"Joseph B. Reid" wrote:
>
> >Yes, but do you consider that a fixation of a standard of measurement
> >for the United States? BTW, I thought that was in 1875, just after the
> >US signed the Treaty Of the Metre.
> >
> >"Joseph B. Reid" wrote:
> >>
> >> Paul Trusten wrote in USMA 14548:
> >>
> >> The United States has no SI measurement standard,
> >> >much less an SI measurement folklore.
> >>
> >> The US received a prototype meter and a prototype kilogram in 1895, if I
> >> remember correctly. The inch/pound units are legaly defined in terms of
> >> those prototypes.
>
> A bill of the 39th Congress declared it lawful throughout the USA "to
> employ the weights and measures of the metric system". Further provisions
> specified that no contract dealing, or court proceeding could be deemed
> invalid because of the use of metric measures. This bill was passed by the
> House asnd sent to the Senate on 1866 May 17 It was passed by the Senate
> on July 27. The following day, July 28, the bill was signed into law by
> President Andrew Johnson.
In a conversation not too long ago with the project engineer on the
Neuse River Bridge project in North Carolina, he spoke of courts
refusing to handle "condemnations" in metric units. I suppose that they
could have started an appeal process based on the above law, but they
elected not to. That alone would have delayed progress and increased
costs--just one judge's refusal to obey the law.
> The "Convention du Mètre" was signed on 1975 May 20 ....
^^^^
[The above is obviously a typo and was intended to read 1875; Joe went
on to use the correct and subsequent date on which Johnson signed the
bill.]
Jim
--
Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!"
James R. Frysinger, CAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/
10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Charleston, SC 29407 phone/FAX: 843.225.6789
