The letter from Robert W. English (Forum, Sept. 27) brought up some points that need to be clarified. Measurement is such an important part of our lives that it cannot be left to individuals to define their own units.
In medieval Europe, units of measure varied from one city to another, and enterprising traders took advantage of this to further increase their profits.Our Constitution (Article I, Section 8) specifies that our weights and measures are to be determined by Congress, not by the free market or by popular opinion.
It may be surprising, but the metric system was adopted by Congress in 1866 and is the "official" measurement system in the United States. The "customary" units of inch, foot and pound are officially defined in terms of metric units.
It would appear that Mr. English and many other Americans are suffering from metrological xenophobia. Almost without exception, whenever I speak with people who oppose the metric system, it is because they don't understand it and haven't used it.
Since the rest of the world has adopted the metric system (and no country has subsequently abandoned it), it would seem that all of us should become familiar with it. Even aside from the international issue, our country should adopt the metric system because:
It is easier to learn. There is only one unit for length (meter), volume (liter) and mass (gram). Prefixes indicating powers of 10 are used to make units larger or smaller, and fractions are not used at all.
It is easier to use. There are no hard-to-remember conversion factors (feet in a rod, cubic inches in a gallon, etc.) Converting between different size units involves only moving a decimal point. For practical purposes, a cube of water 10 centimeters on a side is one liter, and has a mass of one kilogram. You don't find that elegant simplicity in our customary system.
Mr. English equates changing the highway signs with increasing foreign trade. These are only indirectly related; they both involve measurement. Yet it is wasteful and confusing to use two different measurement systems for an extended period of time. Understandably, the process of conversion is painful and should be accomplished as quickly and efficiently as possible with good public education.
Other English-system countries (Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain) have accomplished it because their governments took the lead. We could too if Congress would do its job as defined in the Constitution.
Ronald Speirs
Salt Lake City