Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-05-12
=, D,u are prompt. efficient and
El00Q S PtliS easy in eject. 81 cents.
WHERE THE DAY BEGINS.



Seeing that as one moves westward the
time gets earlier and earlier. so that when 1t is
Monday noon in London it is some time on
Monday morning i'll America, II follows
that, il this principle were continued with
out limit all the way round the world, At
the same moment that 1t was Monday noon
in London it would be also "A hours later
i. e., Tuesday noon IN London. As this IS 4
reductio ad ahsurduin, we have to look for
the limit. which docs in fact. exist, to the
principle that as one moves westward the
time gets earlier, and as one moves eastward
gets later.
Before the decentralization of the globe
there was no difficulty. When on a Monday
the sun stood over London, it was MONDAY
noon in London. As the sun moved Ito use
the popular phrase Westward and stood
little later over Dublin. it became Monday
noon in Dublin, and So on until he 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 rcnppGarea on the eastern limit of tine
known world, bringing with him Tuesday
morning. II Is evident, therefore, that
while the sun was in the unknown abyss
between west and east, he dropped the at
tribute of making the time at all places di-
rectly under his rays Monday noon and
took to himself the attribute of making il
Tuesday noon.
Asthe confines of the world were pushed
| further eastward and Westward respectively,
| the unknown abyss where this change nj
| attribute had to be made got narrower and
narrower, until, when the globe was crcunl-
| navigated. the place OF change bccgme
simply a line, This line exists and is the place
| where the days begin. As the sun crosses
this remarkabies the time jumps "a hours
| onnard-lrOm noon on one day 10 noon the
mex day. The situation Of the line has
been located quite tonsly-namely, by
| the circumstance whether any given place
was first reached by civilized man iourneyinG
from the East or from the West. The dis
coverer brought 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 it would
be earlier than the time i'll the country that
he came from
America was reached by civilized man
voyaging westward, and China by man
| travelling eastward. and the result is that
the line which marks where the days begin
lies between these two, in the Pacific Ocean,
and instead of being Il straight line, 2ig.zags
about, dividing islands which happened Ia
| be discovered from the East from those
which happened to be discovered from the
West. There must still be many islands in
| that ocean where 1t is not yet decided II
which side ct the line they belong. and
where il one were put down one would moi
| KNOW whetner IL were To-Day, tomorrow OF
yesterday. There must also he many islands
there which. never having been permanently
occupied by civilized people, change theii
dav from time to time, so that a ship call
ing there coming from China might arrive
on Tuesday, while another ship calling ut tn,
same time from America would arrive oil
Monday. There must also be people living 81
near this line that by going few miles they
can leave to-day and get into tomorrow, Of
by going back can find yesterday. How con
venient for troublesome appointments!
Many other curious considerations occu
to one, but | have said enough. ! think, Il
show-whOt every one does not, perhaps
reali2e-that there is place i'll the worlC
where the DAYS begin.