New-York tribune., 1905-01-01

IN n
servatory at Washington flashed ~S 1~S
Americas greeting to the nations
This sending forth of a New-Year greeting is senti-
mental its nature perhaps but it IS practical IN It's
illustration of the accurate time service that has been
adopted by the United States and the organization OF
standard time schedule in this country which 1t IS
hoped day will extend throughout the world
So these New-Ye greetings of Uncle Sans which
have become an annual feature of the national OBJ
seryatorv give an obect-esson to the nations that
NAV Lad to as great a reform in universal time
system Pope Gregory instituted in the correction
of thc Julian calendar. The first of these New-4ear
messages was sent out in IoO3 the telegraph COM
panics entering into the project with great interest
and energy. The signals were transmitted at mid
night and one and three A NJ, that each great
section of the country received its midnight signal
direct from the naval observatory. So successfully
was the plan carried out and general was the in
tercst in it. that it decided to make it feature
of every Ncw-Year thereafter.
The most recent experiment, except the for
1905 made last September before the members of
the Eighth International Geographical Congress- under
arrangements completed by Rear-AdmralC NJ Chester
superintendent of the naval observatory Some of the
messages sent that occasion received in
incredibly short time For instance the time signal
was received at Sydney, Australia in two and one
fourth seconds at Madras, India in a fraction
than ty-three seconds; at Cape Town, Africa, in two
minutes and thirty-ve seconds; at Madrid Spain, in
AMI onc-haf minutes; at Lick Observatory Mount
Hamilton, California, in twentyfour one-hundredths of
a on1 and at Harvard Observatory, Cambridge, in
ii
The Importance of this time service is evidenced by
the fact that it furnishes absolute standard time for
not only navgators at all the chief seapors of the
United States but for the entire country, except the
Pacific Coast which receives similar service from the
naval observatory at the Mare Island Yard. When
1t is understood that the service is rendered at
expense whatever to the government, being merely
incidental the work required for the rating of
Chronomcters for naval vessels the results attained
will appear all the acceptable. The tme-signal
IS daily at SeVcnt v-ift h-meridian
time with average for the year of only fifteen
hundrcdths of a second. The signal goes the
wires of the various telegraph and telephone
panics regulating eighteen government tneballs and
forty thousand public and private clocks throughout
the country
The accuracy required in the operation may be
appreciated when it is known that the minutest frac
titles that almost rival the twinkling of the hair
splitting timekeeper of ancient India.
Some philosopher has said that the appreciation of
time is a good index to the civilization of
nation According { this criterion at least the
United States Is well in the lead ne of
the country, the wide extension Cf railroads and tele-
graphs the length of the coaStnc and importance
of water-bOrne and inland commerce-all of these
factors unite rendering essential well possible
TO have the most widespread and perhaps the
best time service of any country in
the world.
The first telegraphic time-signas were
sent out by the naval observatory in s. a<;
August sos and they taken zsE1srv
up by the telegraph companies and trans S4&sz-1ff
mitted voluntarily over their lines, far and
wide. Accurate time was essential at the
observatory, for not only astronomical
observations. but for the rating of naval