Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-04-24
DIVIDES THE WORLD.
The Line That Marks Where Day
Begins ami Ends.
1T TRAvERSES THE PACIFIC.

The Way This Important Boundary
Came TO Be Established - Spots
Where Today. Tomorrow and Yester-
day Are Still Confused tumble.
II is evident that the day must begin
somewhere, though IL is a confusing
thlng To undertake 20 determine iust
where. FOR one may 20 on and on
around the world and never catch up
with It. On the other hand. il we are
not careful in reasoning we viii reach
the absurd conclusion that II Is Mon
day noon and Tuesday noon at the
same time I'm any given place.
y writer in the St James Gazette
treats this peculiar phase Of the sub
ject in very definite way.
Seeing that rs one moves westward
the time gets earlier and earlier. SO
that when it is Monday noon I'm Lon
don It Is some time on Monday morn
Ing in America, IL follows that. II this
principle were continued without limit
halfway round the world. at the same
moment that IL was Monday noon IN
London il would be also tweutv-four
hours later that Is. Tuesday noon-in
London. rs this Is rcductlo adj ahsur-
dunn. We have to look for the limit.
which does. in fact, exist. on the prin-
cipie that as one moves westward the
time gets earlier and rs one moves
eastward it gets later
Before the decentralization Of tho
globe there was 10 difficulty. When
on a Monday the sun stood over Lon
don II was Monday noon in London.
rs the sun moved Go use the popular
phrase westward ana stood n little
later over Dublin it became Monday
noon in Dublin. and SO on until it
reached the western limit OF the
known world.
When the sun passed over that limit.
that was the END OF noon for that NIou-
day. ami nobody knew what the SIM
was doing until ne reappcared on the
eastern limit Of the known world.
bringing with him Tuesday morning.
1t is evident. therefore. that while
the sun was In the unknown abyss be-
tween west and east he dropped the NJ
tribute of making the time at al places
directly under his rays Monday noon
and took te himself the attribute Of
making IL Tuesday noon.
As the confines OF the world were
pushed farther eastward ana west
ward. respectively. tile unknown abyss
where this change OF attribute had 10
he made got narrower and narrower
unUl when the globe was circumnavi-
gated. the place OF change became
simply line.
This line exists ana is the place
where the days BEGIN As the sun
crosses this remarkable spot the time
Jumps trcnty-four hours onward
from noon one day to noon ON the next
day The situation or The line has boon
located quito fortuitoUsly -uamcly. BY
the circumstance. whether any given
place was first reached 10y civilized
man journeying from tie east or from
the west
The diScovcrcv brought with him the
almanac from whence ho came. and II
he came from The west the time IN the
new country would Ice later. and II he
came from the east Il would be earlier
than the time IN the country he came
from
America was reached by civilized
man VoyaEing westward and China by
man travelling eastward. and the result
is that the line that marks where the
days begin hes between these two IN
the Pacific ocean and. instead Of being
4 straight line. 1igzaSS about. dividing
Islands which happened TO be discover
Ell from the east from those which
happened u uc discovered from tho
west
There must sdll be many islands IN
THAT ocean whore il IS not yet decided
10 which slide OF the line they belong
AMI whore. If one were put down. one
would not know whether IL were TO-
day, tomorrow or yesterday.
Thcre must also be many Islands
there which. never having been per
mancntiy occupied by civilized people.
change their day from time 10 time. so
that ship calling there coming from
China might arrive on Tuesday. while
another ship calling 1t the same time
from America would arrive on Mon
day. There must be people living 50
near this line that by going a few miles
they can leave today and get into to-
morrow or. by going back. can ind
yesterday.