The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-04-08

their shopping, and the stores would
have TO stay open an hour later.
We needed this daylight saving, or
rather we needed to save fuel to make
artificial light, during the war, but
we do not need it now. And, need it
or not, we are not saving it. A year
ago, the daylight saving law was
backed up with restrictions on artific-
iaI lighting. People had to use day
light, because on certain nights and
ct certain hours, their lights were
shut off. These restrictions are re
moved, and now you will see lights
burning as late as ever. Two years
ago, every store in Ocala closed on
Saturday nights. by II o'clock, most
Of them an hour sooner. Now you
will find half of them open at mid
night-half an hour later. And as 1t
is in Ocala, it is in most small towns.
There is no daylight saving in any
rule that makes people get out of bed
and prepare breakfast by artificial
light; neither is there any saving in
health or comfort You can't get
enough sleep in summer time if you
get up with the lark, or half an hour
sooner, unless you go to bed with
him, and civilized people are not go
ing to do that except under the stress
of some great necessity.
If the daylight saving law remains
in force next year, the proper thing
for our people to do will be to keep
railroad time but adopt local sched-
ule for business affairs that will suit
their convenience and comfort. If the
stores open at 9 o'clock, it will be
really 7:30. If schools open at $3.50
it will be at 8. If the banks open at
10. it will be $50. If people go to
dinner at 2 o'clock. it will be 1890.
If the banks close at A, it will be 2:3O.
If the schools turn out at 4:30, it
will be 3. If the stores close at 1880,
it will be 6. If people go to supper at
IS, it will be $50. If they go to bed
at II it will be $3.50, and if they get
up at 7:30 it will be six. All these
are normal, healthy hours, about
what we would keep on sun time, and
half an hour sooner than we kept for
thirty-five years under central time.
The great joke about daylight
saving" is that hardly anybody seems
to realize that the "sun do move"
Daylight saving was imposed on the
country mostly by people who live on
the meridian of Washington and east
to the Atlantic, on the meridian of
Chicago and east to the Cumberlands,
| and on the degrees of latitude north OF
Richmond. This is less than fourth
of the United States, but its people
have disproportionate influence. Their
time goes to meet the sun, while ours
trails along after it. In the far north
ern states, the sun rises an hour
sooner and sets an hour later than it
does in the far southern, not to speak
of the twilight which follows sunset,
which is long in the north and short
| in the south. The average man does
| not realize that there is a difference
/ n the United States of about three
minutes between the time of the
sunrise forty miles east or west OF
him from the time it rises on him, and
| he doesn't realize that when it Is
sunrise Or sunset with him it is pitch
dark 500 miles to the southwark. Sc
he passes law for the benefit of the
little scope of territory within his
own narrow horizon and doesnb know
and seldom cares what effect it may
| have on those in whom he is not I'M
lmediately interested.
]