The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-07-15
The Correct Columbus Day.

The recent action Of Congress
changing the date for the national
public school celebration from Oc.o.
Der 2Ist is a step in the direction OF
scholarly accuracy. and it is remark.
able that it should have been so long
overlooked.
If there is to be a national obser-
vance Of the 4ooth anniversary Of the
discovery of America it should take
place on the date which marks the
true century-point. it is obviously
stupid to await the recurrence of a
date which by reason of arbitrary
changes in the methods OF reckoning
time has lost its significance and
does not indicate the true cycle of
years.
Every American knows that Colum-
bus discovered this hemisphere on Octo-
Der ~, 1892, and at first thought
October IL, 1892, would seem to
mark the 4ooth anniversary of that
event. But it will be remembered
hat time was then calculated upon a
different basis than is now in vogue.
For many centuries the Julian caller =
dar was the accepted authority for all
calculations, although its inaccuracy
was not unknown. In 1882 a refor-
nation took place. Gregorian calen-
dar was then introduced in Europe,
and this calendar is now used by all
civilized nations, with the exception Of
Rus sia, which still adheres to the
Julian method of computing time.
When this reformation occurred it was
found necessary to drop ten days from
the calendar and October 4, 1882,
became October IS, 1881. These
opped days were the accumulations
of many centuries of erroneous reckon
ing. The Julian calendar assumed
that year contained sos IA days,
and as this was II minutes and ii
seconds too long, the error amounted to
8 days every 400 years. The Gre
gorian calendar corrected this defect
by making every centurial year com.
mon year unless divisible by 400,
whereas by the Julian calendar every
year (centurial year included) divisible
by 4 was leap year. Thus by the
new style Of computation the years
1900, 1900, and 1900 were not leap
years.
AS previously stated the reforma-
tion took place in 1882, and ten days
were suppressed. But as the discovery
Of America was previous to the year
1900, which by the Gregorian calen-
dar was common, there are but 9 days
to omit. Consequently on October
II, 1892, the sun will occupy the
same relative position to the earth as
on the 18th of October, 1892, when
for the first time Columbus beheld
these shores
For these reasons, together with the
fact that every precedent is in favor Of
adopting the "new style of reckoning,
we favor the change.
The Gregorian calendar was not in
troduced into Great Britain until
1851, ignorance and prejudice defeat
ing the change up to that time. Con
sequently it has been necessary to
correct the dates of our American
anniversaries which commemorate
events previous to 1851. Washington
was born February 18th, but blythe ''new
STYLE his birthday falls on the 2and,
and that is the day we celebrate. The
anniversary OF Forefather's Day and of
the founding Of the city of Boston are
both observed on the corrected date.
1t is unfortunate that the Act Of Con-
gress of April IS, 1890, naming Octo-
Der I2th, 1892, as the date for the de-
dication of the Worlds Fair grounds
has not been amended by a change of
date to October 2Ist. The fair will
practically be year late, and the de-
dicatory exercises should take place on
the true anniversary, which is October
aIst. Congress has already shown its
good sense by placing the popular and
general celebration of which the pub
lie schools are to be the centers on the
correct date. 1t only remains for
Congress to extricate the nation from
the comical predicament of two
headed celebration of Discovery Day
by changing the Chicago date to cor
rected date it has already set for the