Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-01-01
a pr LEA FoR ARBITRATION.

Editor Times Republican: hun
bred Tears ago in theater a
Of the period found express
sion in 1.-THE words: Lord, teach US
what ce!lntury we are in, A learned
prophet has recently uttered the pre-
diction that a hundred years hence the
same conundrum will remain un-
solved. The present age is now pass
ing THROUGH an acute stage of the set
'tlementiiof all Imaginable difficulties by
arbitration. 1t seems reasonable,
therefore,, that something can be done
to fore Stall the fulfillment of the evil
prophedy as to the denisons OF the
globe alt the end of the twentieth CEN
fury. iLet, then, the emperor of Ger
many, the chief astronomer of Eng
land, tine pope of Rome and the editors
of they New York Sun and the Times
HERALD. of Chicago, be constituted a
board to agree upon a statement to be
bottled up and sealed, to be opened on
lsChrlst(mas day, 1898. The following are
| a fewl of the items which Should be
! treated In such a document:
| FirsE-There should be an apology
| for prlesuming to speak to SO remote
generation on such a subject. In our
4 view, however, 1t is the highest duty
! of civilized men to seek to save future
! genera tions from those mistakes and
trials Iof which men are conscious.
Brief reference might be made TO the
4 many intellectual lapses on the part OF
many Iof the leaders of thought IN our
generation over an apparently plain
question Of counting In q few of these
cases 1--WE have seen failure in intel
lect followed by lapse in morality
~ Man INpdinfr thpnnSplvpG committed to
= an Impossible position have vainly en-
, deavored to defend it after they We're
convinced that it was erroneous. \
solemn warning few months IN adj
vance, of the controversy would have
prevented a large proportion of these
lslapseA. In the closing paragraph of the
tapology 1t Should be clearly stated that
If at the close of the twentieth century
all are agreed as to when the century
ends these in charge of the document
should be directed to burn it without
further reading. lest its perusal should
have an unsettling effect.
The second part of the document
, should contain a statement that from
our point Of view there really is some
= thing to arbitrate. Even our astrono-
ine~sl have found themselves in a state
! of confusion as to terms in common use
& famo.rg themselves, and as early as 1877
an arbitrary agreement was reached
i +, as I'd a form of words to pe followed
!. The ASTRONOMERS reached this conclu-
sion by means of board of arbitration
Z But the language OF astronomers car
! not be accepted as settling the ques
Il toni since astronomical terms can no
! lin aflscases be applied to chronology
!, Astronomy is an exact science. His
ltorieal chronology is not an exact sci
: enck To teach that the early decade
= of the Christian era contain exactly TIL
number of years which the term i'm
I pliels is to teach positive and recognized
err,br An elaborate article under TIL
II titl4s Chronology in the EncyclopR
din jBritannica, signed w L. r.. c. i
IS authority for the saying: Astrono
III meEs denote the year which precede
Z thJ first OF our era by o. and the on
a prdvious to that by 1, b. c.; but chro
e nologers. in conformity with commo
is no lions, cali the year preceding the er
y I. h. c., the previous year ,, b. Q. an
d. SO on Standard dates have becnm
u fixisI in historic literature which do nc
.cokform to astronomical events. Earl
entomology is only proXimate There
ln.{ rational expectation that it can eve
d lbeI anything else. To teach. then. tha
lk TIM. first century ends With an actus
y cokil,t of years from a given point {
!. - tijHe. is to teach error.
:. xse here is the case for arbitration
. The spirited debate which has REQUIRE
- al the end of each century since N
y dj.rk ages rests upon two capital 81
=. Mrs The error OF one party TO the d'
Hate consists in failure to count
hundred accurately, the error of u
SECOND party consists in the 2ssuml
s: lion that the first century contained
| hundred years, no more and no les
he The aim of the arbitrators snolhd
er directed to the correction of these e
IL fors; and To the setting forth of
e. statement upon which the masses ma
Up. hgree. Points of superiority may
es. Frankly conceded to each party To u
II. current debate. Those who Won
begin the incoming century With u
lie wear 1901 are To be acknowledged as u
more accurate counters. while tho
ch kho wruld begin the century with q
he wear. 1900 have an equal superiority
i'd practical common sense. Along WI
at the age Of discussion is coming y
7insl age cf democracy, in which all KNOW
RI ledge. all forms of statement, are To
la Judged, not from the Standpoint on
,e- Exceptional few, but from the stan
ah, point of the many. Each individual
to- ithe race comes into existence
IA, liknowing his right hand from
ia, theft" The first ladder of painfully a
arn lauired knowledge consists in learn
the to associata a separate sound with ca
lire III his ten toes or fingers. The seco
ed ladder of even greater difficulty co
wa sists in learning the use of ten chara
4 lttrs To be associated with the Wof
used in counting. To the infant
uses sounds only there IS nothing TO
ne dieate a break a { the number nine. Y
eol with the use of Arabic numerals tins
Ely ~ is a break at nine. The next nusns
a. Il begins. when written, with the rec'
~, y, rerce of the numsra Il supported
enc the new character "o.' Now it wo'
ufel be difficult to convince the rudimenta
'ia writer of numbers that he does
come down the ladder at the NUM-
nine and begin tn ascend the next L
o -, der with the number ten. The
,ns characters then recur in order from
O The youth knows that he ends
-eliIi ~ venl. pingteen. OF