The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1900-01-20
Is the 10th Century Here?

The recent appearance OF the emper
or OF Germany and the president Of
Wellesley college on the side of the con-
troversy over the date OF the beginning
of the twentieth century and the appear
ance Of the pope and the car on the
other, do not augur we'll for the settle
ment Of the dispute before the new GEN.
fury begins, whenever that may be.
The czar has decreed that Russia shall
adopt the Georgian calendar. thus get
ting into step with the rest of the world,
and has decreed that this change shall
b. made on January 1. 1901. which he
considers the first day of the now cen.
fury. 1he views Of Pope Leo, the sue
ceesor Of the authority who gave Us our
calendar, may be gathered from the fol-
lowing quotation from his recent decree.
He says:
Since, moreover. at midnight Of the
last Of the December OF the coming year
the present century will come to an end
and new one begin, it is very appro-
pirate that thanks be given to God by
some pious and solemn ceremony for the
benefits received during the course Of
the present century, and owing to the
urgent necessities Of the times that great.
er favora be implorsd in order to begin
auspiciously the new era.
The emperor Of Germany. the dis
patches tell us, has ordered special ex-
ercises at the stroke OF the bell usberipg
in the year 1900, to commemorate the
new century's beginning. The German
postal department, it is further an
nounced. will issue commemorative
postal cards." The dispatches fail to
state what the loyal German Catholics,
who wish to ''fear God and honor the
King" at the same time. will do in this
dilemma.
The Boston Herald opened it's columns
to q number of prominent college presi-
dents, only to find more disagreement,
no less an authority than the president
of Wellesley college arguing that the new
century begins with 1900. The Chicago
Times-Herald,o one Of the papers owned
by Mr.. Kohlsaat, who claims the author
ship Of the currency plank in the re-
publican platform OF 1895, alone insists
in long editorials. that the new century
begins January 1, 1900; but as his other
paper. the Chicago Evening Post, agrees
with the rest OF the American press
that it begins one year later, it seems
unlikely that theinvolved arguments on
the currency will be further complicated
in the 1900 campaign by plank in re-
gard tn the new century.
The Times, Herald suggests that q
simple way to solve the problem would
be to begin at December 81, 1899, and
count backward to the beginning of the
Christion era. While someone else is
doing that we present the argument Of
the president Of Wellesley college.
Miss Caroline Hazard, who sets forth
the following reasons for her faith:
According to my way Of thinking,
the twentieth century begins one min
ute past midnight Of December 81, 1899
January l, 1900. Midnight marks the
conclusion of the 19OOth year of the
Christian era. The 19OOth year. under
stand. is different from the year 1900,
because when we write 1900 We are not
at the completion Of the 1900 and fret
year, which we reach when We write
write 1901. But anything beyond mid
night on the first day Of January of the
coming year is time that must be reck-
oned in the 19Olst year. The whole diff
family II seema IN mn ia ono Of no.