A  AuJg°t"srt }      Adoption  of  the  Metric  System.  523 
These  three  units  are  simply  related,  e.  g.,  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses, 1  cubic  decimeter  equals  1  litre  and  1  litre  of  water  weighs  1 
kilogram. 
Exclusive  use  of  the  metric  system  is  in  force  in  France,  Italy, 
Germany,  and  thirty-one  other  countries. 
Even  the  most  rabid  opponents  of  the  metric  system  admit  that 
the  metric  system  is  simple  and  easy  to  use,  but  they  always  fall 
back  on  their  "bugaboo  argument"  that  the  compulsory  change  to 
metrics  will  involve  tremendous  expense  in  installing  new  machines, 
etc. 
There  is  little  basis  for  this  contention,  and  it  has  been  dis- 
proved so  often-  by  the  very  men  who  should  know,  namely  by  cap- 
tains of  industy,  that  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
opponents  of  the  metric  system  simply  haven't  given  the  matter  any 
thought  and  are  ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which  the  metric  system 
can  be  operated. 
There  is  no  need  for  manufacturers  to  abandon  the  standards 
they  now  have  and  to  take  up  others  having  different  dimensions. 
Actual  sizes  can  be  determined  accurately  by  means  of  the  metric 
micrometer.    Only  the  arithmetical  value  need  be  converted. 
The  United  States  of  America  can  adopt  metric  standardization 
even  though  avoiding  strange  names.  Old  terms  of  yard,  quart  and 
pound  can  be  preserved.  English  equivalents  would  do  just  as  well 
for  unfamiliar  words  in  metrics.  Why  not  say  world  yard  for 
meter,  world  quart  for  litre  and  world  pound  for  500  grams?  This 
is  what  they  have  done  in  Switzerland.  As  a  result  few  people  know 
that  slight  changes  have  been  made  in  the  units  to  make  them  metric 
equivalents.  The  German  "pfund"  of  tobacco  is  500  grams,  the 
"fass"  of  beer  is  invoiced  by  its  real  contents  in  litres. 
Metric  Standardization  would  entail  a  negligible  cost  in  changing 
weights  and  measures.  Readings  on  expensive  scales  can  be  re- 
marked at  slight  expense. 
Arguments  Against  the  Adoption  of  the  Metric  System. 
Irrespective  of  any  merits  the  metric  system  may  have,  the 
country,  in  case  the  system  is  made  compulsory,  will  have  to  face : 
(1)  A  long  transition  period;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  old  units 
never  disappear. 
(2)  The  introduction  of  a  dual  system,  because  the  habits  of 
the  people  cannot  be  legislated  away. 
