Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-22
STANDARD TIME.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

Jacent important cities. there were more
than hundred different time standards
IN use in the United States. This pro-
cuced no end of confusion, led to many
accidents on the railroads and in many
ways was most inconvenient. Two rail-
roads crossed each other. One had one
time standard and the other another.
What was more inevitable than that they
should have a collision sooner or later?
traveller going west was continually
setting his watch back, and from the
standpoint Of time never knew just where
he was.
All these inconveniences led to the as
sembly Of a convention of railroad men in
Chicago, October II, 1888. Following the
suggestion of Prof Cleveland Able and
Prof. Sanford Fleming. then with the
Canadian Pacific railway, it was decided
that North America should be divided
into four time belts, and that In each of
these the railroad time should be Identical
for every line operating within the belt.
Eastern time was to prevail in all the
region east Of Pittsburg, Wheeling and
Bristol, Tenn Central time was to pre-
vail in all the region between eastern
time points and such places as Dodge
City,. Kan; Ell Paso, Tex, and Minot,
n. u. line approximately from Dem
ing, n. M. through Huntington, Ore, and
Laggan, British Columbia, was to form
the western boundary of mountain time
and the eastern boundary of Pacific time.
This program was agreed upon and rec
commended to the government. At noon
November Is,
Standard Time 1883. for the first
Adopted in 1883. s s.ans.ra history, 81 m !.
was sent out from the Naval Observatory
at Washington to all the stations east Of
the Pacific time belt, and from the Mare
Island navy yard to sta Ions In that belt
From that day to this. every properly
regulated clock In the United States has
pointed to the same minute and the same
second at all. times. Only the hour hand
differs. 1t Is an hour slower in Chicago
than In Washington, two hours slower in
Denver, and three hours slower In San
Francisco. Sometimes this difference in
time Is, advantageous to certain people.
! For instance. the Washington CORE
spondent Of San Francisco afternoon
paper can send afternoon happenings in
Congress to his paper long after the New
York papers have gone to press and the
San Francisco citizen reads later news
from Washington in his afternoon paper
than does the citizen of Washington. On
the other hand, the afternoon paper in
Washington gets out three hours earlier
| than that OF San Francisco. and lie
WaSh1ngtOn1an may be reading about
| Golden Gate happenings before the resi-
| dent Of San Francisco.
| The accuracy Of the nations time is
| largely in the kee ping OF the Naval OBJ
servatory at Washington. The method
| by which that Institution sets a nation
clocks is interesting, and ingenious. In
the first place, 1t has the cooperation of
| every national telegraph and telephone
line in the country. At the hour of noon
in Washington, eastern time. every ratl-
road and telegraph clock hand In the
country Is set to correspond with the
Washington noon. There is a great mas
ter clock. kept In an alright. moisture
proof vault, in which uniform baro-
metric pressure and a uniform tempera-
ture are maintained. the latter being &C.
! stat aud q smalEelecuic' light. THIS clock