Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-07-07
A Standard Of Time for Los Angeles

The urgent necessity for some reli-
able standard OF time which would be
available to the general public must
be apparent to every resident of this
city. A person in the pursuit of cor
rect time finds as much difficulty in
obtaining it as the famous philosopher
did when he searched the streets of an
ancient city with lantern for an
honest man. The earnest inquirer
after correct time will most assuredly
consult the town clock first, which is
either five minutes fast or five minutes
slow, and more likely to be stopped.
In his despair he will fly to the jew
elers, but the ostentatious standards
of time in all the leading establish
ments will be found to vary from one
to five minutes from each other. And
now the question arises how can this
chaotic state of affairs in our standards
of time be remedied. Is there no such
thing as true time for the meridian of
Los Ange les, or is it will-o'-the-
wisp, or a phantom which is ever de-
ceiving and has no reality; or is it one
of those questions in which mems
minds differ as much about as is
shown by the majority of clocks,
watches and chronometers No such
thing. The true time is simple
question founded upon the well-es-
tablished natural phenomenon that
the earth revolves on it's axis in a
given period of time, which may be
easily determined by any person pos
sessed of the necessary instruments
and the necessary experience. Correct
time may be easily determined, but
it is not so easily kept after it has
been determined for the very best of
clocks and chronometers vary far more
than they are popularity supposed to
do, hence the necessity for frequent
connection by transit observation.
Here it may be well to clear away
a little of the misunderstanding
which exists among the general pub
lie, regarding the running of time
keepers generally. Some manufac-
turers and dealers in watches are in
the habit of publishing testimonials
in their advertisements, from persons
holding responsible positions in So
ciety, which testifies that watch num-
Der so-and-so did not vary two Sec
onds in six, twelve or fourteen months.
We have not the slightest doubt but
that the signers of these testimonials
considered they were bearing witness
to the exact truth, and that the
watches had been compared by some
standard which only showed two
seconds of variation in the periods of
time specified; but those skilled in
the science of horology know full we'll
that it is beyond the limits of that
science to produce any such results,
as nothing made by the hand of man
is perfect. Every watch, clock, or
chronometer, contains imperfections
in a greater or less degree. Nopendu-
lum has yet been constructed which
has absolutely compensated for
changes of temperature, and changes
in the density of the atmosphere; and
no compensation balance has yet
been invented which will cause the
watch or chronometer to run at the
same rate in moderate extremes of
heat and cold, and although the other
parts of the mechanism were con-
structed on the very best principles
known to the science, and executed in
the most skillful manner known to
the art, only an approximation to per-
fection is all that we can expect, and
it is all in reality that we obtain
Astronomical clocks. which are the
most reliable of all time measuring
instruments, when compared at short
intervals by transit observation do not
show an average rate from year to
year, nearer than one second a week,
and many have even greater varia-
tion. A watch may lose in one day,
rnn nearly correct the next, and on
another day it may gain a second or
more, and SO keep changing back
wards and forwards, and at the end of
given time it may agree with some
supposed standard, which may also
be incorrect. Hence arises all the
misapprehensions in the public mind
concerning the miraculous running of
some watches, and the irregularity
which is often unjustly credited to
others. The question of establishing
a reliable standard of time, which will
be accessible and convenient to all the
Inhabitants of this city, has now to be
considered, and in our opinion this
important subject cannot be better af
fected than through the agency of a
good, reliable, town clock, placed
under the care of competent person,
with transit instrument to correct
the same. The expense of erecting
and maintaining this would be insig-
nificant COMPARED with the ad-
vantages that would follow. The rail-
road companies and also the travelling
public would alike he benefited, and
watch-makers would have equal cause
to rejoice with those who wear
watches and use clocks. We hope