The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-05-29

The Way This Important Boundary
! Came to BE Established - spots
Where Today, Tomorrow and Yestsr-
day Are UtiiI a Confused tumble.
It is evident that the day must begin
somewhere, though 1t Is a confusing
Thing TO undertake 20 determine just
where, for one may go on aud on
around the world and never catch IN
with It. On the other hand, II we are
aot careful In reasoning we win reach
the absurd conclusion that 1t is Mon
lay noon and Tuesday noon at the
same time In any given place.
A writer in the st. James Gazette
treats this peculiar phase of the Lob
'ect IN very definite way.
Seeing that as one moves westward
the time gets earlier and earlier, so
that when it is Monday noon In LON
Ion 1t Is some time on Monduy morn.
ing in America. it follows that. IL this
principle We're continued without limit
halfway round the world, ut the same
moment that 1t was Monday noon In
London 1t would be also twenty-f four
hours later that is. Tuesday noon-in
London. As this is reductio I'D absur-
lum, we have to look for the limit,
which does. in fact, exist, on the prln-
elple that as one moves westward the
time gets earlier and as one moves
eastward 1t gets later.
Before the circumuavigltion of the
globe there was no difficulty. When
on a Monday the sun stood over Lon
Ion 1t was Monday noon in London.
AS the sun moved Ito use the popular
phrase) westward and stood little
later over Dublin It became Monday
noon In Dublin. and so on until *
reached the western limit of the
known world.
When the sun passed over that limit.
that was the end OF noon for that Mon
day, and nobody knew what the sun
was doing until lie reappeured 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 at.
tribute of making the time at all places
directly under his rays Monday noon
and took to himself the attribute OF
making 1t Tuesday noon.
AS the confines of the world were
pushed further eastward and west
ward, respectively. the unknown ABYSS
where this change Of attribute had 20
be made got narrower and narrower
until, when the globe was clrcumnayI-
gated, the place of change became
simply a line.
This line exists and is the place
where the days begin. As the, sun
crosses this remarkable spot the time
jumps twenty-four hours onward
from noon one day to noon on the next
day. The situation of the line has been
located quite fortultously-namely. bS
the circumstance whether any given
place was first reached by civilized
man journeying from the east or from
the west.
The discoverer brought with him the
almanac from whence he came. and If
he came from the west the time In the
new country would be later, and if lie
came from the east 1t would be earlier
than the time in the country he came
from.
America was reached by civilized
man voyaging westward and China Us
man travelling eastward, and the result
is that the line that marks where the
days begin lies between these two In
the Pacific ocean and, instead of being
a straight line. zlgzags about dividing
Islands which happened to be discover.
ed from the east from those which
happened to be discovered from the
west
There must still be many Islands In
that ocean where it is not yet decided
to which side Of the line they belong
and where. If one were put down, one
would not know whether 1t were to-
day, tomorrow or yesterday.
There must also be many islands
there which. never having been per.
occupied by civilized people,
change their day from time to time, SO
that a ship calling there coming from
China might arrive on Tuesday, while
another ship calling at the same time
from America would arrive on Mon
day. There must be people living so
near this line that by going a few miles
they can leave today and get into to.
morrow or, by going back, can eud