The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1918-07-11
WILL DO AWAY
WITH CALENDARS
Michigan Mans Unique Scheme to
Make All Months Uniform

|
has concluded that modern businss j
all gummed up by the presens al
rangement of the calendar, and want
it fixed up right.
| Representative j. NJ. G. Smith O.
Charlotte, Mich, who introduced 2 bill
making it misdeameanor to use tbs
American flag as a handkerchief, benz
an eager ear to Mr.. Bennett and his
plan and like an honest congressmar
who has to propose whatever bill k's
constituents can think up, spread him
self on the subject in the house Of rep
resentatives.
The plan, as born in the active brain
Of Charles w. Bennett, is to divide thu
year into 13 months, of 2S days each.
As may be casually noted the change
means nothing at all in the life of the
man who gets paid weekly, but it is
full of nourishmens TO the man who ..
pay envelope comes twice a month or
monthly.
1t is just seven years since Mr..
Bennett stripped the mask from the
calendar and showed il up for just
what it was, an erratic affair, With
rarely two months in succession of the
same mind in the matter of length.
and with the days of the week always
changing their dates.
He worked out his plan and offered
it, in 1911, to a scientific magazine,
but the editor, remembering the ex
perience Of poor Mr. Romme's calen-
dar during the French revolution.
grew pale and fumblingly thrusting
the plan back into it's envelope, sent
it back to Mr.. Bennett.
Not so Representative Smith. He
told startled cong -ess, did Mr.. Smith,
that the passage of the measure
would prove a great boon to business
men, but failed to mention also that
it will throw out of work all the cal
endar makers and make the world
rack its brains for suitable New
Years gifts.
Beginning in 1920, according to Mr..
Benefits plan and Representative
Smiths bill, the year of 364 days
would be divided equally by 10, and
he 18th month would be slipped in the
'alendar between June and July. It's
lame would be Sol, for Solstice.
Monday is to the the first day of the
week and Sunday The seventh. Thus
Monday would be always the LIST, 9Th,
9Th and 22d of each month.
There is, of course, still the 365th
lay to take care of, and Mr.. Benefits
dea is that this extra day should be
allied New Years day, to be placed
etween Sunday, december %, and
ionday, January l, making it the
rst day of the new year, but not
art of January. This day is to be a
,gal holiday. There is still another
xtra day in leap year, and Mr.. Ben
EFT would dispose of this by adding
, the calendar in 1920, and every
'urth year, except in the centurial
ears not Invisible by 400, as at pres
ut, Leap Day." which would be
laced, foot loose, between June and
oil, but wotld not he a part of either
onth.
All holidays would come on the =
me day every year. Christmas would
ways fall on Thursday, and the
ourth of July couldn't help falling
on a Thursday, and so on.
nus III the calendars could be thrown !"
way and everybody start fair.
Mr.. Benefits idea, while more per-
ct, is not wholly original. The Chi
Sc year, which begins early in Feb di
airy, is similar to the Mohammedan ~
having ~ months of 20 and 80 80
US, alternately, with seven years IN
{ of every 10 with 10 months. This
not quite correct, and all the Chi
Sc have therefore formed cycle
60 years, in which period % inter- ri
airy months occur. II,
II the superstitious object to adding or
18th month to year, the argument w
advance is that this handicap is TO
re than offset by the fact that the ca
able hoodoo of Friday, the 18TH" OF
lid not occur under Mr.. Smiths
n the 18th always would fall on
turday.