The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1877-07-05
Uncle Sans Clock.

Uncle Sans Clock.
At the Navy Observatory, in Wash
ington, stands the clock that regulates
time for the whole country. It is moi
beautiful, like many lovely French clocks
that noisily tick upon the parlor mantel
in fact, it is large and tall, with plain
face, and body OF dark wood, and without
ornament ation. It is much like the
Old-fashioned clock that stood in our
grandmothers' kitchens. It nowhere
touches either the floor or wallis of the
building, but is securely fastened to a
stone pier, which rests upon a solid
stone foundation, 50 that it may not be
affected by any motion of the building
OF ground. Rains may descend, floods
come, wind blow and beat upon the
house, but the clock feels it not, for it is
built upon rock.
1t is splendid time-keeper. At the
present time it gains at the rate of .48
Of a second per day.
IN order that the people all over the
country may have uniform time, so i'm
)ortant for railroads, steamboats,, and
)ther public conveyances, at three min
ties before twelve each day this clock is
Connected, by means of galvanic bat
cry, with the wires of the Western
Jnion telegraph, which extend into the
Dom containing the clock. All other
essages, however important, must give
ay for these three minutes, and in
7ery town and station from Maine to
alifornia, where there is telegraph OPP
ator, as the pendulum of the clock ticks,
lCh second click is recorded by tele-
,aph, and at the very instant of twelve
To clicks are given.
AT the same instant huge black ball,
hich is drawn up few moments be-
re, descends upon the dome of the OBJ
9ryatory, and hundreds all over the city
and, with watch in hand, to see it drop
keep, as we say, "ball time" Thus,
hen this drops, click in every large
own in the land tells the hour of twelve.
This clock is also connected with the
re-alarm in Boston, and the time is
INT to the central Office. and then sound
4 by the three church bells that give
ne tire-alarm.
So while the clerks in Washington are
atching the ball, the restless school
oy of Minnesota is waiting to hear the
ig clock upon the town house sound it's
berry meal, the signal of dismissal, and
ne tired factory girl of Lowell listens
agerly for the same sound.
But you must remember that only
'laces on the same meridian with Wash
0gton have, after all, exactly the same
lme. The sun, in passing round the
arth, which is divided into $50 degrees
4 longitude, every twenty-four hours,
aust pass through one degree, which is
bout sixty-nine miles, every four min
ties. So, if the sun rises in Boston at
o'clock, it will not rise in New York,
200 miles west, till twelve minutes after
t has reached Boston. Neither will it
De II o'clock till twelve minutes later
han in Boston.
Take the Pacific railroad and travel
west, with your watch correct in Boston,
when you reach Omaha you will be an
hour and a-half ahead of their time, and
when you arrive at San Francisco your
watch will be three hours and half fast,
because old Sol is still on his way. When
IN Boston you are going to church at II
o'clock, the boys IN San Francisco are
just taking breakfast at haf-past 7.
So while tell you that all towns re-
ceive the click at II at the same time,
you must remember that in places stu
ated in longitude east or west from
Washington the number of minutes it
takes the sun to pass those degrees must
be added to or subtracted from twelve,
to give them correct time.
Another thing in the room where the
clock is would interest the boys who are
delighted with everything that pertains
20 ship, This room may be termed a
Government depot, for here are some
200 ship chronometers. These are
simply large-sized watches, and are fur
nished to every Government sea-going
vessel. Here they are kept several
months to be regulated, and their &C
curacy tested, by this clock. The officer
in charge examines them daily at GER
tain hour, and he carefully rates the
time kept by each.
When Government vessel is ordered
to sea, this officer takes them with all
possible care to the vessel, protecting
them as far as possible from sudden jars
or violent jolting.
When on his cruise, the Captain also
rates daily the time kept by the chro
nometer. He marks the time between
the moon and some star by his quadrant
which he verifes by his nautical almanac
One was seen at the observatory tina
had been absent about three years will
an eastern squadron, and had varies
during the whole time but a few seconds
- Wide AaO0ke.
How to Be a Gentleman
Wo won't n fnxv 111ivota xvor1c rr;+I, IL,