The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1900-01-19
.er Chestnut.
,.es,ion discussed by a 5. F. FIX

testion discussed by 5. F. ES
h aminer correspondent.
/. Your editorial ON the beginning Of tn
new century begs the question, Yo
s,ale that there wes no year IN tn
Christian era. How do you know. Th
point at issue between the disputants IL
this controversy |, precisely this ques'
tion Of fact: Was there or was there no
year IN our modern system OF reef
oning dates.
II is said we canot have century un'
til We have a hundred units and humid
red units complete. No one denies this
elementary proposition. The question
OF the beginning OF the century does not
at all depend on this. 1t depends ON
the manner in which you mark down
your units.
1t takes hundred dollars to make a
dollar, century. In order to have this
century you must have hundred units.
The minute you add cent to 500 80 you
have sl00, and you have completed your
first dollar-century. Add another cent
and you are in your second dollar cent
tury.
II you have 81 500 90 you have eigh
teen dollar-eentuyies and you are in your
nineteenth. Add cent and you have
81, 300, that is to cay nineteen dollar
centuries. Add another cent, $l,90l.0l,
and you are in your twentieth dollar
century. You don't wait until you are
able to write down ST ,90l 90 to state that
you are in your twentieth dollar-cent-
ury.
The reason of THE fact is that in cur
system Of counting dollars We begin
with 0 and not with l. When We are in
our irst dollar for instance, We write
down 500 .25, 500 so, 500 rs and 80 on.
This system is also used in cluntiug |
distances. If we start from San Francis
co to San Jose, we find the first mile
stone, not at the starting point, but a
mile from the city. AT the starting
point the cyolometer marks zero. II We
keep tally OF the stones aswe pass along,
the moment we mark down one we are
in cur second mile. The moment we
have put down nineteen, we are begin
1ing our twentieth mile.
What now is our Christian eran 1t is
! system of measuring distances. We
Isk ourselves how far ara We from a [
ixed point? The point is, convention
lily, the incarnation. The use OF the
christian era is to tel US how far we are
rom that point. 1t is the tally or rec. .
rd OF the time-distance. /
Now it is clear TO you that when we c
re at the starting point we are at zero. i
therefore, the first year must be the
ear O. For example, suppose we are
events that happened from v
ne very beginning, how should we pro- e
sed? Naturally we would cay the first
lonth or the second month, OF the sixth
lonth. Just as II we had to write down n
cent or 3 cents or cents, We should 4
OF write Sl.0l or 81 G2 or sl.06, but a
DOL, $00.02, 500 06. In the same
amer we should not say a. D. March 81
a. D. April or a. D. l August, but p
mply the,mOnth of the incarnation or b
Ie April after the incarnation or the s'
ugust after the incarnation. We have
0 right to count year until we have
nished it, according to the root princi' y
e OF our adversaries; therefore, we e
ave no high. to set down the year un- Il
| the year one has been completed. a
Ie are at zero till We get l.. y y
What, then, does December 81. 1899 t,
Iean? 1t means that we have 1899
sars plus IL months-:hat is 10 say,
100 years complete. 1t means, more
yer, that January /, 1900, signifies that
e have one day Of tie 190lst year since
le incarnation that is to say, that we
ave begun the twentieth century. a.