The Appeal., 1900-02-24


H1uddle About the New Century.
The close Of the century and the dis
cussion as to when the new century be-
gins has attracted unusual attention to
the calendar, and a number Of curious
facts about it which are not generally
known, though they are commonplace to
the learned and which have moro or less
a bearing on the question, will prove in
teresttng. The ingenious persons who are
racking their brains to prove that the
twentieth century beings on Jan. 1, 1900,
are threshing over some pretty old straw.
Much printers ink was, shed in sup
porting or attacking the date just be-
fore 1900, and the same arguments were
used that are now employed. So it was
before 100, when enthusiasts had medals
struck in honor Of either view, and so
It was before 1900. In earlier centuries
the fact that printing was a new inven-
tion, or had not been invented, limited
the discussion to oral debate, or what
is more likely, men in general were con-
tent to accept the one ,church's view Of
the matter without troubling their own
heads about it,
The only mathematics involved in the
question Is whether a century means a
hundred years Or not. The rest is mere
1y question Of historical fact The
problem is not whether there might,
could or should have been a year in
the computation Of years, but whether
the persons who introduced the present
universal system Of counting years from
the birth Of Christ used such a year or
Its equivalent. The mathematical side
OF the dispute has already been put clear
ly in the Sum To that exposition may
be added the one given by Camille Flam-
marion, the French astronomer, in the
Annales Litteraires ct Politiques: "The
problem Is pretty simple. A Ten is COM
posed Of 10 units; the number ten forms
part Of the Ten. A Hundred is composed
OF 100 units: the number one hundred
forms part Of the Hundred. Now, there
was no year 0 in the Christian era; the
first year Of the era is the year 1. What
ever date or particular moment of time
be accepted as the beginning of the
Christian era, there has been no year o.
Therefore, the first year is the year 1,
the tenth year the year 10 and the hun
dredth year Of the first century is the
year 100. That was the method followed
When the Ffeaeh revolution created a
d
o, but called it's first year the year /.
What seems to deceive some minds, pro-
badly superficial, at least in SO far as
chronology Is concerned, is the change
OF the first two figures, the figures de-
noting hundreds, in the numbers 1899 and
1900 1890 and 1900, etc. We pass with
these "99" years from II to 1S and from
1S to 10. That is true. But there is no
difference in that from what we do when
we pass from the number 8 to the num-
Der 10 from the number 80 to the number
100, that Is, to the completion of the
Ten and Of the Hundred in the decimal
system. A Ten goes from 1 to 10, Hun
dred from 1 to 1OO"
1t Is somewhat singular that the name
given to the centuries gives no trouble
save for the one year that justifies the
name. We talk Of the first, the fifteenth,
the eighteenth centuries, although in only
one year in each, the completing year,
are the numbers 1. Is or is used in the
hundreds place. People have accepted
this century as the nineteenth in every
year since 1901 began, and now some balk
at the only 10, the year that has spread
its name over them all, 1900. The Ital-
dams, to make the name suggest the num-
Der which most of the years begin, speak
of the 'Trecento" or the "Cinauecento. u
but with no idea Of describing the centu-
Iies as other than, the fourteenth or six
teenth.
The church. which adopted and estab.
a1shed the Christian era, called its first
year tho year 1, as will be shown. Fol
lowing that computation it has regarded
the completion Of the hundredth year as
the end of the century. It was to mark
the end Of the thirteenth century that
Pope Boniface VIII. fixed the year of
Jubilee for 1900. He probably had in mind
the Old Testament year Of jubilee that
closed the "great week. of seven times
Seven and was the fiftieth year: and,
perhaps, too, had some thought Of the
Roman secular games, celebrating the
close of a century. The popes that fol-
lowed Boniface, while they reduced, for
various reasons, the intervals between
jubilees, always designated the year as
the end Of a period, whether Of fifty,
thlrty-three or twenty-five years, and
Leo XIII. In describing the year Of ju-
bilee 1900 as the close of the century, sim
ply follows the precedents and traditions
OF the church.
Our own American era dates from July
4, In6. The year / Of American inde-
pendence began then and ended on the
nrst anniversary of its birth, or on July
4, l777. This Is the year 1A, or 124th of
independence, which began July i, 1909,
and Will end at midnight of July ga,
1soo. The centennial of the Declaration
OF independence came and was celebrated
ae che completion of one hundred years,
July 4, 1876. Nobody thought Of taking
July 4, 1876, the ninety-ninth anniyer.
sary OF independence day, the first day
ot the hundredth year Of the republic as
tne beginning of its second century That
negan with the Tooth anniversary In
1910. so with the Columbus celebration.
calne IN 1872, four completed centuries
st6e at6er the discovery Of America Oct. 12,
l492, the end of the fourteenth centuries
the 4olst consecutive time that that day
on that month had been connected with
Amerca,s history. It was the .1rst day
o[ the ntth century since the discovery.
No one mas suggested that that fourth
century ended or the fifth began in 1891 s.
Inc present simple system Of reckonino
IN years of our Lord now accenteS Nv "a
clVlllzed Christian nations as a matter
OF course, like the fact that the earth is
round or that 1t moves around the s,,n,
IS merely chronological convention f1rst
neard of In the sixth century after
es1;sTa C4lisT; Which had to fight its way against
estaohshed older systems. 1t took 400
years Tor 1T to prevail, but for thou
sano years 1t has been used universally.
though nations have differed about minor
points, as Russia still does The connine
OF the savior made little impression On
lne Worlo at the time and the Chris
more thought of altering Caesars regu.
dat1on Of the calendar than of refusine
10 pay what was due to him. To mos
men the year Of Christ's birth was
marked as the consulship Of .Calvisius
and Passienus; careful men noted it as
also the 750th since the building of The
city, or even as the thirty-fourth veal
since the divine Augustus had taker
charge OF the world; in Judea probably
men counted the years of Herod as well
tIhaf is. II the more commonly aeeental