Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-05-24

every month commencing with Id
Liberty, March, etc.
The above shows a cut OF the
much talked of new Liberty Cal
endar. The mere suggestion that
this plan of measuring time should
take the place OF our present cal
endar is enough to make any real
nice, old fashioned, conservative
person gasp for breath. To such d
person it would seem preposterous
that anyone should have the nerve
and effrontry to propose such a
radical change in our time honored
and much revered, though atroc-
iously constructed, old time calen-
dar.
1t would be bad enough if some
one were to simply offer a slight
amendment to the calendar-such
for instance as Caesar Augustus
asked for when he got peeved be-
cause his month of August contain
ed only thirty days, while July,
named for Julius Caesar, contained
thirty-one. This august parsonage
in his petty jealousy, asked the
Roman senate to add an extra DAY
| to his month, and straightway 1t
was done. They did it by simply
robbing poor little February of one
of its 90 days, so that through all
the ages since, this little. sawed of
month has had to get along with
only %. barring each fourth year.
However, 1t was a common thing in
those days to change the calendar
enthusiastically.
But-to get back to this Liberty
calendar scheme: 1t is not simply a
slight change which is proposed by
the men who are advocating this
new plan, but they want to do away
with all of the 420 little squares
35 to the month-which are now
used to make up our yearly calen-
dar, and place in their stead an IN
significant little bunch of only %
squares. Not content with this,
these people pretend to say that
this little Liberty calendar of only
% squares will not have to be
printed new every year, but that a
person might simply cut out the
above very simple form, paste it on
a card, and use it all the rest of his
natural life. Indeed, these men
claim that after a few months ex-
perience under this Liberty calen-
dar, everyone would have it mem
orized, and thereafter all printed
calendars of every sort might be
thrown into the waste basket for
good and all. Incidentally, this
would mean a saving of 5000, 900
a year now spent for printed calen-
dars.
The people referred to are the
fifty Minneapolis business and pro-
fessional men who few months
since organized the American Equal
Month Calendar association and are
now seeding down" the whole
country with their pet calendar
idea. Strange to say, the organizers
of this association do not belong to
the ancient and accepted order of
cranks, but they are hard-headed,
practical business men. In fact,
among them are bankers. lawyers,
merchants and manufacturers,
while four of the six officers of the
association are officers of banks or
other leading corporations. The
ten directors are all business or
professional men Of high standing
in the community.
OF course, we may be sure that
such men would not have started
out on a propaganda like this with
out looking before they Ieaped, and
it is stated that for two whole
years before the matter was made
public, the president of the assocla-
ton was corresponding with
scientists, educators and other peo-
pie of the doubling Thomas" class.
with a view to getting their expert
opinion and learning whether the
proposed Liberty Calendar would
really stand the test. They also
wished to learn whether their plan
could be improved. The officers
state that the result of this invessi-
CATION fully confirmed their opinion
and that they are certain they have
adopted the very best plan of i'm
proving the calendar that can pos
sibly be devised. 1t must be admit
ted that the plan is 80 simple as to
be almost startling. Also that the
adoption of this form would save
an immense amount of time and eff
fort in making arrangements for
future dates and in a thousand 9TH
er ways.
In framing the calendar, only
three slight changes were made IN
the present form. First, New Year S
day was made an Independent legal
holiday. 1t is placed between the
last day of December and the first
day of January, but is. is not IN
cluded in any week or month. Then
the remaining 1854 days are divided
into Is months of exactly four
weeks each. every month COM
with Monday. This is GER
tainly simplicity itself
OF course, the extra day in Leap
Years also had to be provided for,
but the same unique plan was again
followed, and another independent
day called Correction Day" is
placed at The end of each fourth
year between the last day of De-
cember and New Years Day of the
following year. This will make two
holidays come together once in
four years, but that will exactly
suit business men who have their
yearly inventories to make, and 1t
will aso furnish a wonderfully con-
venient time, in connection with
nearby Christmas, for young peo-
pie to get married and start out to- |
gether on the coming year. These |
two independent days ere to be !
known by their names and not by |