The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-01-01

AFFAIR rests upon mutual agreement
but whatever year II was that formed
the beginning OF the Christian era, there
was never s. year 0. The first year was
certainly the year l. the tenth the year
10. and the one hundredth year OF the
First century WIS the year 100.
III the problem is put in this manner
there can not be the shadow OF doubt
in the mind OF the reader.
~
when the French revolution at the
time decreed new calendar the proceed
ing was in the same manner. No imagin-
airy year 0 was ever thought OF, and the
first was the year J..
What. perhaps, has led many one
astray has probably been the change in
the first two figures of the year, as we
see in the case of 1799is00 or 1S99-1900.
similar change. however, Is made when
becomes 10. or when 80 becomes 100. II
any one gives me 100 cents ] have dol
lar, but the hundredth cent Is Just as nee
essary to my first dollar as the ninetth
Ny hundredth and first cent is the begin
ming OF my second dollar The hundredth
Is, In fact. necessary portion 81 the dol
lar. In like manner. the hundredth yeai
belongs to the century which is dying.
The date of the beginning of the year
has been changed several times, Once II
was the first day of January, then again
December 25 (Which would be more logi-
cali. and again the year was to begin
with Easter, On the other hand the year
lhS2 was shortened by ten days TO bring
It In accord with the astronomical calen-
dar. But all this does not gainsay the
fact that the last day OF the year 1900 1.
the end OF the Nineteenth century nor
that the Twentieth century begins with the
first day OF January, 1901 Therefore. ex-
actly at midnight of December 81, 1900
does the hourglass Of our Nineteenth CEN
fury run down and the Twentieth century
sees the light Of the world.
~
Exactly at midnight. yes. but upon
which meridian? Will it begin at mid
night in Paris, London. New York or
Jerusalem? Exactly at midnight in every
country is the answer. Yes, but when it
is midnight in Paris it is a. M in Wien
ma. VIII the Austrians, then, begin the
century before the French? Certainly
What country viii be the hrst TO greet
the new century? Hero an interesting
question crosses our research: Where
does the day change its name?
II we go east and count the hours
We find that when It is midnight in Paris,
say, in the night from Sunday to Mon
day, II is ] a. m. Monday in Vienna; in
Sebastopol a. M, in Astrachan 3 a. M,
IN Bokhara a. m, in Saigon a. M,
in Yokohama a. M, and upon the Chat
ham island in the Pacific ocean 10 merid :
ian.
II we 90 west from Paris at midnight
sunday, 1t is 10 p. m. Sunday In the
Azores, p. m. in Buenos Ayres, D. nj.
in New York, p. M. in New Orleans,
5:lo p m. in Mexico, nearly D. m. In
San Francisco, l o'clock p. m. in the
Aleute Islands, and 10 meridian Sunday
upon Chatham island.
How can this be? Can a man at the
same time upon one spot of the earth
live to see simultaneously two different
days. Sunday and Monday?
Certainly not.
But Is there boundary line which
one crosses from Sunday to Monday ?
Monday to the left and Sunday to the
right? Where is this line and who ha'
designated 1t?
''If such line should cross New Yorl
1t might have dire consequences, Sup.
pose the line OF demareation were Fiut
avenue. then, for instance, the fourth o.
July celebration would be in full swinE
on the east side, while the west side woiilC
4 still date July 3. Aye, II there should b,
I INV DiuuhyH, Que On inc east anu OH
on the west side, what incomprehensibl,
confusion would result!
~
Let us state first that at all times eac
country counted days and hours as
pleased and kept calendar of its own
The peoples had no opportunity to com
to any agreement for they did not kno'
each other. The tribes OF America di
vided the time according to their fashion
the Chinese thought and acted quite diff
ferentiy. Even the Europeans considere
; it unnecessary 10 come to any agreement
When the earth was first circumnavi
gated, when the Europeans brought tn
different continents into communication
, the necessity first arose to have line q
demarcaton for fixing the date. The Por
tugueso and Dutch made the voyag
around our planet from west to east b
doubling the Cape Of Good Hope. Tn
, spaniards on the other hand, sailed froi
east 10 west by way OF the Straits c
Magellan.
'lnasmuch as each nation naturall
), continued Its own measurements of tim
aboard ship, the result was as follows
The inhabitants OF the Island OF Formoss
discovered by the Dutch. received I'll
Monday OF European civilization at tn
same time as the Inhabitants of the nea
I by Ladrones, discovered by the Spaniard.
received the Sunday
Let US now for a moment recapitulat
? our former conclusions regarding IN
change OF century on December 81, 1900
When the clocks In New York iudiea,
, that II Is midnight on December 81, 1e0
Il Is already 8 o'clock In the morning I
january /, 1901 in Paris, z o'clock at III
0 suez canal. o'clock In Tananariyo an
, II o'clock (noon) OF January /, 1901, 0
the island OF st. Paul. in the India
! ocean.
! IL Instead OF going east we 60 wit
: lightning speed westward from New YGl
, We shall find It IL o'clock in the eyenin
Z in Chicago. o'clock In San Francisco.
o'clock In Honolulu, $3.50 in the Phiiip
, pines and noon OF December 81, 1900. a
1 the island OF st. Paul This island a
/, any ona can see by looking at map.
exactly opposite New York, or, in oths
words. its distance from the south pole
! precisely the same as that OF New yor
RON The North pole. Now. II We fmagin
straight line from New York directl
through the center of the earth the othe
enc OF mis- line would appear in the In
dlan ocean, very clcsa 70 the island Of 81
iaui. Consequently. the inhabitants q
: this island are our aniipodes. ana the
are distant from us exactly half n day. q
Twelve hours. II We have midnight the
I nave neon. Now, Is this noon of the nex
, day or OF the previous day?
, This Is the stumbling block for sailors
for accordingly whether n day was aaaes \