The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-05-25
A NEW YANKEE BOAST.
One Effect of Dewey's Victory.


Not since Commodore Dewey hoisted
the Stars and Stripes over the Philip
pine Islands has the sun set on Ameri-
can territory, says the New York Sun.
When the Englishman boasted that
the sun never set on English soil and
asked a Frenehman to account for it,
the men of France said it was because
the Lord was afraid to trust English
men in the dark. The explanation in
Americas case is that by her recent
acquisition of the Philippine Islands
the sun rises on some part Of America s
possessions before it sets on some other.
When the attention of Prof. John x.
Rees, of Columbia University, was call
ed TO this new condition of political
geography, the astronomer said that he
had not had time to figure out exactly
at what time the sun rose aud set on
the eastern and western boundary
points of American land. The differ
enee in latitude between the Philippine
islands in the tropics and Alaska in the
Arctic circle made it impossible, he said,
TO tell at glance what margin the sun
had in rising on one part of American
soil before setting on another. Then
the professor went to a big globe map
of the world and twirled it around to
get bird's-eye view of Uncle Sans
complete domain.
"The widest stretch" said the pro-
fessor, ''is from the time the sun leaves
the Philippine Islands on It's western
course until it is pried up in Maine ris-
ing from the East. The distance lon
gitudinally measured in this way, that
is, from the far East around westward
~, is about ls6 degrees, or triie over
half a circle. The time between the
two points is approximately = hours
"a minutes. As the days in this lati-
tude are now about II hours long, the
sun rises in Maine before it sets in the
Philippines. Therefore at this time Of
the year, if Commodore Dewey has
captured the Philippines, the sun is
always shining on some parts Of the
the American possession.
ain winter it will be differerent un-
less the conditions are altered. On the
shortest day in winter, December p or
-. the sun in this latitude shines ap-
proximately only about nine hours. As
the difference i'm the time between the
Philippines and Maine is little over
II hours, the sun could not rise in
MSine in the winter time before it had
set in the Philippine islands. If we
took into consideration the dawn pre-
eeding the actual rise of the sun, and
the twilight following its setting, it
would be safe to say that eyen in win
ter, with the possession OF the Philip
pines, there would always be daylight
on some part of American land"
''To be perfectly sure that the sun
never sets on American soil we would
have to capture the Canary islands,
would we not ?" was asked.
geographically and astronomieally
the capture of the Canary islands
would solve the problem for all sea-
sons" said Prof Rees, although l do
not wish to be understood TO be advO-
eating any of these things politically.
The Canaries lie at about Is degrees
west from Greenwich, and the Philip
pines are about 40 degrees east, or IS5
degrees apart, which is equal to nine
hours time. Allowing for the differ
ence in the length OF days in the trop-
les and in the temperate zone, the sun
would always rise on the Canaries be-
fore setting on the Philippines, even in
the shortest day in the year"
"Then, to be thoroughly English, we
will have to have the Cauaries for win
ter purposes" suggested a member Of
the class in astronomy.
"If it is only for the purpose OF being
English, we had better not include the
Canaries when Spain settles up with
US" said the professor.
With the Philippine islands as part
of the United States, not to mention
the Canary Islands, which, it is con-
tended, we should seize and hold as
transatlantic eoaling station, it will be
difficult to designate the geographical
center of the Union. Some members
from the Middle Western States
thought the capital should be shifted
to Kansas City, and some even to Chi
cago, because, they said, those cities
were nearer TO the geographical center
than was Washington.
One member from the far West
smashed all their arguments to smith
Greens by showing that when we took
into consideration the territory Of AL
aska, whose islands extended west
ward as far as the l73d degree from
Greenwich, the geographical center Of
the United Stat,s would be out in the
Pacific Ocean, many miles from land,
and that San Francisco was the only
large city near the imaginary geo
graphical center.
When We have added up our new
lands and bought new globe upon
which to record them, it may be found
that Washington is still as near the ge-
ographical center of the Union as is
practicable, and that if there are now
any congressman who desire to move
the national capital they will have to
find some other pretext upon which to
base their bill. With the capture and
purchase of new lands in various parts
of the globe it will be hard to keep the
center Of the Union sta
tionary.
The only two large separations of
American soil now are from the Philip
pine islands east of Maine on the west,
and from the Aleutian islands of Alaska
on the west to the Philippines on the
east. From the Philippines to Maine
is 1856 degrees, or IL hours and 2l min
utes difference in time. From the AL
askan Aleutians to the Philippines is
20 degrees, or hours and 10 minutes,
amply covered by the sun in both sum-
mer and winter.
With the possession of the Canaries
the gap of water between the Canaries
on the east and Maine on the west will
be only about 50 degrees, or hours and