Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-20

Why October FL and Not October i2 Wa
Chosen as Columbus Day,

Why October FL and Not October 1s Wa
Chosen rs Columbus Day.
Ii was at the instance of the executive COM
mittee Of the national public school celebrs-
ton that October 81 and not October II was
made legal holiday this year as Columbus day
That committee has published . statement In
regard to the date in which it says:
Above all other dates nearly every pupil in
our public schools remembers that Columbus
discovered America October ~, 1892. They
will all want to know why the four hundredth
anniversary falls on October 81, 1892.
For many centuries the calendar instituted
by Julius Cesar. known as the Julian calendar,
was commonly accepted. This calendar as
sumsd that there we're 365A DAYS In q year.
But as this made the year eleven minutes and
fourteen seconds too long, 1t could not, with
out correction, very long answer the purpose
for which it was devised. Consequently, in
1882 IL was found necessary TO reform the cal
endar and the Gregorian calendar was adopted.
In order to correct the errors that the
old calendar had made ten days were
dropped out and October Of 1882
became October IS. As the error was
found TO be exactly three days in 400 years the
Gregorian calendar omitted the leap year from
Invisible by 400 Thus the years 1900, 100 and
1900 were not leap years.
As above stated this reformation took place
in 1882 and ten days were omitted from the
calendar. But Is Columbus discovered America
previous to the year 1900, which. reckoned by
year, there would be but nine days to omit.
On October Il, 1892, the sun win occupy the
same relative position to the earth as on the
memorable October IL, 1892
The Gregorian calendar was not introduced
into Great Britain until 1851. popular ignorance
atrt1, xx hoA
posing it. 1t 10 remarkable that Russia still
sdheres TO the Julian reckoning.
We have already announced the change az
in the interest of scholarly accuracy. The
public school stands for enlightenment and
progress and il would not be in keeping with
this spirit to compute the four centuries that
Will intervene between the date Of the discov-
cry ana the date we are to celebrate by an
erroneous calendar which had its day and was
discarded more than 800 years ago.
Al the precedents for celebrating American
anniversartes are in favor Of correcting the old
calendar to the new. For instance, Pore
fs,bers' day" in New England is celebrated
becember ~. although according to the Julian
calendar the pilgrims reached Plymouth Deem
her IL. Washington was born OF the 18th day
OF February, "od style. but we celebrate the
anniversary OF h. birth on the 22d day Of
February. "uew STYLE"
The original proposal for the public school
celebration set apart October II, but the
friends Of free education who pushing the
enterprise believed bad precedent would
be established, it named false
date for the observance of an historical
event. This is the first effort that has
ever been made ittingly to observe BY national
commemorative exercises the achievement Of
Columbus. and the right day should be cele-
brated. For this reason We are glad that Octo-
Der II is to be the day. We want the children of
the land to observe an anniversary, with all that
that name implies. and not necessarily the
recurrence of q fXed date, which, owing to
arbitrary changes in the methods Of computing
time. has lost Its significance, and in our day
does not accurately mark off the true century
point. Hurrah for the national Columbian
public school celebration Of October 81.