Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-12-28
Communication.

To be, or not to b., Is now the ques
'tion of the hour, and when you see q
group of men in the lobby of the post
Office, in the workshops, in places of
blsn,ess, az w he Street e ri.rr. IL
gesticuiatlng wlll!v, and al! taking
veciferonsiy, they are np' debating the
the silver question, imperialism, or the
tariff, but are settling forever the time
of the beginning of the twentieth cen.
fury, and we are really fearful some
times that during 1900 we will he. l,v.
ina In tw,c'n'nrits, and therefor III,
able to tel Mhather we are yet on Tie
sunny side of life, or pas ons hundred
and forty five.
We are in some danger of being like
the German, who so resembled his twin
brother, that after the death Of his
he was Ilans who Died, or Jacob, WHO
was living
Accord.n. TO Bro. Lords digest. as
appeared in THE TIMES. everything
depends on that vague hypothetical
'if' and If he is correct, then We don't
know anything about it, with no way
to find out
Bro Eliintt's explanation is perfect.
IL clear, and is no DOUBT made Ter the
benefit of his debtors.
/ His ground seems to be that n ID.
time was not counted until one year
after the birth Of Christ, and then by
common custom the year commenced,
the same q We say child is one year
old after the first twelve months Of its
existence has passed, and it is still one
year old until it has completed its Sec
ond twelve months, when it becomes
two years old, and so on, but when it
has lived ninety mine twelve months
it has not completed its century of
existence, and must pass the remain
ing twelve months before he is Il full
100 years old.
Now while we designate age as above
yet the first year of the life of Christ
commenced at the moment of his birth.
And when he was twelve months old
the first year A. ID. had passed and
A. ID. 9 commenced, consequently
when 100 full twelve months had pas.
sed, the first 100 years, or a cent.lry
had been completed. and the nineteenth
century the same, it must be- compIet
cd with the full 1900 years
The money theory has been pretty
fully exploited and we will add nothing
thereto. But under Bro. Elliott's prop
osition, if a man borrows 800 of him
for five years, giving his note for the
same.
Five years after date etc, then the
year one of the life of that note does
not commence until twelve months
have passed; the year 2 at the close OF
the second twelve months ETC., until
the fifth year COMMENCES at the CLosI
of the fifth twelve months. Would Bro
Elliott want his money at the end Of
the fifth twelve months, or would ht
be willing to wait until tire year five
(according to his manner of reckoning
had passed?
Or again: A man commences bust
: ness, and after nine months some on.
asks him. GLOW long have you been il
business lie answers, II am not in
business at all, my first year d"esl
commence for three months yet; would
not the qnestioner conclude that lie
was q little daft"
But would he not he much more
liable to answer, "This is my first year
in three months, will commence my
second yeare
1t seems to us that the second ans.
wer would be much clearer expires
sion of fact.
What think you reader?
n il, 1901.