New-York tribune., 1900-12-12
Ia FIN DE Steele.
NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT-THE QUESTION IS
WHICH FIN OF WHICH Steele?

NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT-THE QUESTION iS'
WHICH FIN OF WHICH sIEcLE7
This profitable old nineteenth century has only
a few more days left. There persons who stih
maintain that this statement should be amended
10 read. This untried young twentieth century
has ninety-nine years and few days stih lert-
This notion has about disappeared. however, De-
fore the gaze Of calm eyed mathematics. The
only persons Of prominence who ever held u were
the president of Wellesley College and the German
Emperor. II has been some months since anything
was heard from either OF them-in regard 70 the
progress of the centuries. that is to The Ger
man Emperor has allowed his name to appear In
the papers in connection with one OF two other
affairs.
Now lust a word by way OF settling forever this
question of whether this present end Of the cen
tury is the former end the latter end and which
century. The nineteenth century ends with the
expiring instant of the last day OF the year 1900.
There is reasonable doubt of that. but there
seem to be a few unreasonable doubts about IT,
Probably the error arises from the habit which
people get into of thinking OF the number Of the
century to which any given year belongs as be-
ing more than the hundreds in the punnber Of
the Thus the year 75s was in the eighth cen
tury the year T102 I'm the twelfth century. the
year 1899 was in the nineteenth century. and
on. But this rule fails to apply in the one year
which is at the end of every hundred and com
pletes II. whose number ends with two zsros.
The view will be obtained by working
back toward the beginning Thus II the nineteenth
century ended with the year 1899 the eighteenth
century must have ended with the year 1893. the
seventeenth century must have ended with the
year 1899. the tenth century must have ended with
the year 999. the second century must have ended
with the year 1S9. and the first century must have
ended with the year 90. And so the first century
must have had only ninety-nne years in it, But IL
1t had only ninety-nine years in II II was not a
century and so the whole proposition is absurd
No, il took one hundred whole years to make the
first century. and ii ended with the last instant
Of the last day of the year 100. and it has taken
full hundred years to compose every century
since and the nineteenth century will end with
mathematical precision at midnight Of the 31st day
of this month.
certain professor Of mathematics. in instruct
ing HIS classes. used 10 say (peThaps he does stD
that Americans could understand problems better
when they put into dollars. Suppose. then,
that owes B SlO0. Suppose that he counts out TO
him in 81 notes. one. two. three. four. and so
till he has counted out ninety-nine Of them. and
then says: That is all; If gave you another IL
would obviously belong to a second hundred. and
I you only 800" Would B be satisfied?
1t is not likely. He would probably take the view
that the Tooth dollar was necessary part of the
first hundred And the court would probably sus-
tain him. Well. 1t takes JUST many years TO
make hundred it does dollars.
But now. when the question seems all settled
the objectors come out with the amazing announce
ment that there was a fundamental year, or a
basic year, other kind of a year. before the
year l. Whatever they call 1t. this unaccOuntable
year Is virtually a year O. And there never was
any such year, as anybody who has studied
history consecutively ought to know Did you
hear of anything happening in year 0, or in
the basic year, in the fundamental year? Not
a bit You may have found something that hap
pened in the year B. C., or I'm A. ID. l. but never
between those years. There no time between
them. The first year after Christ began the In
slant that the year 1 before Christ ended.
The fact that the years were called something
else at that time makes no difference. The fact
that in starting the calendar the date OF the birth
OF Christ inaccurately determined makes
difference. A certain point Of time was fixed upon.
counted backward and forward. and not from
whole blank unnumbered year. II has been per-
tinently suggested that If the first year, count
ing from the birth of Christ. h9d no number. then
the century which began then snOuld have had no
number. and so the century which Is Just end
ing Is the eighteenth. and not the nineteenth at
all. But there never any such year IT was
simply invented by those who thought that the
century ended with the year 99. to cover their
confusion The first year was the year 1. and It
takes every bit of 1900 years to make nineteen
turies
Let this question be regarded settled and
let there be place for more beautiful thoughts of
the satisfaction which there will be New
Years Day In making resolutions for century. in
stead Of for a year. Probably they will all be
broken just as soon as If they made for only
a year, but there will be elevation for the mind in
the thought that for a whole century there will be
no more staying out after o'clock in the morn
ing no more drinking of than twenty drinks
a day, more smoking OF more than ten cigars
day, living completely beyond incomes.
more overwork no more detrimental things gem
orally and more disputes about which century
it is.