The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-02-03

and geodists to from all the leading
European countries, besides delegates
from the United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey. Of the 80 delegates
present II were Directors of national
observatories. Mr. Hirsch's prelimi-
nary report was a mastery docu-
ment, and after a long discussion
nearly all his proposals were adopted.
The Geodetic Association by a ma
jerity Of six to one expressed its
opinion in favor of the adoption of
the meridian of Greenwich, recon-
mended that an International Con-
vention "consecrating the unification
of longitude and of time," should be
concluded as soon as possible by a
special conference, such as the Ameri-
can Government had proposed.
The American Government, after
having ascertained the views of the
other civilized governments, invited
them to be represented by delegates
in an International Conference to be
held at Washington on the 1st day of
October, 1884, for the purpose above
set forth.
About the same time, viz: on the
18th of November, 1888, the principal
railway lines of the United States
and Canada adopted new system of
| standard time, which was a long
| step in advance, and had an impor-
tant bearing on the subjects which
were afterwards brought before the
Conference. A brief explanation of
it will therefore be in place.
There were formerly 50 standards
of railway time in the United Sta ties.
Now there are but four. The old
standards differed from each other
where they intersected, by all sorts
of variations, errors and odd minutes.
Now the differences between the
standards are exact whole hours, and
the minutes and seconds are the same
in all four divisions. But the stand
ard time never differs from the local
mean time by more than half an
hour. The changes from one stand
ard to another are generally made al
The termini of roads where changes
naturally occur. The United States
covers too many degrees of longitude
to permit the use of one meridian as
an hour standard for all points be
tween the two oceans, as is done il
Great Britain and in Sweden.
The new system, as was stated
| above, divides the United States into
four sections. AT all places in Tho
same section the time is the same
The Eastern time is governed by tn,
time of the 18th meridian west from
Greenwich.
At P. NJ. by Greenwich time every
time ball and town clock as far Yves
as Pittsburg indicates noon.
} The cities of Boston, New York
Philadelphia and Washington al
adopted the new system Nov. Is, 1888
The second section extends from
Pittsburg to North Platte, and is gov
; erned by the time of the Goth meri
| dian, called Central time. The thir
section extends to Ogden in Utah
| and the fourth from hence to the Pa
cific Ocean.
It has truly been said that the 18tl
of November witnessed a noiseles
? revolution. On that day millions c
people were moving the hands c
their watches and clocks to brin
them into accord with the new tim
2 standards. To-day when the clOc
3 strikes at Greenwich, nearly ever
r clock in North America strikes i
} unison, although the hours are di
l ferent. 1t was hoped that this was t
: be the precursor of larger reform
e which would embrace the Who'll
+ world, and to secure this resu
8 was one object of the late Conference
l The credit of. first proposing this sy;
j tenn is due to Prot Dowd, Principi
of a Ladies' Seminary at Saratoga, \
Y, who published a pamphlet on til
: subject in 1870. His idea, howeYe
was that two kinds of time should /
used-local time and standard tim
Al but the new has practically G6oLishe
local time. He deserves the credi
a however, of having first perceive
i and explained the advantages of d
n viding the country into hour section
q conforming to the longitude frol
Greenwich. Afterwards the subje'
? was taken up by Pres. Barnard, (
t Columbia College, by Sandford Elem
n ing, Chancellor of the Queens I'm
versity at Ottawa, and by Prof. Clev,
= land Able, of the u. S. Signal Sc
d vice, in a series of mastery paper
n but the actual adoption of the syste1
: was hardly hoped for during the pre-
!, ent century.
l. The credit of having mastered tt
e difficulties of the problem, of havin
a worked out a practicable plan, and
If having finally gained the adhesion
C the railway companies to it, is due
e Mr.. w. F. Allen, editor of the Offici
: Railway Guide, and Secretary oStf
General Railway Time Convention
r 1t was appropriate that these fol-
d last mentioned gentlemen shoul
II have been appointed members of tt