The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-04-16

l1O, iHS i"iiSS olooAh "So''.
For the Easter joy-bells' clangor
Wakes the Lilies into bloor-
bringing with them sun and spring time,
Risen from the winters tomb!
--.-~s >--.---
The Twentieth Gentry
WHEN WILL 1T BEGIN?-A Diff
CULT QUESTION TO DECIDE.
Will January l, A. D. 1900, he the
beginning of the twentieth century, or
will January ], 1901? This question
has recently been broacbed in Boston !;
and the prospect is that the battle Will
rage until the. contestants deslst
through sheer WEAKNESS. Harvard ls
already divided into two parties, and
is getting quite warm in the discus
sion. The students, have for week
or more, been arguing the pros and
cons, with many appeals to weighty
authorities and much clashing of theo-
ries. The question has now been for
malIy submitted to one Of the most
learned historians in America "Wlll
1900 or 1901, be the first year OF the
twentieth century? His decision Is
still pending. Bets as to what his v"r-
dict will be are freely offered and tai
ken. :,
The same controversy accompanied
the debut of the present century. 1t
was taken up in speeches, i'll newspa-
per articles, in pamphlets. and even in
books. But no definite conclusion
was reached. Each side triumphantiy
cluns to its own opinion and viewed
the obstinacy Of the other side with
wondering scorn. \ cunny Scotch
man. one Andrew Mackay, Published
i'm the year 1900 Il little book entitled
"Thc Commencement of the Nine
tecnth Century Determined Upon Tn
erring Principles" in which he under
took 10 settle the whole question with
ponderous cOnclusivenesS. But he on
| iy succeeded in getting himself involv-
ed in glorious muddle of astronomy,
science, logic, chronology and sarcasm.
He asserts that the nineteenth century
begins with the beginning OF the year
1900; and he will not admit that the
-othcr side has Il leg to stand on.
Astronomers, he tells Us, reckon the
wear of Christ's birth rs the year U {;
and it follows, as matter Of course,
that the eighteenth century ended
with the beginning of the year loW
Chronologers reckon the year of
Christ's birth as included in the era b.
G., which amounts 10 the same thing
as zero, so far Us the present era is con-
cerned. There is a still further COM
plication and confusion of ideas due to
the fact that there is q difference of
more than three years between the
old and new chronology. Mr.. Mack
ay argues warmly: "Those who
maintain that the nineteenth century
does not begin till January, 1901, con-
slider the year ! to mean the whole
of the first year from 0 to l.. Those,
on the contrary, who consider it rs
commencing January /, 1900, conceive
$500 to mean not the lSCOth year, Dut
that atom of time, if ] may he allowed
the expression, that marks the com
pleting of the lS00th year from Christ
as ! O'clock does the completion OF the
first hour. This may possibly be illus
trated by al anecdote of an indlct-
ment set aside because it stated that
the crime was committed between the
hours of t and 5, which was imposs-
ble. Itshould have been between /
and 5 o'clock. The hours OH Il clock,
the milestones on the road, q carpen-
ter's rule, the manner of reckoning
the degrees of latitude and longitude,
all confirm this hypothesis, as mark
ing not the whole space Of their re-
spectivc measures, but the end OF
them. When a man says he is 30 he
does not mean at he is in his 3Oth
year, but that thirty years have elaps-
ed since his birth. This is proved, al
so, from milestoncs. Would it not he
ridiculous to say, when / arrive ut the
milestone marked 100 that must pro-
ceed to another stone and walk 1Ol
miles before l complete 100 miles ?''
Tt would be impossible here to set
forth the learned arguments that have
been employed in support of the doc
trine that the century began with the
first day of $500. Mr.. Mackay states
some Of the more obvious ones ON
the other side, it is scornfully retorted
that no sane man ever thought Of
himself as living in the year zero
that the first year Of child's life Is
his Year ono, and that if he lived long
enough lie would round out his first
century at the end Of his Tooth year,
and start in on his second century
with the beginning Of his year lUl.
1t is urged moreover, that if the CEN
tury closes with the 50th year, each de-
cade of the century must close with
it's ninth year: 50 that each decade
would begin with 0 and end with 8, II
style of reckoning better suited to
"Alice in the Looking-Glass" than to
the daily affairs of sensible people.
The argument of Mr.. Mackay as to
the carpenters rule and the mile
stones, to he of any weight would
have TO show that it is customary for
carpenters to call the first inch on a
rule the zero inch, and for travellers to
speak of the first mile Of journey as
the zero mile.
The question is to be RECOMMENDED to
those who like to enter upon Il veXed
controversy, with Il chance OH both
sides for spicy rejoinders and a certain
glow of personal earnestness.
.D'0SioH Gl06e.
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