Tombstone epitaph., 1892-06-12
THE WRONG DATE.
Congress Preparing to Celebrate
 the Discovery of America
Data Which Go to show That There Is . Mistake Regarding the Time of the Landing of Columbus
 in America

Congress has made arrangements to commemorate the four hundredth ami versary of the discovery of America by Columbus on the 18th of October, 1892. Now, wish, says a writer in the Phila- delphia Press, to call your attention to the fact that if they do so they will fail not only in the day of the month, but the day of the week also.
 Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador on Friday, October 12, 1492, old style, which was Friday, October 2I, new style, which is very near the true, or solar time, there being an error in the Julian calendar at that time of nine days. The Julian calendar, which was then in use throughout Europe, and the very best that had ever been given to the world, made the year too long by more than eleven minutes. Those eleven minutes a year had ac- cumulated from the council of Nice in 325 to the discovery of America in 1492 to nine days; so that the civil year was nine days behind the true or solar time-that is. when the earth in her annual revolution had arrived at that point in the ecliptic coinciding with the 2lst of October, the civil year. according to the Julian calendar, was the 18th. Now, to restore the coincidence, the nine days must be dropped or sup pressed, calling what was enormously called the 18th of October the 21st. Since the Julian calendar was corrected by Gregory in 1882 we have so inter calated as to retain, very nearly, the coincidence of the solar and the civil year.
 In the Julian calendar the intercalary period is four years; so that, after twenty-eight years, the coincidence is restored between the day of the month and the day of the week, and for the next twenty-eight years events will again occur in the same order on the same day of the week. But in the Gregor- ian calendar both the intercalary period and the cycle is four hundred years, so that after four hundred years the coin cidencc is restored between the day of the month and the day of the week, and for the next four hundred years events will again occur in the same or der on the same day of the week.
 For example, the one hundredth an- niversary occurred on Wednesday, the two hundredth on Tuesday, the three hundredth on Sunday, and now the four hundredth on Friday. Then again in 1902 on Wednesday. 20s2 on Tuesday, 2l92 on Sunday and 2292 on Friday again, and so on. Now, as America was discovered on Friday, October I2, l492, and the cycle of four hundred years will be completed on Friday, Oc- tobcr 2l, 1892, so Friday, October 2l, is the day to be observed in the commem- oration of that event.
 should we make computations in old style both for the day of discovery and the day of the anniversary, We would make the event to occur twelve days too soon, and on Monday, as the discrep- ancy during this century is twelve days. Russia, by adhering to the old calendar, is now twelve days behind the true time in her reckoning. Should we make the first event old style and the second new style, we would be nine days too soon, and the anniversary would fall on Wednesday. But, as has already been shown. calculation should be made in new style both for the dis covery and the anniversary, and the event will occur on Friday, October 21, 1892.
 No one thinks of observing the IIth or February as the birthday of Wash ington, though it is recorded in history that he was born on the 11th of Feb ruary, 1732. Twenty years after his birth, in 1752, England, under whose government we were living, after suf- fering the inconvenience of using diff ferent date from the most of Europe for one hundred and seventy years, adopted the Gregorian rule of interca- lation, and made the correction by sup pressing eleven days. Call the 3rd of September of that year the 14th; conse- quentiy we cali what was erroneousiy called the 11th of February the 22nd as the birthday of our Washington