The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1900-02-22
Col. w. A. Taylor Writes.
COLUMBUS, o. Feb. 2l, 1920.

|
My Dear DIR. Dollison: THE fact
that some of our friends down your
way are little off in their count
ing, jmpels me to send you small
diagram or two to aid them.
All Christendom agree that our
notation of time for the Christian
Era dates from Jan |, of the first
year of that era. For convenience
, we will assume that there are 3c5
days in each and every year, al
. though there is few hours more
than that, which are punched every
four years, giving 366 days to leap
year.
Every body will agree that the
year begins with Jan. 1, and ends
with Dec. 81. Also, every one will
agree that on the first day of the
first January, the Christian Era
was not year old, but only day
old.
When was ii a year old? On
the 3lst day of the first December.
AT the close of that day it was des.
ignated ". ne year" Previous to
that day it could only be spuken of
as so many days. This ought to
strike, every one who can count 365
days aud BuOws that they consti-
tute II year. Having counted out,
AS they passed, 365 days and CALI d
it zone year." We count the next
365 days and call it "two years" or
2, and keep right on that way to
1900.
People who have gone wrong on
this question persist in calling the
Era ""ne year" old on its first day,
instead of at the close of the 365th.
[ want TO make this very plain for
the primary class, so l will say that
the year unit is composed of $50
parts, each of which is measured
out by the earth's revolution on its
axis, or "a hours.
AT the first moment of the Era
there wasn't one of these parts to
its credit. much less 365, and they
accumulated at the rate of one
every "a hours until they number.
ed 365, and formed the first year
unit or |. The unit did not, and
mathematically could not, come
before the first of the 365 parts COM
posing it, but come with the elaps-
ing or finishing of the 365th. Let
us then make diagram of the first
ten units or years, sitting down the
parts, or days, and counting from
left to right note down the number
of years whenever we have count
ed out the 365 days. Here it is:
365-1; 365-2; 1868; 365-4; 365-5;
1866; 365-7: 1868: 1863; 365-l0.
: Plain facts. Every year began
on Jan l. and ended with Dec. 81.
There being 365 days or parts in
one year there are $3.50 in tep
years. The first year began with
the first of January, and ended
with the 3lst of December and was
Zone year." certainly no intelligent
person will dispute that. The Sec
ond year began on the first of the
second January and ended with
the 31st of the second December,
and completed the second year or
2. The year two was finished with
the 3lst of December A. ID. 2. All
the years since have begun and
, ended similarly, so that ten years
were completed with the 3lst day
of Dec. AID. 8. Merely count the
ten periods in the diagram and see
If there are not 1850 days (l0 years.
elapsing between the first First of
January and the tenth 3lst of De-
cember. That being true, hun
dred years will have elapsed at the
end Of the fist one-hundreth per-
iod of 365 days. The above carried
out to a square will demostrate
that from 365-1 to 365-l00 there
were 36,5oO days 600 years. be-
tween the first firstof January and
the 3lst of December AID. SO. When
100 wss written IL meant 100 vaars
had passed. When 1900 was writ.
: ten it meant 1900 years had passed,
just as it shows in the above dia-
: gram that 10 years had passed
when 10 was written.
Very truly Yours,
! w. A. TAYLOR
OhituarV