A decimal system of weights and measures for the United States

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DEC31t968

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0EC231968

A DECIMAL SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS AND
MEASURES FOR THE UNITED STATES

REMARKS

or

HON. MILTONJUWELUNG

OF UTAH

IN THE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TUESDAY. MARCH 2, 1920

" The Congress shall hare power * * * to coin mone},
regulate the ralne thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the
standard of weights and measures." — ^Art. I, see. 8, Constitu-
tion of the United States.

^

167905—20553

WASHINGTON
1920

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EEMARKS

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HON. MILTON H. WELLING.

A DECIMAL SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FOR THE UNITED

STATES.

Mr. WELLING. Mr. Speaker, availing myself of the right
to extend my remarks in the Record, I submit the bill to
establish the standard of the weights, measures, and coins of the
United States.

Accompanying the bill is a statement of the details of the
legislation and an analysis of the measure prepared Dy Mr.
Samuel Russell, who has given much thought and study to
this problem and is an earnest advocate of the proposed reform.

The bill and statement are as follows.
A bill (H. R. 12850) to establish the standard and decimal divisions of
the weights, measures, and coins of the United States.

Be it enacted, etc.. That the standard of the weights, measures, and
coins of the United States, and the decimal divisions thereof, shall,
after the 1st day of January, 1921, be as follows :

The standard for the measure of length shall be the foot as heretofore
commonly used and established as a measure of length In the United
States of America, and which is the standard foot of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The decimal divisions of the foot shall be the tenth or decimal inch,
the hundredth or line, and the thousandth or point, of which 10 points
equal 1 line. 10 lines equal 1 decimal inch, and 10 decimal inches equal
1 foot. One hundred points equal 1 decimal incb, and 1,000 points
equal 1 foot.

The common fractions of the foot shall be the half, third, quarter,
and twelfth, of which the twelfth shall be denominated the common
incb.

The common multiples of the foot shall be the yard, the fathom, the
rod, the furlong, and the mile, of which the yard equals 3 feet, the
fathom equals 6 feet, the rod equals 165 feet, the furlong equals 40
rods and the mile equals 320 rods.

167905—20553 3

The standard for the measure of plane surfaces shall be the square
of the foot, which shall be designated the square. The decimal division
of the square shall be the square of the decimal Inch, which shall be
designated the der'-nal .quare, and of which 100 decimal squares equal
1 square.

The squares of the respective multiples and divisions of the toot may
be used for the measurement of plane surfaces.

The standard for the measure of land surfaces shall be the acre of
160 square rods. The. square furlong equals 10 acres. The jcre-foot
Is the measure ot water, having a surface of 1 acre and a depth of
1 foot

The standard for the measure of volume shall be the cube of the
foot, which shall be designated the cube. The decimal division of the
cube shall be the cube of the decimal inch, which shall be designated
the decimal cube, and of which 1,000 decimal cubes equal 1 cube.

The cubes of the respective multiples and divisions of the foot may
be used for the measurement of volume.

The standard for the measurement of weight shall be the weight of
the cube of water at maximum density, which shall be designated the
weight unit. The decimal unit for the measurement of weight shall be
the ounce, which shall be the weight of the decimal cube of water at
maximum density. The decimal divisions of the ounce shall be the
dram and the grain, of which 10 drams equal 1 ounce, 1,000 grains
equal 1 ounce. One hundred grains equal 1 dram.

The multiples of the ounce shall be the decimal pound, the weight
unit, the quarter, and the ton, of which 10 ounces equal 1 decimal
pound, 100 decimal pounds equal 1 weight unit, 1,000 ounces equal 1
weight unit, 8 weight units equal 1 quarter, 4 quarters equal 1 ton.

Multiples of the decimal pound of 10 ounces may be used for
measures of weight.

The avoirdupois or common pound equals 16 ounces ; the ton equals
2,000 avoirdupois pounds.

The standard for the measure of liquids shall be the liquid ounce,
which is equal to the decimal cube, and of which 10 liquid ounces equal

1 decimal pint, and 1,000 Uqild ounces equal 1 liquid cube.
Multiples of the decimal pint of 10 decimal cubes may be used for

liquid or dry measure.

The standard for the measure of dry commodities shall be the cube
measure, which is the cube of the foot. The common divisions of the
cube for dry measure shall be the quart, the pot, the gallon, the peck,
and the half cube, of which 2 quarts equal 1 pot, 2 pots equal 1 gallon,

2 gallons equal 1 peck, 2 pecks equal 1 half cube, 2 half cubes egual
1 cube.

The bushel shall be equal to 1,250 decimal cubes. The bushel is equal
to 5 pecks, 10 gallons, 20 pots, or 40 quarts.
167905—20553

The water-flow unit shall be the flow of 1 cube of water In one
Becond of time.

The mechanical-power unit shall be the quantity of power required
to raise 1 weight unit 1 foot in one second of time.

The thermal unit shall -be the quantity of heat required to raise 1
ounce of water 1 degree o£"the scale of the Fahrenheit thermometer.

The water-pressure unit is the pressure of 1 ounce in weight upon
the surface of 1 decimal square.

The steam-pressure unit Is the pressure of 1 ounce in weight upon
the surface of 1 decimal square.

The Bureau of Standards shall, upon the basis of the standard
weights and measures herein established, determine the standards for
technical application in the arts and sciences.

The silver coins of the United States shall be the dollar, the 2-franc
piece, the franc, and the dime. The weight of the dollar shall be 1
ounce, 900 fine, of silver ; the weight of the 2-franc piece shall be 400
grains, or two-fifths of 1 ounce of silver, 800 fine ; the weight of the
franc shall be 200 grains, or one-flfth of an ounce of silver, 800 fine ;
and the weight of the dime shall be 100 grains, or one-tenth of an
ounce of sliver, 800 fine.

The minor coins of the United States shall be the nickel, the penny,
and the cent. The weight of the nickel shall be 100 grains of an alloy
of three parts of copper and one part of nickel ; the weight of the
penny shall be 100 grains of an alloy of 95 per cent copper and 5 per
cent of tin and zinc ; and the weight of the cent shall be 50 grains
of an alloy of 95 per cent of copper and 5 per cent of tin and zinc,
in such proportions as shall be determined by the Director of the
Mint.

The gold coins of the United States shall be the pound, the eagle,
and the double eagle. The standard weight of the pound shall be 294.8
grains of gold, 900 fine ; the weight of the eagle shall be 589.6 grains
of gold, 900 fine ; and the weight of the double eagle shall be 1,179.2
grains of gold, 900 fine.

The standard of value shall be the dollar, equivalent to 58.96 grains
of gold, 900 flue, or one-flfth of the gold pound.

The coins of the United States shall have the following relative
values : 1 cent equals 10 mills, 1 penny equals 2 cents, 1 nickel
equals 5 cents, 1 dime equals 10 cents, 1 franc equals 20 cents, 1 franc
equals 10 pence, 2 francs equal 40 cents, 1 dollar equals 100 cents,
1 dollar equals 5 francs, 1 pound equals 5 dollars, 1 pound equals 25
francs, 1 eagle equals 10 dollars, 1 eagle equals 2 pounds, 1 eagle equals
50 francs, 1 double eagle equals 20 dollars, 1 double eagle equals 4
pounds, 1 double eagle equals 100 francs.
167905—20353

6

Congress has never exercised the authority conlerred expressly by
the Constitution to fix the standard of weights and measures for the
United States, although this was regarded as a necessary project at
the time of the union of the Colonies. The Articles of Confederation
contained a slMllkr provision in regard to a uniform system of weights
and measures for the Colonies.

The fact that our common measures, in terms of the foot, the inch,
the pound, the ounce, and the ton, have been preferred to the metric
system, is because of their great superiority in point of convenience.
The meter itself is a very inconvenient and awliward measure. The
metric system, moreover, offers no unit between the centimeter of about
4 inches and the meter of about 40 inches ; that is to say, it offers no
unit of measure that Is adapted, in a practical way, to the customary
needs of the people. This is demonstrated by the fact that our yard
measure, which is even moie convenient for our purposes than the
meter, has itself gone into relative obsolescence with the extended use
of the more convenient foot as the primary unit of mensuration. The
height of mountains, the depth of the sea, and the dimensions of all
artificial structures are determined by the foot measure.

The clear preference of custom for the foot is not to be Ignored. It is
not a restricted or provincial view which declares the superiority of
the foot over the meter. The fact is that every important country in
the world has a similar customary unit. For example, the Roman
pes is 11.65 inches, the Danish fod is 1.03 feet, the Swedish fot is 11.69
inches, the Norwegian fot is 12.35 Inches. The Russian foute is exactly
12 inches, the Rhine fuss is 1.03 feet, the Viena fuss is 1.037 feet, the
Portuguese and the Brazilian pfe is 1.08 feet, the French pied is 1.066
feet, the Attic pous is 1.011 feet, the Olympic pons is 1.051 feet, and
the Japanese shaku is 0.994 loot. It thus appears that every important
country in the world has adapted its customs of trade and mechanics to
11 measure analogous and almost exactly comparable to our present Eng-
lish foot.

The only virtue in the metric system is the convenience of compu-
tation resulting from the decimal notation upon which it is arranged.
But even in the matter of decimal notation the metric system goes to
such absurd extremes that the decimal multiples of the meter have
been ignored and many of its other denominations have gone into dis-
use. A true decimal system has Its advantages and is to be desired.
It must be said, however, that the utility of the decimal system is con-
fined to the divisions of the unit or standard. The decimal arrange-
ment has no special utility when dealing with Integers or units In
any number whatever. Upon this principle we have ignored our
eagles and double eagles when counting dollars, and for the same
reason dekameters, hektometers, and myriameters are not much used
167905—20553

The great consideration is to preaerve our customary units of
measure and weiglit and to bring tlie divisions of the same into proper
decimal relations. This will afford all the advantages of the decimal
features of the metric system and preserve for us the great convenience
of our own common measures. Inasmuch as these common measures
are practically universal In all countries they offer the only true basis
for a real international system.

The desirability of a decimal arrangement was clearly perceived by
James Watt, the great English engineer and mechanician. In Novem-
ber, 1783, he proposed the international " philosophical pound " of 10
ounces and the division of the ounce into 1,000 grains. He said,
" 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 tables of specific gravities will Immediately give the
weights of those elastic fluids." The ounce to which Watt referred 19
the weight of the cube of one-tenth of the foot of water at maximum
density. Watt was quick to perceive this decimal relation between the
foot and ounce and proposed that the measure of weight be thus de-
rived from the measure of length. Watt expressly stated that the
proper plan for an ideal decimal system should retain the foot and the
ounce. In a letter to Mr. Magellan he said :

"As to the precise foot or pound, I do not look upon it to be very
material, in chemistry at least. Either the common English foot may
be adopted according to your proposal, which has the advantage that
a cubic foot is exactly 1,000 ounces, consequently the present foot and
ounce would be retained ; or a pendulum which vibrates 100 times a
minute may be adopted for the standard, which would make the foot
14.2 of our present inches, and the cubic foot would be very exactly «
bushel and would weigh 101 of the present pounds, so that the present
pound would not be much altered. But I think that by this scheme
the foot would be too large and tKat 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 there-
fore give the preference to those plans which retain the foot and the
ounce."

There was a great deal of speculation at the end of the eighteenth
century with respect to finding some definite measure in the natural
world to which our artificial measures might be referred. There is ob-
viously no such unit within the possibility of practical application. The
most definite measure we have is that of time made by the diurnal revo-
lution of the earth, which we have divided into 86,400 seconds. The
pendulum adjusted to vibrate in seconds has a definite length at a given
altitude and latitude The second pendulum vibrating in a vacuum at
London is 39.13908 inches in length. The standard foot has been deter-
mined to be JSJfrS of the second pendulum at London, and by this
method the foot has been referred to the second pendulum Just as defl-
167905—20553

8

nitely as though it were an aliquot part of the pendulum. The theoreti-
cal advantage of changing the foot to the one-third or one-fourth part
of the second pendulum would in no wise compensate for the tremendous
Inconvenience which would result. The present relation between the
foot and the ounce by which the measures of weight may be derived
from the measures of length would be definitely dislocated. The proper
plan, therefore, is to decimalize the foot.

Thomas Jefferson clearly perceived this, and In 1790, while Secretary
of State, elaborated a plan for this purpose. Jefferson divided the foot
into inches, lines, and points comparable with the division of the French
pied into pouces, lignes, and points. The French division is upon the
duo-decimal system, whereas Jefferson's arrangement Is upon the decimal
system. The bill which has been introduced is In conformity with the
original conception of Watt and with the essentials of Jefferson's
plan. It is entirely practical and makes no radical alterations In our
present measures, but merely points the way to their improvement in a
true and convenient decimal system.

The foot is the unit from which the whole system Is derived. One-
tenth of the foot, or the decimal Inch, is the primary division in the
system. The square of the decimal inch is called the decimal square, and
the cube of the decimal inch is called the decimal cube. The decimal
cube of water at maximum density is the ounce. The ounce is divided
into 1,000 grains, or, more properly, decimal grains, and the cube or cubic
toot of water at maximum density is equal to 1,000 ounces and is called
the weight unit. Thirty-two of these weight units constitute one ton.

It is intended that the decimal grain will be the unit for fine weights
in the mechanical and chemical sciences, the ounce the unit for retail
trade weights, and the weight unit for the measure of gross weights. It
is intended that the point, 1,000 of which are equal to 1 foot, and 100
of which are equal to the decimal inch, will be the unit for fine mechani-
cal and scientific measuration, in place of the fractions of the inch, the
centimeter, and the millimeter. The proposed system Is entirely logical,
consistent, and practical and is built upon units long sanctioned by cus-
tom and utility. It brings order into our customary system of weights
and measures and is formulated for this purpose. The time has come
when Congres should exercise its constitutional power to establish a uni-
form, rationalized system of measures and weights for the United States.
The plan proposed otters the only alternative to the metric system and
is superior from every point of view to the metric system for our
country.

It is also intrinsically superior as the standard for a true interna-
tlDiial system of measuration.
167905—20553

o

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A decimal system of , weights and m^^^^^^

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