The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1883-11-23
Changing the Time.

OhdlSn nub tuo Aiihe'
The new standard of time adopted
by the railroads of the United States
went into effect on Monday. Many of
its advantages are 80 obvious that its
advocates believe it will ere long be
adopted as top standard system of the
world. OF the $4,000 miles of rail.
road in the United States, hitherto
operated on about fifty three different
schedules of time, 100000 miles are
pledged to replace their scales with this
uniform standard time and the remain
ing $4,000 miles are expected ultimate
ly to conform thereto. In addition to
the Endorsement of Councils in most of
the large cities the new plan has the CO.
operation and support of several very
influential institutions. 1t has been
adopted by the Secretary of the Interior
and will hereafter regulate all the ex-
tensive operations of that department
of the government. Although the new
plan Is approved by Commodore Shu-
feldt, of the Naval Observatory at
Washington, some question has arisen
as to the power of the executive to
change the standard of time aud the
Observatory will, for the present. use
the old method. That powerful corpo-
ration, the Western Union Telegraph
Company, has promptly declared for
the new system. Dispatches will be
sent and received and all time balls will
hereafter be dropped according to the
standard time.
The revolution has been brought
about so quietly that many people do
not understand the history and philo-
sophy of the new system. 1t was sug-
gested by Professor Cleveland Able, of
the Washington Signal Bureau, at a
meeting of the American Meteorologi-
cal Society, in 1878. DR.. E. A. p.
Barnard, of Columbia College, espoused
and elaborated the plan, and to these
two scientists belongs the credit of de-
vising an expedient which must mater
tally decrease the annoyance and con-
fusion arising from the innumerable
local time standards found lit country
stretching from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The difficulty is obviated
in very simple manner. AS every
body knows, the earth is divided by
meridians into $50 degrees, and as the
earth rotates once in every twenty-four
hours fifteen of these degrees are cross
ed by the sun every hour. Now, sup
pose the earth's surface to be divided
by longitudinal meridians into twenty.
four sections, each fifteen degrees wide
In the rotation of the earth these
twenty-four sections will thus occupy
successively each of the twenty-four
hours of the day. When it is o'clock
at the Goth meridian west from Green
wich it will be just 5 o'clock at the 18th
and o'clock at the Goth meridian. BY
the standard system we simply agree
that every place within one of the "sec
tions," divisions or belts shall set its
time by the time at that meridian which
passes through the section, midway be,
tween its boundaries. The territory
inclded in North America is seen by a
glance at the map to be limited by the
50th and 130th degrees of west longi-
tude. Begin, then, as did Professor
Able, with the Goth meridian. All
localities, such as Newfoundland, New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, lying
within "A degrees east or west of the
Goth meridian, must conform their time
to the time at that meridian. Coming
fifteen degrees Tor one hour) further
west we fix the 18th meridian as the
standard for the Eastern and Middle
States.
MINUTES AND SECONDS IDENTICAL.
When all the clocks in the Canadian
maritime provinces indicate half past
ten all those in Massachusetts, New
York and Pennsylvania ought to show
exactly half-past nine. Passing fur
ther Westward, other standard meri-
dians are met the 9th (or the meridian
of New Orleans" the l05th (or the
meridian of Denver) and the 120th (or
the meridian of Santa Barbara The
time which is taken from the Goth me-
ridian will be known as Eastern time,
that from the 18th as Atlantic time.
The localities in the Mississippi Valley
will have Valley time, or that regular
by the time at the 90sh meridian. The
l05th will regulate the Mountain time
and the l20th the Pacific time. Thus
all Atlantic time will be just one hour
slower than Eastern time, valley time
an hour slower than Atlantic time,
Mountain time an hour slower than Val.
ley time and Pacific time an hour slow
er than Mountain time. The minute
aud second hands of the clocks and
watches all over the country ought,
therefore to point precisely alike, while
the hour hands alone will vary. After
a traveller from Philadelphia passes
Pittsburg he will simply alter his watch
exactly one hour and his time will then
be correct until he reaches Detroit oil
Cincinnati, when he must set his time
piece again as he journeys Westward
1t is also apparent that the new stand
ard time at a given place cannot pos
sibly vary more than half an hour from
the actual time of the locality, for the
sun traverses each section or belt il
one hour, and the time for that entire
section is taken from meridian pass
ing through its centre, thus giving ;
mean or average time for the whole di
vision.