The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-09
wHENTHe CENTURY ENDS.
Controversies as to the Date of the Twen-
tieth Centuryfs Beginning.
(From the New York Herald

Does the twentieth century begin or
January 1, 1900, or on January 1, 1901;
I his question agItated a great many
people some time ago, and it seems tc
be agitating some now
And, as Is the case with every cues.
ton, lit had advocates. on each side. Those
who hold that the twentieth century
will dawn on January 1, 1900 rea son
that this is so because the first year OF
our era began on January 1, 100. An
other argument is that the first century
began Oh January of tine year 0, and
the second on January l of the year 100.
Just as a child Is said to be in it's first
year before it has reached the anniver-
sary of it's birth, when it enters it's Sec
ond year. This logic is applied to the
twentieth century question, and those
who use it hold that that era opens on
January !, 1890.
They argue further that December 81,
&c. was the last day in our first era, and
completed the first cs injury, and that,
therefore, January 1, tOc marked the
opening of the second century. Any
child will tell you, they say, that a per-
sons twentieth year begins when his
nineteenth birthday is attained. So they
conclude the twentieth century begins
in the year 1900.
This reasoning is worked out ON vari-
Gus lines, but the conclusion is hardly
correct. Much better arguments, quite
conclusive in their nature, are advanced
by those who hold that the twentieth
century will begin on January 1, 1901.
The weight of logic seems to be in their
favor, and here are some OF the points
they make:
A favorite argument advanced by those
who hold that the twentieth century will
begin on January /, 1901, is that GER
tain year will not begin until its prede-
cessor Is entirely completed; therefore,
that the twentieth century will not be
ushered in until the nineteenth has
rounded off full, one hundred years. and
that that will not ba until midnight of
December 81. 1900. In this connection,
these advocates point to the definition of
the word century, as given In most die
tionaries, where it is defined as a period
of 100 years, reckoned from any given
point or date. So, they argue that, as
the first century began with the year l.,
it ended with the year 100, and the Sec
ond century began with the year lOl.
Suppose, it has been urged, man starts
another hundred to them the first potato
of that undred will be tho 101st potato.
Following out this reasoning it is held
the twentieth century will not begin till
the year 1900 is fully completed.
When you write December 81, 1896,
says one on the 1901 side, you mean the
year 1895 will be competed on December
81, 1896, and that on the following day
the year 1897 will begin. When you say
December 81, 1896, you do not mean 1896
years plus the days up to December 81 of
the next year, but December 81 of the
year 1896. Hence, they say, in rounding
off their argument, December 81, 1900,
will be the 1,9Ooth year of the Christian
era and the last day of the nineteenth
century, 80 the twentieth century will
begin January 1, 1901.
As a way out of the difficulty, conser-
yative people suggest it would be we'll to
ascertain how the anoients regarded the
question, and to do as they did. If at
&he beginning. they say, the ancients
Wrote January l, year 1, then we, when
we write January 1, 1900, mean that the
1900t year Ehas just begun, and we must
wait twelve months before We can write
1901. But it is not easy to ascertain what
the ancients did In the chronological
line in the year 4; so far rs known
they left no data as to their method of
comp lting time.