Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1906-01-01
BAD LUCK ON I}|A TRIP
SlBERIA'S LAST VOYAGE
,UNU UALLY UNFORTUNATE
LATE CAPTAIN SMITH EXPLAINED
HOW A DAY is LOST WHEN
CROSSING THE both
MERIDIAN.

When the p. NJ. S. s. Siberia touched
at Honolulu en- route to the Orient No
vember 10th she was making her thir-
teentn voyage. When leaving this port
one of her propellors became entangled
with the chain of buoy In the harbor.
She was delayed seven hours. Between
San Francisco and Honolulu a China
man died, and during the trip from
here to Yokohama a sick japanese did
not survive and was buried at sea.
After the arrival of the Siberia at
Hongkong her commander, Captain j.
I. Smith, committed suiciue BY cutting
his throat with a razor. Later there
was a fire in the ships hold which did
q good deal OF damage, Inc Siberia Is
due here again from Yokohama next
Friday. Captain Smiths body is sup.
posed to be aboard, being taken to san
Francisco for interment.
During his last trip from Honolulu
! to Yokohama the late Captain Smith
wrote the following explanation for the
editor of the Atchison Globe. a passen-
ger, of how a day is lost when a ship
crosses the tS0th meridian
Wednesday. November 10.
Explanatory of the consequences Of
crossing the 1S0th meridian, by Cap
tain j. Tremaine Smith, S. s. Siberia:
| All time is reckon I'd from Greenwich,
which is sometimes called the primer,
or first northumberland, 0. Places
on the earth are either behind or ahead
OF Greenwich time, according as they
are In east or west longitude. For ex.
ample. when II is noon at Greenwich.
10 In ha Has
New York is in 70 west, and as each 10
degrees OF longitude is one hour of
time, New York is therefore FIVE hours
behind Greenwich. When 1t is 8 a. IN.
in San Francisco. 1t is y. m. in Green.
wich OF the same day. San Francisco
Is 100 degrees west from Greenwich, OF
eight hours Of time later, Of course
Places east of Greenwich have their
time earlier by the difference of long
itude, or the distance from Greenwich.
Example: Manila is in longitude 100
degrees from Greenwich, or eight
hours Of time; therefore when II is y
IN. in Manila, II is s a. m. of the same
day In Greenwich. In Japan, standard
time Is reckoncd from the 135th NERD
ian. or hours ahead OF Greenwich
time. Noon at any place on the earth
Is marked by the advent OF the sun
across the meridian Of that place. II
the traveller is sailing from east TO
west. or from San Francisco towards
japan, and say, around the world on
the came westerly course, he and the
sun are moving In the same direction
! and the instant the sun arrives at his
: meridian. II must be past noon at the
place he left yesterday, and is not yei
noon at the place he hopes to reach to
morrow. The opposite condi
ton holds. OF course, II he Is going
eastward around the world: or, instead
OF the sun overtaking him. as It did ia
going westward, he now advances TO
! meet the sun. and therefore shortens
bis day by the length OF his distance
made each day. instead Of lengthenina
IT,; or his day will probably be 23Iz
hours, instead Of 24h hours. /.
BY the time the traveller has reached
J the meridian of $50 degrees, going
westward, he has heightened his life
! by IL hours OF time, and II he continues
TO travel In the same direction until he
reaches Greenwich (from which all
time is reckoned) he will have added
"a hours to his life probably without
being conscious of the fact. II travel.
ing in the opposite direction (east
J ward, he will have shortened his life
by the same time, but instead of drop
ping a day. as we have done here, he
} adds day at the 1S0th meridian and
syens up what he had lost on the jour.
/. ney. To put the problem more plainly,
: Suppose two men, A and b, started on
the same instant on a journey around
the world, the first going east, and the
, other west. neither making any altera.
ton in their date from the time OF
starting until their return together on
the same day. This is what would
, happen: a would believe that he had
arrived say on Sunday, while B would
persist in the belief that II was Friday.
There would be a difference OF two
whole days in their reckoning; but
no one would seriously entertain the
idea that on this account A had lived
torty-eight hours longer than b. The
actual day OF the week would OF course
be Saturday, and the actual time con.
sumed by each ON the journey would
be precisely the same A going west,
should have dropped a day; b going
east, should have added day."