The Eddy current., 1898-10-29

taat There n sueh Place ia 80
world Is q Tact.

taat There A. such Place In tM
world a. ract
Seeing that as one moves westward
The time gttg earlier end earlier 20
that when II Is Monday noon IN Ion
don % Is some time on Monday morn
ing in America. Il follows that. n this
principle were continued. without Inn
10 all the way round the world at the
same moment that u was Monday noon
in London it would be- also twenty
four hours later O.. Tuesday noon
IN London, says st. James Gazette. "a
this ~ a rcduclio ad absurdam, We
have to look FOR the limit. which does,
In fact exist. TO tho principle that a.
one moves westward the time gets ear
Tier, and as one moves eastward GETS
later Before the clrcumnaylgation OF
the globe there was no difficulty. When
on a Monday the sun stood over i.on'
don. Il was Monday noon In London.
As the sun moved tto Use the popular
phrasel westward. and stood little
later over Dublin. Il became Monday
noon IN Dublin. and 30 ON until ho
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 roappeared
on the eastern limit OF tho known
world. bringing with him Tuesday
morning. Il ls evident therefore. that
while the sun was In the unknown
abyss between west and east he drop
ped the attribute Of making tho time
at all places directly under his rays
Monday noon and took 20 himself the
attribute OF making It Tuesday noon.
As the confines Of the world we're
pushed further eastward and westward,
respectively. the unknown abyss whore
this change Of attribute had TO be made
got narrower and narrower. until,
when the globe was clrcumnavigated,
the place OF change became simply q
line Thus line exists and IL the place
where the days begin As the sun
crosses this remarkable spot the time
Jumps twcniy-four hours onward
from noon on one day 10 noon the next
day Tho situation OF the line has
been located quite fortultously name
ly, by the circumstance whether any
given place was FIRST reached by civ
ilifed man iourneying from the east
or from the west The dlscoycrer
brought with him the almanac from
whence he came, and n he came from
the west the time In the new country
would be later. aud n he came from the
east Il would be earlier than the time
In the country that he came from.
America was reached by civilized man
yoyaglng westward. and China by man
travelling eastward, and the result ls
that the line which marks where tho
days begin lies between these two, In
the Pacihc ocean. and. instead OF being
straight line. zlgzaga about, dividing
Islands which happened to be discover
cd from the east from those which hap
pened to be discovered from the west.
There must stlll be many islands In
that ocean where II lB not yet decided
70 which side OF tho line they be-
long. and where II one were to be put
down one would not know whether Il
were today. tomorrow or yesterday.
hera must also be many Islands there
which, never bRying been permanently
occupied by civilized people. change
their day from time 20 time. 10 that
a 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 lnd yesterday. How
convenient for troublesome appoint
ments. Many other curious consldera-
tions occur TO one. but have said
enough. ! think. TO show-what every
one ooes not, perhaps reailze-that
there iS place IN the world where tho
days begin.