Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-11-30
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1883.


The new standard time went into general
effect throughout New England and the
northern states, Nov. 18TH As there may
be persons who as yet, fail to understand
the purport of or advantage to be gained by
this change, the following explanation may
not come amss
The earth, circling on its own axie, in one
day (Which we arbitrarily divide into -
hours) brings in succession its 800 degrees of
circumference to the light of the sun. That
is one, twenty fourth Of the 800 degrees, or
10 degrees, would pass in one hour by GER
tain fixed point in the heavens. Therefore
as you travel westward there would naturally
be a difference of time of one hour for every
Is degrees-901 miles-that you traverse
The intermediate localities, one, two, five
degrees from the starting point, would have
a prOportonate difference in time. This was
under the old system. Now the standard
time system merely wipes out all the differ.
ences which existed between the intermediate
localities and places them on the same foot
ing, as regards clock time, with the cities on
the chosen meridians fifteen degrees apart
The five meridians chosen to set the standard
time for North America are the Goth, 75th
Goth, l05th, l20th. Each one of these me-
ridiRns forms the central line of an area eX-
tending seven and one half degrees on either
side, in which the clock time is the same for
all places thus included. The areas thus, in
Imagination, separated from each other are
called respectively, going from east to west,
the Intercolonial, which includes all the Brit
ish colonies east of Maine the Eastern,
which includes the New England states, the
middle states and the eastern southern states
the Central, which includes the central and
western southern states; the Mountain,
which includes, roughly speaking all states
between the Mississippi and the western bor-
der of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific,
which includes the western states Now az
each one Of these areas covers Is degrees, it
will be seen that the natural difference In
time for the centre Of those areas would be
one hour, so that all places on those central
merdians will preserve their true time. The
other cities and towns in each area will have
as their new time the same time as exists on
the central meridian, which will differ from
their old or true time according to their dis
tance east or west of that meridian. In trav-
cling across the continent, therefore, the
minute hand Of the travellers watch will al
ways be correct and the hour hand will be
one hour, two hours, three hours or four
hours out Of the way, according to the num-
Der of time areas crossed Now instead of
there being fifty-two varying times in the
United States, there are only four, and these
can be easily calculated, as they vary by
difference of exact hours.
One misapprehenson exists in regard to
these time areas. 1t has been generally stat
ed that the areas are divided by absolutely
straight longitudinal lines. This is theoret-
ically true, but the actual arrangement is
much more practicable. As near as possible
the division lines are made TO coincide with
the border lines of the states, SO that all the
towns in any one state will have the same
time. For instance, the line that separates
the Eastern division from tho Central in
stead of cutting through various states, fol
lows close to the border of Pennsylvania, a
small portion of Pennsylvania being includ-
ed in the Central division south along the
western border of West Virginia, Virginia
North Carolina and South Carolina. This
gives uniform time to all the cities and
towns in the Provinces of Ottawa and Que
bee, the New England states, middle states
excepting the small western portion of Penn
sylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia,
North Carolina and South Carolina. All these
places have the time of the 10th meridian,
which passes nearly through Utica, N. Y,
and Philadelphia.