The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-01-12
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
Question as to- When 1t Begins-De-
eisions of Car A.irC- aud Pope.
SOM Illustrate.

The recent ~ppearance Oh the empeF-
or of Germany and the president Of
wellesley college on n side Of the con-
aroversy over the date OF the beginning
OF the twentieth century and The ap-
pearanee of the pope and the ear on
the other, do not augur we'll for the set
tlement of the dispute before the new
century begins, whenever that may be.
The car has decreed that Russia shall
adopt the Gregorian calendar, thus
getting into step with the rest OF the
world, and has decreed that this change
shall be mad on January l. lSOI'
which he considers the first day OF the
new century. The views OF rope Leo
the successor of the authority VINO gave
us eur calendar, may be gathered from
the following quotation from MS re-
cent decree. He says.
Since. moreover, at midnight OF the
LASH dev Of December of the coming
year the present century Will come 10
an end and a new one begin, II IS very
annropriate that thanks be given TO
cod by some piOus and solemn cere-
mony for the benefits received during
The course Of the present century, and
owing TO the urgent necessities of the
times that greater favOrs be implo~ed
in order 10 begin auspiciOusly the new
era
TRP emperor OF Germany, the ulS-
matches tell us, has ordered special
services at the stroke of the bell ush-
ering in the year 1900, to commemorate
the new century's beginning. The Ger
man postal department. il is further
announced. will issue commemorative
postol ~--ds.' The dispatches fail to
state what the loyal German Catholics,
who wish to fear God and n
King ~ the same item, will do in this
dilemma
To everwhelm this resurgent ques-
ton with the weight Of educational au-
thOritS. The Boston Herald opened its
columns to a number of prominent col
lege presidents. only to lind more dIS-
agreement, no less an authority than
the president of Wellesley college ar
guing that the new century begins with
1900. II In the midst OF such cOunselCrs
there ~ no safety for the dOubtful
mind, Il would seem folly To turn 10
the daily press, where violent diSa-
greements are the rule, and armon
almost unheard of. Yet it is here, in
the arena of fercest struggle and end
less argument, that concord on this
single question is found, and the old
saving. that the only propositions that
will never be disputed are those that
involve neither money nor morals, IS
again illustrated. The Chicago Times
Herald. one of the papers owned py
MT. kOniEadi, W no NidlIilS llV -
ship q the currency plank in the re-
publican platform of 1896, 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,
st seems unlikely that the involved ar
guments on the currency will be FUR
theT complicated in the 1900 campaign
NV a Dlank in regard to the new CEN
fury.
we present the argument of the pres
ident of Wellesley. Miss Caroline Haz-
ard. who sets forth the following rea-
sons for her faith:
According to my way of thinking.
tn tuen1ieth century begins. one sec
ond past midnight OF December Sl,lS9J
January L. 1900. Midnight marks he
conclusion of the 1900th year of the
Christian era. The 19OOth year, under
stand. 10 different from the year 1900,
because when We write 1900 we are not
al the completion of the 1900 and hrsi
year, which we reach when we write
1901. BHl anything beyond midnight on
the LIST OF January of the cOmino year Is
time that must be reCkOned in the 19Olst
year. The whole difficulty, 1T seems &c
me. is one of nomenclature. Ihe mrs.
year il a different thing from the year
1. This year | can not be written unit
II is completed, when it ought actually
to- be the year l plus. But we leaVe ou'
the plus and simply write the year L
Sc, in that way whatever date we
writ-1S9s for is 1899 pius
eleven months and IS days. the day
thai l am writing upOn. But these
added months and days we do no
reckOn In ordinary usage until the
whole year is completed, when We
count xae time by years. and go int
the next year, which is 1900
The idea of a year 0 (by which 1885
is made to complete 1900 years. mas
proved to be full of suggestion 10 tn
photographers. If there was a year U
why not a century 900? Perhaps ther'
are only 3e9 society leaders in the 40
We should begin counting on
ages one year later, making each OF u
. year younger than we supposed! IL
such a state of mind has this topic ca:
ried some Of the disputants- The New
York Sun. to dispel this idea of a yea
O. presents the following deadly par
aller' SEM in by one Of its readers:
kindergarten Teacher-Now children. let m
hear you count.
The repEy rational, The reply 0mercaSe'
Children-One, two, Children Nothing
three. tour, five, six, one, Two, thTee, I'ui
seven, eight, etc. ! five SIX, seven etc
School 4eacher-Tommy, what is a ~centuay:
Tommv-One hun Tommy One hun
dred years dred years
Teacher Gil an example,
Toumv-From the Tommy From tn
arSt d1y of the first first day of the yea
p 60 ~ ibe Iast dav Of before the first to IN
ne Cns- hundredth last day Of the yea
,sar before the one hun
dreth.
ue-sh,,. Mr. Jodes. please arrange thes
ranseL-i sbecks in bundles OF 100 and HE thel
away
Mr. Jonss does so. Mt. Jones seems pui
martiny ths bundles zled at not hndln
trr,s. check number zero, 5
Nos loo. with many miSgiving
NJ t0-3O adds check 100 TO hi
NJ aDi -2DO etc first bundle and
amazed that his SeC
ond one begins wit
number l0l
Rank Cusenmer-Wm YOU be kind enough I
let me hare ones for this 500 bill:
osSbier-vith pleas Cashier-with plea
- ~ counts outl: One ure days first bi
dollar, two dollars, aside, murmurlng; =
three 'OllarS.fOur dol donarl- Ihen OL
lars, Ave. six. seven, DOLLAR. Two ooIar