The Portland daily press., 1892-07-14
The correct Columbus Day.

The recent action of Congress chang
ing the date for the national public
school celebration from October 18th to
October Dist is step in the direction of
scholarly accuracy, and it is remarkable
that it should have been so long over
looked.
If there is to be national observance
of the 400th anniversary of the discovery
of America it should take place on the
date which marks the true century-p point
It is obviously stupid to await the recur-
renee of date which by reason of arbi-
trary change in the methods of reckon
ing time has lost its significance and
does not indicate the true cycle of years.
Every American knows that Columbus
discovered this hemisphere on October
12, 1902, and at first thought October II,
1892, would seem to mark the 400th an
niversary of that event. But it will be
remembered that time was calculated
upon a different basis than is now in
vogue.
For many centuries the Julian calendar
was the accepted authority for all calcu-
lations, although its inaccuracy was not
unknown. In 1882 reformation took
place. The Gregorian calendar was then
introduced in Europe, and this calendar
is now used by all civilized nations, with
the exception of Russia, which still adj
heres to the Julian method OF computing
time. When the reformation occurred it
was found necessary to drop ten days
from the calendar; and October 4, 1882,
became October Is, 1852. These dropped
days were the accumulations of many
centuries of erroneous reckoning. The
Julian calendar assumed that year con-
tanned 3654 days, and as this was IL
minutes and ID seconds too long, the
error amounted to days every 400 years
The Gregorian calendar corrected this
defect BY making every centurial year a
common year unless Invisible by 400,
whereas by the Julian calendar every
year (centurial year included) Invisible
by A was leap year. Thus by the new
style of computation the years 1900, 100,
and 1900 were not leap years.
AS previously stated, the reformation
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 calendar was
common, there are but nine days to omit.
Consequently on October 81, 1892, the
sun will occupy the same relative posi-
ton to the earth as on the 18th of Octo-
Der, 1902, when for the first time Column
bus 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 1751,
ignorance and prejudice defeating the
change up to that time. Consequently it
has been necessary to correct the dates
of our American anniversaries which
commemorate events previous to 1851.
Washington was born February 18th,
but by the ''new style'' his birthday falls
on the 22nd, and that is the day we cele
brate. The anniversary of Forefather's
Day and of the founding OF the city of
Boston are both observed ON the cor
rected date 1t is unfortunate that the
Act of Congress of April 25, 1890, naming
October 18th, 1892, as the date for the
dedication of the Worlds Fair grounds
has not been amended by change of
date of October 21st The fair will pratt
ically be year late, and the dedicatory
exercises should take place on the true
anniversary, which is October 2l,: Con-
gress has already shown its good sense
by placing the popular and general cele
bration of which the public 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
correspond with the corrected date>it
has already set for the popular public
school celebrations.