The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-29
STANDARD TIME.


by the Railroads.
New York Times.
There was no ceremonial ON wednesday
Of the twentieth anniversary of the -adop-
ton by the railroads of standard time in
this country a change from the old system.
where in every locality the people had been
accustomed to live their lives by the solar
schedule, with the result that there was
endless confusion in time tables. William
F. Allen, secretary and treasurer OF the
American Railway Association. who is cred
tied with having secured the adoption OF
standard time, said:
People of this generation can hardly UNI
derstand the revolution delivering them
from difficulties of travel and the snipment
of goods effected by the adoption or stand
ard time. Old readers of the New YORK
Times, which fought for the movement, VIII
remember. AT noon on Nov Is, 1885 nIty
different standards of time resolved them
selves into four, the minute hands OF CLOCKS
and watches being reset at all points 10 the
same minute mark of the dial only II lew
of the railroads did not make the change at
once, but they fell in line within few
weeks.
Some of the cities and hamlets were
slower. II being something over two years
before CincinnatianS adopted the standard.
There they had the solar, Columbus ana
Louisville times. with the result that there
was good deal OF confusion, and IL was
easy for those who were late to insist that
they were early according to the time they
fancied, and for the others to insist mat
they were late. The question as to chang
ing to q standard time was very bitter III
certain places, and among them Charles
ton where local prophet insisted that the
fooling with the reckoning or time would
lead TO some manifestation or divine dis
pleasure. Three years later there was the
earthquake.
1.-THE movement by which the reform in
time reckoning was brought about In lSS5
has many interesting features. 1t Is told
in the history of the proceedings OF the
American Railway Association, which COW
ers the doings of its predecessors from 1919
to 1893, the general time convention and
the Southern railway time convention.
which united and formed the present asso-
citation.
1.-The first in order of dates to propose
that railway time should be governed by
meridians one hour apart was apparently
Charles +. Dowd, the principal OF young
ladies' seminary at Saratoga, N Y. Others
who also reached the conclusion, originally
and independently of each other. that the
regulation of time keeping by meridians on
the even hour apart was the correct theory
and desirable. were Prof. Benjamin Pierce,
Sir Sanford Fleming. and DIR. Thomas Hill,
president of Harvard. Mr.. Dowd and Sir
Sanford Fleming made elaborate plans fol-
the practical adoption of the theory.
Mr.. Dowd based his first proposition in
1869 upon the local meridian at Washing.
ton and afterward shifted IL to New York
and then to Greenwich. His plan included
| the general retention OF local time. while
| the difference between local and STANDARD
time was to be indicated and marked at al
| stations by plus and minus signs! Mr.
| plan, which was declined by the railroad
| officials being too complicated
''Sir Sanford F'lemings plan suggested the
| use of the twenty-four- dial with let
tiers in place of the numerals. The dividing
| lines were geographical and located on the
| State boundaries. 1t was circularized by the
American Society of Civil Engineers; but
| was not otherwise presented to the railway
managers.
I'm October. 1881, DIR. F. A. p. Barnard.
with Professor Cleveland Able and Pro-
fessor Ormonde Stone, presented the sub
| ject Of the desirability of a reform in time
keeping to the meeting Of the railway man.
ayers then known as the general time con-
| vention The papers were referred to me
Railway Guide.
ION April II, 1883, I presented my plan,
which was adopted. Briefly. it provided for
| between the four sections. 1t designated
| every point on the boundary lines where
the change from one hour section 20 the
other was to be made. 1t arranged method
| of passing from the use Of one-hour stand
| ard to another without danger of interfer-
ence or mistake. 1t suggested a common
sense adjustment between local and stand
| ard time by the statement that, in fact
| local time would be practically abolished.
Il was able to report that had secured
agreements from the managers OF S,Ul
miles of roads to put the plan in actual
| use, and that the cooperation of the Naval
| Observatory at Washington and the Cam
| bridge observatory and certain city gov
| ernments was assured. Among those who
helped me most in the accomplishment OF
securing the adoption of standard time
| were many prominent railroad officials and
men of scientific attachments. notably Pro-
| fessor j. X. Rees, of Columbia University
and j. Raynor Edmunds of the Cambridge
| observatory.
"Since the adoption of the system in the
| United States its use has been extended
| to many parts of the earth. In every coun-
| try in Europe. with the exception of France
| and Russia, railway and local clocks are
| regulated by the time of either the Green
| wich meridian or by that of meridians diff.
| fering exactly one hour or two hours there.
| from. South Africa. Australia, Japan, the
| Philippine islands and Porto Rico also base
| their time reckonings upon meridians diff.
| fering by even hours from that of Green.
| witch. In Russia the time differs from the
even hour by one minute only. In nearly
! all parts of the civilized world, therefore
| the clocks and the watches, IL precisely
regulated, beat seconds exactly together
their minute hands point to the same part
| of the dial-only the hours differ accord
| ing to the governing meridian"