New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-26
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL.
THE DAY COLUMBUS LANDED.
CONFLICT BETWEEN OLD STYLE AND NE"

oNFLICr BETWEEN OLD STYLE AND NE"
STYLE CHRONOLOGY.
% ne Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: In The Tribune OF the 14th list. you speak OF
ctober IL, 1892, as tho 4O0th anniversary OF ue
scOvcry Of the New World and lker 10 be the must
portant day In connection with the Columbus faii'
evening paper, on the 10th inst calls a'en''on
nreat head lines TO Coumbus's DAY. and refers u
'n'Jiscovery Of America as occurring "3o' Se"'
aso,-day.7 But October IL Is not tie true anhNet-
saiSs will appear II we take into account inc uii-
lercn' between the old style Of distributing tune uu-
yer 'hrulian calendar and the new ssle oil fc0hol-
ts W Gegorlan calendar. And VIII not cohSlao'
" un'Nnce! We do so with other events. ino
fH.rln'S 1ded on December IL, 1920, by inc ga
s.Sr' OF given in the new STYLE December 81
washington Is born on February II, 1872 told styel'
pu' We ceieote the 22d as his birthday. frahhihl
was u,fn on ''usry 6. 1906, but modern blogiapneS
give 'te uat' January II. so the ole style ua'e
Oh inc lahuIhg Columbus. October l., should DC
ronuo'uu Hn'o pe ew style, october II.
inc va s'ye,or Julian calendar, arranged oy
Juilus Oassar' IL {, year 40 B. u, was nearly per
iect' Ou' !" IiahF very fourth year leapyear' thus
aouins '"ohS Is to every century, it csuseu the
mean JuHah year Sxceed the solar year IN ienglh
Dy nearly II IA Nes a variation, though slght
sumcehI 70 hdAo Ncrencc of about thresf0urth'
Oh usS III CENTURY MD amounting at lGg'h IN
1884, 10 leu iuil uS''' In that year, jus ninety
years acr AIioi0a " discovered, Pope Gregory
XII undertook TO reform io,,. IN retfy the
longaccumulated errors h, ,o,a1 tbot ten DAYS be
suppressed. This don't oau,n, October OF
that year October 10. The,o ,,ard AGAINST a rc
currence of Irregularities, he o,,ded that three Of
every four centesimal years, a.-oo 1900 1900, al
leapyears under the Julian caLar should be com
mon years, and that only eve ,o,rtb centesima
year. as 1900, 2OOO-eveTy yeai ,v,eihIe by 400
should be leapyesrs Under ENHANCEMENT the
difference between tho calendar J. and the true
solar year IS so slight ina Il will moi
amount to one day in several usand years
In the sixteenth century, when hcacndar wa
reformed, the difference between the oand the new
was, as we have seen, ten days. fury Garlic
! IL might have been corrected by supssing MIN
days, as before 1900 received the mtuary da!
/ allowed under the Julian scheme, The o. ence wa
! only nine days. The year 1000 pssScu, leal
year under both calendars so the dlneIen ,cmainct
the same ten days through the So w I'M cen
| hut not in the new and then the diacrcnc, stwceI
! the two was eleven days. The year lSoOr lik,
| manner, made IT one day more, 80 no" uo stylt
| Is twelve DAYS behind The Greeks ana inc Sian
| have refused to adopt the Gregorlan calcio an,
still cling TO the old style, and II Is necessary rluc
| twelve days from our time to mako u s5IoNItl
| theirs October 10 with us Is OCTOBER ,th,
| Russians, and when it is October il nero ii iAp
TENDER 30 there. ,, dorte,
| The Roman Catholic nations generally adopleS
| now stvle at once; the Protestant countries hob
| some Time after at various dates. England W Was
Of the last TO adopt II. and II wa, nOI ui w
| that English law makers saw the wisdom OF ,ndl
| The change aud by Act Of Parliament eleven udS
| that year were suppressed, as the Old style was
| eleven days behind. ~ A., Ar
| Now. II We observe october 1o, 1892, as the q,
anniversary of Coumbus's discovery, 1t must soen
| Russia that we arc twelve days ahead OF tilne'
| IL viii then he only september 30 with hnr'
we take the true anniversary, the 2lst, u VIII
seem 10 the Russians that we arr three DAYS an
| for that will be ny their reckoning octODer u;
''"' % W II. THOMPSON
| West Orange, y. j., Oct 81. 1883.