The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-01-11
A SINGULAR EAur.
A Presidential Year which viii Not Be q
Leap Year.
Nashville Americana

iNc-bf1l-o tcllNaus
One evening, u short time ago, a. a re.
porter of the American found himself With q
party of friends, the conversation turned on
the 1act that this wss leap year. A middle
aged gentleman in the party remarked:
Thank goodness, it g nearly over"
Why" inquired the man OF the pencil.
well, to maxi a long story short, some
educated and altogether lovely young lady,
asked me TO marry her in a jest. ! said
yes as | had long entertained a secret af-
lection for her. She meant every word she
said, and insisted that we should be married
at Christmas. consented and We were
married. A better wife man never had.
But, alas for my future prospects, she lived
but n short year and now sleeps in Moun
Olivet. Here is where my aversion to leap
year comes in. am afraid that some de-
signing woman will propose to me In some
leap year, and that / will be compelled to
accept. and, instead Of getting a helpmate
for life, [ will get a vixen who will make
my life q hell upon EARTH"
Then" said the scribe. ''you have to
dread leap year for two reasons. The first
you have stated. The second is on account
OF the depression TO business caused by les
year always being a Presidential year
There you are mistaken. Every Presi-
dental year is not q leap year. Ii live till
the year 1900, as | have good prospects of do
- n - o9C - ItoA III 20
not a leap year, and still a ear Invisible by
fouT.n
This ret the reporter to studying. He
could not make out how il was. His in.
formapt left him in the dark, and ne finally
consulted the authorities. with the follow.
Ing result, taken from Smiths illustrated
Astronomy"
at has been found by observation that
the earth revoIves on its axis 365h times
nearly while ii is making one complete rev.
OlutiOn around the sun, or while the sun
moves from either equinox to the same
equinox again. Consequently the solar
year upon which the seasons depend con.
laiDs nearly 365H days. 1t will be seen
from this that the difference between a rear
OF 900 days and the year as measured by the
sun amounts to one Gay in every four years;
so that In 40 years of $50 days the seasons
would fall back one whole month, and the
season Tor May would be in June, etc. In
40 years the longest day woold fall osck
through the twelve months, and would a-sin
correspond to their present arrangement In
order to keep the seasons 10 the same months,
and TO make the solar and civil year CORE.
spond, one day more rs included in February
every fourth year. This would always keep
the solar AID civil years together il the earth
revolyed upon its axis exactly 365L times
while IL IS revolving around the sun or dur.
ing the solar year; but the earth revoives
from equinox 10 the same again in 365 days
. hours, 4S minutes and 40 seconds, which
Is IL minutes IL seconds less than 1861,
daysi consequently in allowing one day III
every four years is allowing Al min.
utes, "A seconds too much, and in l32 year:
III would mount to q hours, So minutes, {
seconds. The mode of reckoning time by
making every fourth year q leap year wa.
apopted by the Council OF Nice In the yea
OF our Lord 32j. when the longest dsy in thf
year happened une y, and the vernai equi
nox March q. This mode OF reckoning was
continued until l752, q period of li27 wears
when II was found that the longest day wa,
on June 10, and the vernal equinox or
March 10, the verDal equinox having faller
Dack eleven deys toward the beginning o
the year. To restore the e~quinoxes to th.
same DAY OF the month In which they hap
pened IN the year 325, eleven days were ord
ereo py the British Government and In,
United States, then the British Colonies. u
be stricken out OF the month of September
lI5z, by calling the I'd the 18th, and il wa
ORDERED that hereafter one leap year in IL.
years, or three leap years in 100 years. SHOULD
be omitted that is that the years ZOO. lsON
100, which, by the old style, Womb
nave been leap years, should be common
years OF 800 days. This method gives ninet
seven leap years In every 100 years. Thus
4VO multiplied by 365, plus ninety seyer
days for the leap years. gives I46. Og7 davs
This divided by 400 years makes it $50 DAYS
. hours and 40 minutes, making a distanc,
rom The true solar year of only % seconds
year, an error which amounts 10 ONLY or,
day in 1886 years. The even centuries ar
leap years only when cutting off the ever
cyphers you can divide the other two figure
by four without q remainder. Thus 1900 Il
not divisaole by four without q remainder
consequently 1t il not leap year."