The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-02-04

-. = s. - :
WHERE THE DAY. BEGINS.
That There: Is: Such q Place In tho.
World Is a1Fsct.
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 lim-
it 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-i. e., Tuesday noon
In London, says ST. James Gazette. AS
this is a .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
Ner, 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
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 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
ped the attribute of making the time
at 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,
when the globe was circumnavigated,
the place of change became simply a
line. This line exists and is the place
where 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 fortuitously-n
~, 10y the circumstance whether any
given place was first reached by civ
1llzed man journeying from the east
or from the west The discoverer
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
in the country that he came from.
America was reached by civilized man
Yoyaging westward ; and China by man
F travelling eastward, and the result is
that the line which marks where the
days begin lies between these two, in
the Paclhc 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
that ocean where it is not yet decided
to 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.
There 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 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-
tions occur to one, but I have said
enough, I think, to show-what every
one does not, perhaps realize-that
there is a place in the world where the
days begin.