Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-03-28
SUMMER TINE
MARKS EPOCH
IN CITY LIFE
Everybody Will be Affected
by Neurological Change
Now Starting.

-
When Grand Forks citizens so to
heu saturday evening, they'd better
set their clocks and watches II
hour anead, for at = O'Clock sunday
morning all the other clocks and
watches in the city and ali over the
cuuntry will experience that change
which has been authorized by a law
enacted i'll congress- and approved by
the president in an effort to gam
more daylight than has hitherto been
afforded.
Belo.e long a new slogan will have
been coined: Daylight Wins the
War" and it will rest upon ONE
basis of truth, inasmuch as the sole
object just now is to devote as much
time as possible to work so that the
war will be won. 1t will not, as has
been pointed out repeatedly, win all
BY itself. 1t will be won by the
hattie fields, and 1t will be won by
that immense fighting line which ex-
tends from France and Flanders
clear across the Atlantic to every
city. village and hamlet throughout
the United States.
'es Idea Was Thought a Joke.
What happens on Sunday is really
the transformation Of a once sup
posed joke into a fact of seriousness
and dignity. That eBnjamin Frank
lin, while in Paris, designed a day
light saving scheme, is we'll known
to historians; it is equally we'll known
that he was derided for harboring
such absurd ideas, and, anyhow, he
found it impossible to concert a ma
jority Of people to his wi shrewd
way OF thinking.
So the question wen into an early
grave and rested there without much
disturbance for more than a cen
tQry-
But it appears that pretty nearly
twenty years ago, an Englishman by
the name of Willett once more took
up the idea, and he kept on working
in favor Of it until it actually made
its entrance into the austere houses
of the British parliament. 1t was
embodied in a bill. and that bill was
for several years. Time and again
the daylight saving bill was intro
duced, laughed at, made fun Of, and
defeated without much Effort. Will
lett was generally thought to be a
crank-as Robert Fulton was when
he conceived the ridiculous idea that
q ship could be propeppel by steam.
Undaunted by his failure to inter-
est parliament, Willett wrote a book
about his pet scheme. and the British
isles %resounded with laughter and
jokes for some more years.
TWhereupon Willett died.
"Summer Time" Adopted.
Meanwhile. the war happened
along. 1t became necessary to evolve
schemes that would increase produc-
ton. save energy; etc SO one day
some studious member Of parliament
looked, into the dusty files Of the
archives and found the daylight bill
that funny scheme of a we'll mean
ing crank. a
The studious member Of parliament
Immediately realized, that the idea
might develop into q valuable asset,
and a S mems thoughts changed with
amazing rapidity during the first
year Or two of&the war, nobody con
sidered the resurrection of the bill
. joke.
new details added, and two years ago
was adopted all, over Great Britain
after shaving been IN use in Germany
during 1915. :
The new time was promptly
named summer time" and it work
ed SO satisfactorily that the Britons
demanded it extended for the entire
year SO as to make the long winter
evenings shorter.
Winning the World. T
After having been adopted in Ger
many and England, the daylight saw
ing plan set about the task of win
ming the world. 1t conquered trium-
Holland, Denmark, Norway. Sweden,
Austria. Belgium, Australia and some
parts Of Canada.
And finally the United States was
added to the territory Of the day
light saving plan, in consequence OF
which all clocks in the country viii
be moved sixty minutes ahead next
Sunday morning and so remain until
the fall.
What the Plan Means.
Statisticians have calculated that
will result in the saving of one mil
lion tons of coal during the summer
and will cut down the gas and cleo.
tricity bill Of every person in tne
country with about 40 cents. 1t will
it's said. improve the health Of the
people by giving more daylight fol
both work and rest; by affordinE
more time for sports; by making II
possible to reduce the strain on the
Dyes d. InOSe WHO nave 10 90 muC[
reading by artificial light, etc.
The plan which was nee a joke
has become not merely a fad, but
matter of fact, and its practical ap;
plication will be something like this
Suppose a man has been accus
toned to getting up at . in the
morning and being at his Office o.
in his store at 8. going home asai.
at S: Under the new plan he will
Get upf'at 6. be at his ONCE at z ant
go home at in which manner h.
has q long summary afternoons rest
play and recreation to look forward
to- while accomplishing the sam.
work al before. If this man ha.
been going to bed at 10 or IL in tn.
49, @- ------ -------