Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1883-11-15
THE NEW TIME STANDARn.


|
| Well AZ Railroads - No Action
| Taken Here as Yet.
| Do Sunday hext ii q new time sohedule
| Will go into effect on noel of the railway
lines throughout the United States, and
many of the cities and towns also, The
municipal authorities OF Portland, Bos-
ton, New York and Washington having
already agreed TO adopt the new standard,
and the city council OF Baltimore having
the matter under consideration. Briefly
restated, the basis of the new standard
is the division of the whole country into
four belta running north and south, each
OF these belts being 15o of longitude,
which is the equivalent of
one hour OF time, in width
from east to west. Thus there will be
| just one hours difference in the time of
any two adjoining belts. The eastern
belt, which takes in all the railroads 10
this section begins with the 9th meridian
of longitude at Eastport, Me, and
| extends westward into Ohio, to the
boundary line between the eastern AM
central standards The central belt be.
| gins in Ohio and reaches to Nebraska /;
the mountain belt begins in
| Nebraska and extends to Salt LAX
City the western belt includes all
between Salt Lake City and the Pscif
| coast. The time of the first bslt will be
regulated by the 18th meridian that o.
the second by the 90th meridian the
third by the l05th meridian, and the
| Pacific belt by the 10th meridian Thus,
when it is IL O'Clock at Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore or WASH
| ingtop, it will be IL o'clock al Chicago or
| st. Louis, 10 o'clock at Denver aud 8
| O'Clock at San Francisco.
The 18th meridian crosses the
Delaware river near Taeony aud passes
| some 10 les eastward of the Phils.
| delphia city hall, consequently the hands
| of the CITY clock there will have to b.
| moved up minute to keep the new time
| The exact difference in time between the
| city hall in Philadelphia aud the city hall
in Wilmington is stated by d P Smyth
| jeweler, at l minute and SO 8 10
| seconds; SO that the adoption of the
new standard in Wilmington would only
make difference of about q minutes
| from our local tims, while to
the many Wilmiugtoniaps who run their
watches by Philadelphia time, the chHngt
would be, OF COURSE, only | minute.
A great many people hays somehow
| imbibed the impression that the prospec-
| tive change includes the adoption also Of
| a "a hour standsrd-that Is, of doiDs
| away with a. M, and p. m, aud making
| our clocks and watches record the hours
| oonseoutvely from l O'Clock to "a
o'clock. Nothing OF the kind whatever
is contemplated aud no mention OF the "a
hour standard appears among the regula-
tions adopted by the convention of rail
| roads. Only one road is known of AZ
having done this thing, the Cleveland,
| Mount Vernon & Delaware rail road, which
has bsen running on 24-hOur tims since
July 10th
| On the P. W. & B. railroad the new
| standard will go into effect on sunday,
and trains will be run one minute ahead
| Vt the present time.
| No action has been proposed in the
matter by the authorities of this city as
| yet. Mayor Wales said last evening
when the subject was suggested to him,
| that he had rot thought much about it
| and that he did not know whit thJr he
| possessed the authority to set the city
hall clock up to 18th meridian
| time. President Conrad of the City
Council, said he had heard no talk about
the matter, but expressed consider bic
interest in learning what other cities are
doing. AS said above, the change, II
made here, will BIS SO unimportaut as to
attract very little attention. At Boston,
however, the change amouutb to some IL
minutes the clocks having to be set back
that much; while at Pittsburg, on thu
contrary, the timepieces would require TO
be- sat ahead about 20 min ltes.
| William +. Rudolph, keeper of the city
hall clock, says that he sets the clock by
Philadelphia time aud that, when the
change is made by the Pennsylvania rail.
road, he will, in all probability, set the
clock one minute faster to correspond
Herewith.
A Washington dispatch to Tuesday
papers says: The attorney general, in
reply to the circular letter Of the Score
tary of the Navy to the heads OF all the
departments OF the Government iii rega d
to the adoption OF the 18TH meridian Al
the standard of time, has given al
opinion that the proposed change is ope,
to grave objections and cannot b.
properly effected, except by CONFESSIONS
action. He holds tnat If the chang
should be- made by al executive ordel
only. it might b. considered by iuaUy
merely an optional change, and @uulH
therefore, be opep to many possible itfi
culti-s. The attorney general makes th'
the point that Congress has provid ID fo
the hours OF labor 10 the executive d
partmepts on the basia of time reCkoueJ
from tie meridian of Washington, aid "a
make any change or alteration in thest
hours, such as would be ttquirst uudr
the proposed new time STANDARD, won,
l,.,, - M. 1fa d
Congress. 1t Ia not Xix ly tnat fusl sctio'
will be bad on the question before the r.
turn OF Secretary Chat der. 49,.