Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-29
HE RUSSIAN CALENDAR
People Of the Gear Still Adhere to the Julian
System.
Now Differs From the GreSOrfnn b,
Twelve Days-LikelihOOd
of Change.

From the Chicago Evening Post
1t is announced that among the reforms
to be instituted by Car Nicholas in his
empire next year is the reformation of the
calendar to make ii conform to that in
in nearly all the rest of the world. Russia,
Greece and the countries which adhere to
the communion of the Greek Church still
compute time in accordance with the calen-
dar established by Julius Caesar, known as
the Julian calendar, while all other coun-
tries of Christendon follow the calendar
proclaimed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1852.
The difference in time between the two at
present is twelve days, and after the year
1909 it will be thirteen, under the Julian
calendar 1900 is a leap year, while under
the Gregorian it is not.
Why Russian statesmen should have suf-
fered the old and erroneous calendar to be
so long retained is difficult to comprehend
IN these days Of advancement and of liberal
opinions, although we know that our own
forefathers were quite as reluctant to make
the change 100 years ago; in fact the his
tory of the change as made by parliament
in lIo1 is quite amusing. In 1880 the differ
ence between the solar year and the calen-
dar year amounted to ten days, and the
pope by bull issued in 1852 decreed that
ten days should be dropped from the calen-
dar of that year, and that October should
be october 10. To prevent irregularity in
the future it was decreed that every fourth
year should be a leap year, except the
years ending century not Invisible by 400.
Thus the year 1870 would be d leap year.
but 1900. 1900 and 1860 would not be; GDOO
would be. In this way three days would be
retrenched in 100 years, which makes up
substantially the variation between the
solar year and the calendar year.
But as this was order of the pope
neither Protestant Germany nor Protestant
England would accept It, until they discov-
cred it was a scientific proposition and not
a religious one, and we owe it to Lord
Chesterfield that the reform was brought
about in England when it was He had
convinced himself that 1t was reform that
should be made, and despite the very for
midable opposition he met with he carried
the measure through both houses of parlia-
ment in 1I51. His account of the matter is
contained in one of the most brilliant of his
letters to his son, and it is well worth read
ing. The bill enacts that through all his
majesty's dominions, which at that time in
GUIDED this country, the natural day next
Immediately following the second day of
September, 1892, shall be called and reckon
ed as the fourteenth day of September
emitting the eleven intermediate nominal
days Of the common calendar"
The change met with tremendous OPPOSE
t1on among the ignorant and the fanatical
ana Chesterfield was almost mobbed when
ne appeared on the streets while the crowd
shouted after him. Give US back the eleven
days you stole from u.s. In Hogarth's pic
ture Of the Election Dinner placard may
be seen with the Inscription Give us our
eleven Gays For more than generation
aftefWdrd many people continued to use
the old calendar and date their letters and
diaries accordingly. O. S. is the we'll
known abbreviation for old style.