New-York tribune., 1918-03-21
Old Father Time
Ready for a Leap
To Save Daylight
Z A. NJ. on Sunday, March
81 Will Be 3 A. M.
in Addition

Old Father Time, who has been jog
stng along at uniform pace these
many. many years, will take leap OF
exactly sixty minutes at tho unseemly
aour Of o'clock the morning OF Sun
day, March 81. Then, as If nothing at
al had happened, he will settle down
to his old accustomed gait once more.
In the sports directories there are
TO speed records for high or broad
Jumping, but if anv such existed, Father
Time would break them all, for his leap
will consume exactly no time at all.
Sunday morning, March 81. he will be
tick k-tocking along the last seconds
between / and O'clock. He will step
with his nice precision from l O'Clock,
SO minutes and SO seconds to O'Clock.
Then, without any running start, ne
will leap the chasm Of sixty minutes
and plant his broad toe down on one
second after 3 o'clock.
There will be no half-past O'Clock
that morning. 1t will be o'clock, and
in the same instant it will be 3 o'clock.
Bill Now Is Law
The daylight saving bill, which has
now been passed by Congress and
signed by President Wilson, was orig
inally so drafted that the change was
to have been made at midnight. When
the measure was under consideration
before committees in Congress several
railroad companies, through their rep
resentatives, objected. They pointed
out that good many passenger trains
midnight and between II and 1 O'Clock
and that confusion in schedules might
result in accidents.
William Archibald Ferguson, secre-
tary of the National Daylight Saving
Association, said he recognized the
validity of this opposition. Thereupon
he started collection of railroad time
tables from all over the country.
''It was not what you might call an
interesting study" said Mr.. Ferguson.
"I had several assistants, and before
any of US succumbed to brain fever we
had discovered that fewer trains were
scheduled to leave big terminals at 2
o'clock in the morning than at any
other hour in the twenty-four, The
bill was changed accordingly.
New Time To Be Flashed
"Now this is just what will happen at
2 o'clock a. NJ, Sunday, March 81: The
official time director of the United
States Naval Observatory in Washing
ton, who sends out the corrected time
all over the country at noon, daily
will fash the new official time owe,
the wires Of the Western Union. The
time service department of the West
ern Union in New York City will imme
diately move the thousands of clocks ir
this city under its control one houl
ahead. That is, 2 o'clock and O'Clock
will strike on the same second"
1900 Clocks to Change at Once
D. r. Hawley, manager Of the time
1ena RI of tho Western
Union company, is the man who viii
move the clocks of New York Cit.
ahead. The Western Union has abou
10000 standard time clocks under it
control in greater New York. The sec
ond the master clock in the centra
office of the Western Union leaps from
2sto o'clock the 10000 other standar
through the synchronizing system o
the time service department..
There will be no change in trai
schedules on roads running out Of NeV
York. They will merely continue run
ming according to their present tim
tables with the loss of an hour, whic
will have to be made up In yariou
ways.
Light Plants Face Loss
The big central lighting plants OF tn
city will be most affected by the day
light saving scheme. according to thei
officials John w. Lieb, VICE presider
terday said he did not know kc~ muc
of loss in revenue the new orde
would mean but that receipts for ligl
service would undoubtedly diminis
He said no official of the Edison con
pany, however, had opposed the plan {
any time.
l.. :-.L,% 1.xr, Il 1a
trio light authority, whose pocketboo
is hard hit by the plan, 900, ding
his own admission. CAS- the law no
stands the clock will be turned bat
again on the last Sunday in Octobe
Congress should have passed dayligl
saving law. effective ali tho ye'
around. This would have meant greats
economy all around.
1.-THE peak of the traction companie
loads of travel is at 5 O'Clock p. I
During the spring, summer and fall
is light practically all over the Unite
States at o'clock in the evening B'
in the Winter the traction compani
use the same amount of power in mo
ing people at 5 o'clock evenings, viii
the central plants have to illumina
streets and buildings at that hou
This brings the electric current cur
up to sharp peak.
Big Consumption of Power
There is terrific expenditure
power, which could be relieved by da
light saving in winter. II the clo
were moved one hour ahead the ye
around, the traction companies wou
always be able to move their peak lo
before streets and buildings had al
need of artificial lights.
This advantage would be only pa
TALLY Offset mornings, for under
circumstances would there be rs mu
artificial light used then as evening
The power thus conserved could
turned over to other industrial u.s.
ard we need all the power we can &
now"