Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-07-14
Distribution of Standard Time.
(By Prof. Edgar l.. Larkin.)

Distribution of Standard Time.
(By Prof. Edgar l.. Larkin)
One of the most noted events in
the entire history of the world was
the Inauguration by the government
of the United States of the transmits
sion of accurate and legal standard
time by means of electricity to all
parts of our wide domain.
The achievement was greater than
battle. All the people can now have
exact time, thing SO new and strange
that we even yet do not realize all
it is to us or how the vast work is
carried on. Time is secured by pre-
else observations on the passage of
ingtOn running through the transit
telescope. resting in dignity on it's
heavy solid stone piers in the United
States naval observatory.
After arduous, painstaking and &C.
curate work true time is secured and
then sent by telegraph over the coun.
try.
At exact noon of November 1S, 1888,
all kinds and conditions of time were
changed into standard time by the
great clock in Washington. The Unit.
ed States was divided up into five
sets of standard time-the colonial,
the eastern, the central. the mountain
and the Pacific-each differing by one
exact hour.
Colonial time is 60 degrees 4 hours
west from Greenwich, and the six
tieth meridian passes along the ex-
IRENE eastern side of the American
continent just west of Newfoundland.
The fifth hour circle. the seventy
fifth meridian. passes just east of
Philadelphia and through the eastern
end OF Cuba and on to the South pole.
All time within seven and one-half
degrees either east or west of this
meridian is called standard eastern.
Central time is dated from the nine
tieth meridian. 1t passes west of Mad
ison. Wis. just east of St. Louis. Mo-,
through Memphis, Tenn, and exactly
through the city hall in New Orleans,
La. So Memphis and New Orleans are
exactly one-fourth the distance round
the world from Greenwich. Chicago is
nine minutes slower and st. Louis
one. minute faster than solar time, but
Memphis and New Orleans are marked
People living half way between two
clocks in their houses, differing by
one hour, if they wish. But time for
such places is selected by the railway
companies.
Washington is not on the seventy
fifth meridian or any other exact hour
circle from Greenwich. It's distance
west of the British standard meridian
is 5 hours minutes 1873 seconds
or Il degrees 8 minutes 81 seconds
of arc But when the whole United
states hears the tick for Washington
noon all the colonial people set theil
clocks and watches to read 1 p. m.
the eastern, noon: central, II a. m.
mountain, 10 a. M, and Pacific, 9 d
m.
Suppose the day began at noon il
New York, Chicago or San Francisco
Endless confusion would result The.
would have to stop in the middle O
deals on the boards of trade to change
dates. and all the clerks in the post
offices would change type in thei
stamps in busy hours So it has beer
agreed to change days in the Pacifi,
ocean, where cities and towns are
scarce. When it is exactly noon OF
Monday at Greenwich then Tuesda.
! begins on the opposite side of thu
earth, in the ocean. on the 1S0th de
gree, or twelfth hour circle. The onl,
persons liable to be disturbed by tn,
9dvent of new day are a few EsQui
'NauX in eastern Siberia. a handful OF
The Aleutan islands, west of Alaska
, and the inhabitants of the Fiji islands
in the South Pacific.
A day always begins out there whel
1t is a. m. in San Francisco. A shi
going west must drop a day when
, crosses the one hundred and eightetl
meridian. Here is the way a ship
record must read: January 1st an
} the next day January 3rd. The shi
= is moving eastward January 1st. til
: next day would also be written Jar
+. uary LIST.
: When we bought Alaska the Rus
:. SLAMS delivered all that they agree
!. 10 and more: they gave us one da
+ too much, so We had to cut it out.
h The process of finding exact tim
/ in Washington and its electrical di:
e tribution is of great interest. Stans
e ard time is now used in nearly a
l. parts of the world. for thirty-six n;
T tons have adopted it. That marve
= among nations. Japan, made il lega
S January 1, 1888, and Germany O
March -. 1898.
At midnight, December 81. 1902. Q
the instant of New Year, January
1908, time signals were sent fror
q Washington. The great telegrap
S companies before had made carefl
S preparation. and hundreds of thou
ands Of miles Of wire placed in on