El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-31
New Year Means New Era
While the Hindu's Calendar shows
Time Near an End, Americans
Count 1t Only Beginning.
z 81 Frcderic j. Hnekin-

w ASHINGTON. D. c.. Dec 81
w America viii celebrate New
Years day tomorrow, and be-
hind the celebration is a background
of common memories extending over
1913 years. Behind these years, again,
extends a more shadowy past, shared
IN by some, vaguely sensible to others,
and by most of us disregarded. Wheth-
er computed in tens of thousands or
millions of years, its meaning is in
tangible. Definition and reality in time
begin for most of us with the Christian
era.
A little more than so years ago, there
was a well rounded measure of the
years from the beginning of time,
measure which took its origin with the
creation of the world, and behind
which it served no purpose for mortal
mind to look. This measure was &C
cepted generally by the Christians OF
the west. 1t provided a firm basis for
the survey of human accomplishment
and for prophecy.
The Era Of Creation.
It was called the Era of Creation,
and 4OO4 years were reckOned from the
forming of the earth until the birth or
Christ. Had the researches of the
archeolOgist, the geolOgist, the an
thrOpolOgiSt and other scientists,
whose data led them to make cOmpu-
tations of time far ante dating any
historical epoch, been left undone, we
would observe tomorrow not only the
year 1914 of the Incarnation. but also
the year 1913 of the age of the world.
Our era, or our definition Of our
place in time, is so real to US that
probably few stop to consider how
many different constructions viii be
placed upon our New Year by the peo-
pie of the world tomorrow. There have
been innumerable measures of time
since the days when the first folk Of
whom we have record made their APP
pearance in the world And New
Years day has fallen upon dates, rang
ing from January to December 81 OF
our calendar.
There are some among US today who
speak of SOC, 900 and more years OF
the age of man. an age in which the
most ancient of our eras would be en-
quilted and swallowed up as fly un-
DER the lofty. dome of some cathedral
Even though this computation of the
age of man, based bv scientists upon
comparative studies of the data of our
short day, be right, it would be diff
cult to convey popular idea Of this
period to man, the inheritor OF the age.
It would be still more difficult to es-
tablish and maintain an Era of Man,
dating tomorrow as New Years day
50OO01
beginning of New Western Era.
To the people of the west, tomorrow
marks the beginning of another year
in the high summer of civilization. No
matter how indefinite the future may
seem in the popular fancy, the case is
otherwise with the past. To this fancy,
there has been a fallow winter season /
for man, termination season Of
spring time, and now we live in the
summer season, a season of hardy
growth and the autumn. or the season
of reaping lies before US.
In the popular consciousness, all that
has gone before in preparation of the
present has largely its definition in
the 1913 years that have passed since
no a h 1ef7r r1F of 10
spring season of civilization is thought
Of as extending into this period in
the Dark Ages" The winter period
is thought in the dim, traditional years
before Christ. Some few cOncede the ;
smile of springtime to the ancient
civilization Of Egypt and Assyria.
On the other hand. to those whose /
especial work it has been to recon ]
struct fallen empires from their ruins. /
to push the dawn of history further I
and further back from the starting !
point of the Christian era. who are /
deciphering the cunifOrm inscriptions
on the baked CLAW books of ancient I
Ntneveh or the chiSeled hieTOglyDhs Of /
the Egyptian memorials, or who have 1
forced some secrets of its strata forma-
tiOn or of the DEVELOPMENT of life that !
it suppOrts-tO these even the past (
loses its semblance of definition. Such
persons speak Of an autumn of civili- /
cation 10000 years ago; compute the
beginning of a summer era far behind 4
y
springtime that is intangible, unreal.
Measuring Time by "Yugs.o
In India, there is measure of time /
commensurate in its proportions to the I
archaeologists theory of the past. This {
era is The growth of that mixture of 4
myth and metaphysics that is native to /
the Hindus- It is divided into four |
ages or yugs, and in these four ages |
are included the past and future Of {
the world. Three of these ages have :
been lived and are gone. This is the /
last age of the world, the Kali-yug /
With the scientist. the Hindu agrees j
that the world is in the scar of its au- /
tUmnal age.
Is the Worlds last Age.
This last age, according to the Hin
du's reckoning, began far back, where +
most are accustomed to look for the 4
youth of our planet. tt is reckOned I
from 3101 3. c. Thus, 5014 years of the /
worlds last phase have passed by this 4
New Years day. and. according to the 4
developed by the Hindoos in /
their .speculations upon time, each i
year brings with It deterioration in