for any one to 

 use it legally who chooses. This bill takes 

 the next step and makes its use manda- 

 tory upon the government departments ; 

 and of course if you take that step it 

 means that you are going further with 

 legislation in the future and make it 

 mandatory for the whole country. 



Mr Dresser:* Has not there been some 

 objection made on account of land meas- 

 urements ? 



The Chairman: The bills formerly in- 

 troduced here have always contained an 

 exception, and that exception was the 

 government survey ; but that work is so 

 nearly completed now that I am told the 

 author of this bill thought it was not 

 worth while to except that from its pro- 

 visions. 



Mr Bell: Of course there is necessary 

 friction in making the change, but this 

 difficulty only belongs to the transition 

 period. 



The Chairman: I suppose there are 

 about three things that the ordinary man 

 or woman — I mean the man who has not 

 any special use for weights and measures, 

 but uses them ordinarily in trade — would 

 have to remember, and that is the liter, 

 the meter, and the kilogram ; the liter, 

 one-tenth more than a quart ; the meter, 



* Solomon R. Dresser, Representative from 



Pennsylvania. 



one-tenth more than a yard ; and the kilo- 

 gram, one-tenth more than two pounds, 

 about ? 



Mr Bell: Yes ; that is a very simple 

 way of memorizing the radical points. 



A CHANGE WOULD CAUSE NO SERIOUS 

 ANNOYANCE 



The Chairman: Do you imagine there 

 will be any serious annoyance, so far as 

 what we call the common people are con- 

 cerned ? 



Mr Bell: I do not anticipate it. We 

 simply have to be bold enough to take the 

 step. All the difficulties lie in the transi- 

 tion period. All the difficulties in the 

 metric system are in translating from one 

 system to the other, but the moment you 

 use the metric system alone there is no 

 difficulty. The workmen in my labora- 

 tory used the metrical weights and meas- 

 ures right off. I did not ask them to 

 translate from one system to the other, 

 for that would speedily have developed 

 their limitations of education. I simply 

 asked them to use the metric system, and 

 they did it without difficulty. They now 

 use meters and centimeters and grams 

 and kilograms as if to the manner born, 

 and they are simply common carpenters 

 and mechanics. I consider them as an 

 average sample of the common people. I 

 do not anticipate any difficulty in the use 

 of the metric system by itself; and if the 

 government will lead the way, the change 

 must and will come, and we will be 

 brought into line with the progressive 

 nations of the world, instead of lagging 

 behind. 



Mr Scroggy: Legislating for the fu- 

 ture and not for the past generations? 



Mr Bell: Yes, sir. Our forefathers 

 legislated pretty well for the future in 

 the adoption of the Constitution ; and, 

 later, Congress did well in abolishing the 

 old system of pounds, shillings, and pence 

 and adopting the decimal system for our 

 money ; and we will do well for the future 

 of our country if we provide the metric 

 system for the whole of the United 

 States. 



