AMERICAN DECIMAL SYSTEM.

One of the primary and, indeed, imperative needs of the commerce of the United States is the establishment of a standard decimal system of weights and measures.

INHERENT DEFECTS OF THE METBIC SYSTEM.

I do not refer to the metric system which was denned by a Federal statute in 1866 and in all the intervening years has not become of any importance in the commerce of the country. The metric system has had its day in the United States. It has been weighed in the balances and found wanting. The country does not want it. The plain and inexorable fact is that the metric system is impractical, that the metric units are not of the proper magnitudes for use in commerce or in the mechanical and liberal arts, and that this defect of the metric system can never be overcome. This is the reason why the metric system has made no headway anywhere except by the compulsion of arbitrary legislation. It is an absolutely futile thing to attempt to force the commerce of a great country like the United States into a metric strait-jacket.

The decimal correlation of the units is the only merit of the metric system. The utility and convenience of a decimally related system of weights and measures is to be admitted. The processes of arithmetic are decimal. A system of duodecimal arithmetic would require 12 digits—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, X, H, O. But we have decimal arithmetic, and the decimal relation, therefore, Is the most convenient relation between the units of measurement. The advantages of the decimal arrangement are exemplitied by the fact that American engineers have decimalized the foot, that American mechanics have decimalized the inch, and that American physicists have decimalized the pound. The difficulty, however, is that the foot, inch, and pound are not themselves decimally correlated and therefore can not be comprised in a standard decimal system.

THE TRUE WATT SYSTEM OF MEASURES.

The fact of fundamental significance in this matter is that the cubic foot of water at maximum density weighs precisely 1,000 ounces (avoirdupois), from which it follows that we may define the ounce as the cube of the tenth of the foot of water at maximum density. This gives us a volumetric definition of the ounce and at the same time defines a new linear unit, the tenth of the foot, which we may denominate the decimal inch and from which we directly derive the decimal square and the decimal cube. This very pertinent fact was pointed out by James Watt, the great British mechanician, in 1783, and was also stated by Jefferson in 1790 in his report of a plan for establishing uniformity in the coinage, weights, and measures of the United States. Jefferson's decimalized dollar was adopted for our coinage. Jefferson's decimalized foot would have been adopted had he not proposed to change the foot to the equivalent of 11.74 English inches, defined as the fifth of the pendulum rod beating seconds.

The present plan is to decimalize the English foot. It was James Watt who had the original conception of a complete decimally related system of weights and measures, with the unit of weight and all other units derived from the unit of length, and Watt's proposal was expressly to make the English foot and the ounce derived from the tenth of the foot, the bases of his decimal system. In Watt's own langauge, "As to the precise foot, * * * the common English foot may be adopted * * * which has the advantage that the cubic foot is exactly 1,000 ounces, consequently the present foot and ounce would be retained, * * * the inconvenience of changing all the foot measures and things depending on them, would be much greater than changing all the pounds, bushels, gallons, etc. I therefore give the preference to those plans which retain the foot and the ounce. * * * Let the philosophical pound consist of 10 ounces or 10,000 grains; the ounce to consist of 10 drachms or 1,000 grains; the drachm to consist of 100 grains. Let all elastic fluids be measured by the ounce measure of water, by which the valuation of different cubic inches will be avoided, and the common decimal table of specific gravities will immediately give the weights of those elastic fluids." Or, as it was stated by Dr. S. VV. Stratton, Director of the Bureau of Standards (Miscellaneous Document No. 21), "James Watt suggested that all units of weight and measures be derived from a single unit of length. This was the basic principle of the metric system." But the metric system is only the impractical counterfeit or imitation of the real decimal system of weights and measures conceived by James Watt. The French communists appropriated Watt's decimal idea, but did not give it the practical application lie had in mind. They applied Watt's idea, on the contrary, to their arbitrary meter, which they claimed was the ten millionth part of the quadrant on the meridian passing over France, but they miscalculated the actual length of the quadrant by nearly a mile. And it should be remembered, moreover, that standard measures must be convenient to the arts instead of being accommodated in some fanciful fashion to nature, in which all quantities are relative and none definite.

The meter is not what it "scientifically" pretends to be, nor is it otherwise useful in the arts as compared with the toot and its fractions which have been established by custom and have the sanction of long usage, convenience, and utility. The foot, therefore, as the base for a decimal system of weights and measures is in every way superior to the meter.

NATURAL MAGNITUDES FOB .ARTIFICIAL MEASURES.

The natural magnitudes that have been proposed as bases for artificial mensuration are the great circle of the earth of which the meter of 39.37 inches is fancifully claimed to be the 40-millionth part: the second pendulum which at London is 39.1398 inches and at Washington is 39.0968 inches; the second " rod" of 58.72368 inches, one-fifth of which Jefferson proposed as the American foot which was to be decimalized to 10 inches, 100 lines and 1,000 points; and the acceleration of gravity per second, of 32.16 feet or 385.95 inches, one-tenth of which would be 38.592 inches. But while an original linear standard could be approximately accommodated to any or at least some of these "natural" magnitudes, it could not after primary determination, as a practical matter, be periodically tested or tried by these natural magnitudes. The original linear rod would be the standard to which all duplicates would be referred for comparison. In other words, an artificial, invariable metalic rod would be the standard and that is precisely what we may have in the standard" foot. The foot has been determined to be .30046 of the second pendulum at London and to be .3048 of the standard meter refrigerated at Sevres. And this is quite as precise and definite as though the foot were an aliquot part of the pendulum or of the meter. The Bureau of Standards at Washington should become the repository of the New American decimal standards.

If the meter of 39.370113 inches were in any wise to be preferred to the foot, the yard of 36 inches would also be preferred to the foot. The fact, however, is otherwise. The foot is generally preferred to the yard in practice. The use of the yard has even now become limited to a few special trades.

THE FOOT, THE HISTORIC LINEAR STANDARD.

The foot has at some time been the standard linear measure of every civilized nation both of the ancient and the modem world. The foot of Egypt was equal to 12.16 English inches; the pes of Rome to 11.65 inches; the pous of Greece to 12.123 inches; the pied of France to 12.79 inches; the foute of Russia to 12 inches; the chili of China to 12.5 inches; the shaku of Japan to 11.928 inches; the fuss of Germany to 12.36 inches; the fuss of Vienna to 12.444 inches; the fot of Norway to 12.35 inches; the fod of Denmark to 12.36 inches; the fot of Sweden to 11.69 inches; the pie of Spain to 11.4 inches; the pe' of Portugal to 12.96 inches; and the pe' of Brazil to 12.96 inches. It is the English foot, however, of 12 inches as we know it, which has become the standard foot of tbe world.

The standard decimal rule of the foot is graduated into tenths, hundredths, and thousandths which are denoted respectively as decimal inches, lines, and points. There are a thousand points to the foot. The use of multiples of the point will in practice avoid any confusion with the common inch or its fractions. The point is about as fine a graduation as can be conveniently indicated upon a steel rule. The point is three and a third times as fine as the metric millimeter. The capacity of the point for the elimination of fractions in computations is therefore 3J times as great as that of the millimeter.

The line or hundredth of the foot is as fine a graduation or unit as may be plainly numbered or figured upon a scale or rule. The numbering of the iines of the foot from 1 to 100 will permit with perfect facility the measuring directly to lines or hundredths of the foot. The line ought really to become the prime mechanical unit and should be divided by the micrometer into 100 parts for precision measurements and tolerances.

Decimal multiples of the toot may also be prescribed; the pole of 10 feet; the chain of 100 feet; and the league of 1,000 feet. This will make a mile 528 poles, a half mile 264 poles, a quarter mile 132 poles, an eighth mile (furlong) 60 poles, a sixteenth mile (20 rods) 33 poles, and a thirty-second mile (10 rods) 16.5 poles, which makes the pole readily adaptable for land measurement and surveying.

WEIGHTS DERIVED FROM THE FOOT.

The ounce, as the standard weight is defined as the decimal cube of water at maximum density and is divided into 1,000 grains as originally proposed by James Watt. It may be preferable to denote the new standard grain or thousandth of the ounce as the " mill" (m.) to distinguish it from the common grain as used in Troy weights, and until the common grain becomes obsolete. The tenth of grain might be denoted the mite as was proposed by Jefferson. The common grain, of which there are 437i in an avoirdupois ounce is obviously an impractical fraction of the ounce and may well be supplanted by decimal fractions of the standard ounce. Scales are now offered to the trade with beams graduated to tenths, (d.) and hundredths (c.) of the standard ounce. The practical retail scale should have a beam graduated to 1,000 ounces. Modern scales with charts or dials graduated to ounces may readily have charts marked to indicate 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 ounces, etc. The ounce should become the weight unit for retail trade. The Troy ounce is now used in all denominations up to 1,000 ounces and weights in these denominations are offered to the trade. The same use should be made of the avoirdupois or new standard ounce.

Decimal weights of the ounce may, of course, be used on any balance. These decimal weights should be in mills or thousandths of the standard ounce and should be made in the following denominations: 1 mill, 1/1000; 10 mills, 1/100; 100 mills, 1/10; 125 mills. J; 250 mills, i ; and 500 mills, J. Multiple weights of the ounce should be in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, and" 20 ounces for use on balances, and scale poises should be made to indicate 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ounces. The 10-ounce weight might be denominated the mark, and the 100-ounce weight might be denominated the stone, as was proposed by Jefferson. James Watt himself expressly proposed a 10-ounce international pound. The pound of 16 ounces, however, although not decimal, is so well established, that this word should not be used to designate any other weight.

MEASURES DERIVED FROM THE FOOT.

The bushel as used in international commerce has already become a weight unit of 60 pounds or of 960 ounces, which is the standard weight of a bushel of wheat. Sound plump wheat, moreover, will weigh full 1,000 ounces or 021 pounds. The bushel weight should be defined as 1,000 ounces, which will standardize the weight of the bushel as used in trade.

The farm and orchard products which were formerly sold by the bushel measure, are now generally sold in boxes, barrels, crates, hampers, baskets, or other containers which do not have any relation to the bushel measure and which for certainty ought to be defined in terms of the foot cube. The new decimal standard measure for commodities is the foot cube or tub as it is proposed to call it.

Cargo space in ships and freight space in railroad cars and in warehouses are now generally indicated in foot cubes. Water in reservoirs, or flowing in nqueducts. is now measured in foot cubes or foot cubes per second as the case may require. Gas and water from service mains are measured and sold in foot cubes. The import duty or tariff on " grapes in barrels or other packages is 25 cents per cubic foot of the capacity of the barrels or packages." The tariff duties on lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, shaddocks, and pomelos are also prescribed upon a cubic-foot basis (tariff act 1913. Schedule G, 219-220). The foot cube as a commodity measure has thus received the approval of Congress. The foot cube