The Progress., 1898-12-17
WHERE THE DAY BEGINS.
dhat There Is Such Place in tos
World Ia a Fact.

World Ia Fact.
| Seeing that as one moves westward
the time gets earlier and earlier, so
that when it is Monday noon in Lon
don it is some time on Monday morn
ing in America, it follows that, If this
principle were continued, without linn
1t all the way round the world, at the
same moment that it was Monday noon
IN London it would be also twenty
four hours later. e., Tuesday noon
IN London, says st. James Gazette AS
this is reductio ad absurdam, we
have to look for the limit, which does,
IN fact, exist, to the principle that as
one moves westward the time gets ear
Her, and as one moves eastward gets
later. Before the circumnavigation OF
the globe there was no difficulty. When
on Monday the sun stood over Lon
don, it was Monday noon in London,
AS the sun moved Ito use the popular
I phrase) westward, and stood a little
later over Dublin, it became Monday
noon in Dublin. and so on until ne
reached the western limit of the known
world. When the sun passed over that
limit that was the end Of noon for
that Monday, and nobody knew what
the sun was doing until he reappeared
on the eastern limit Of the known
world, bringing with him Tuesday
morning. 1t is evident, therefore, that
while the sun was in the unknown
ABYSS between west and east, he drop
pea the attribute of making the time
aC all places directly under his rays
Monday noon and took to himself the
attribute of making it Tuesday noon.
AS the confines Of the world were
| pushed further eastward and westward,
respectively, the unknown abyss where
THIS change of attribute had to be made
got narrower and narrower, until,
"hen the globe was circumnaVigated,
the place of change became simply a
line. This line exists and is the place
Wnere the days begin. AS the sun
crosses this remarkable spot the time
jumps twenty-four hours onward
from noon on one day to noon the next
day. The situation Of the line has
been located quite fortuitousIy-name-
~, by the circumstance whether any
given place was first reached by civ
iiized man journeying from the east
UT from the west. The discoverer
Drought with him the almanac from
whence he came, and if he came from
the west the time in the new country
would be later, and if he came from the
east 1t would be earlier than the time
IN the country that he came from.
America was reached by civilized man
Voyag1ng westward, and China by man
travelling eastward, and the result is
tnat the line which marks where the
days begin lies between these two, in
the Pacific ocean, and, instead of being
straight line, zigzags about, dividing
Islands which happened to be discover
ed from the east from those which hap
pened to be discovered from the west,
There must still be many islands in
tnat ocean where it is not yet decided
20 which side of the line they be-
long, and where if one were to be put
down one would not know whether it
were today, tomorrow or yesterday.
Inere must also be many islands there
which, never having been permanently
occupied by civilized people, change
their day from time to time, so that
ship calling there from China might
arrive on Tuesday, while another ship
calling at the same time from America
would arrive on Monday. There must
also be people living so near this line
that by going a few miles they can
leave today and get into tomorrow, or
by going back can find yesterday. How
convenient for troublesome appoint
ments. Many other curious considera-
lions occur to one, but I have said
enough, I think, to show-what every
one does not, perhaps realize-that
there Is place in the world where the
days begin.
The collar necklace is the only ons