Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-07-04
Letter from Abbot Kinney IN Defense
of the New Meridian Time
HOTEL DEL monte,
MoyTERKY, GALA,

MoyTEReY, GALA,
July LIST, 1884.
EDIToR Los ANGELIC HERALD:-Sir.
The change OF few minutes in the
official time Of Los Angeles from what il
was TO that Of the l20lh meridian, re-
commended by the Board OF Trade and
adopted by the City Council. seems not
10 be fully understood by some OF your
correspondents. As first brought this
matter TO the attention Of the Board Of
Trade. it seems right that ! should say a
few words in justification OF the change.
The measuremont of time is q device
of man, altogether arbitrary in charac-
ter, and was instituted only for his own
convenience. The system Of measure
ment which secures his convenience in
the most complete manner is therefore
clearly the best. Is the old dual sys-
tenn of time in Los Angeles, with two
moons, or the new simple one noon syss
tenn the most convenient That is the
question which must decide as to their
relative merits. Can any one believe
that two ways of measuring time in our
city or State is better than oneg sup
pose that the Court Iouse is the merid.
ian point on which the old noon has
been based for Los Angeles. There was
a true noon every day at that particular
point, but, mark well, there was no noon
truer noon in Los Angeles for any
point of that imaginary line than there
is by the adoption of the l20th meridian
a, the standard. Every step away from
the old city line was departure from
the real actual point OF noon. Practi
cally true noon exists nowhere. The
noon by which the world works Is aud
m ust always remain a conventional one.
The telegraph now happily permits one
noon to cover considerable areas. By
the logic Of the objectors to this improve
ment every ward, every block, even
every house in the city and county ought
to establish its own private and partic-
ular noon. These persons should read
the stormy adventures of the traveller
in FL Paso, where formerly there were
many standards of time varying several
hours from each other.
BY the new system Los Angeles has
one standard noon in accord with the
one standard noon OF California and in
harmony with the new time measure
ment OF North America. There is now
but one time measurement IN Los An
geles. One meets an engagement, gots
to church, leaves town for Santa Monica,
San Francisco or Washington; takes the
steamer or teegraphs h s return home, all
according to one standard of time, about
which there can be no mistake and no
Misunderstanding The new system for
the continent of North America was de-
vised and thought out by distinguished
body of practical and scientific men. Its
adoption so far has been altogether benz
efcial. The legal question has already
been decided in the East. The new
time when adopted is the legal time.
The great commercial metropolis of the
country, which regulates the time not
only for itself but for its tributary cities
in.Long Island and New Jersey, contain
ing in all over two million human be-
ings, has changed its time to the new
system. Boston has. Philadelphia has,
Washington has, so have Chicago and ali
the principal cities of the Union, and so,
thank God, has Los Angeles. The HER
AID has always recognized the import
ance of the "City of Fortune" The
city whose emblem should he the golden
apple of Fortunatus. 1t is right. Our
city is no provincial village, asleep while
the world moves on. No pent up Utica
confines our life. Los Angeles is the me-
tropolis of the South Pacific Coast. She
is great commercial and educational
center. The center of great railroad
system and an important distributing
point with good sea port. Los Angeles
is city with good future. Such a
place cannot be stuck on the mud banks
of prejudice. She must and will take
the great tide of improvement and pro-
press at its food, go on to fortune and
fulfill her destiny.
Yours very truly,
ABBoT KINNEY.