Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-20
Time Regulation
By Electric Light
ny rrs.s-~ie ). aaak'a


BY an electric light signal is a project
that is being talked of since traveller
recently brought back word that
Montcvideo achieves correct time by
this method.
Each evening at set time, electric
lights all over the South American
fash back to their normal brilliancy.
People on the streets. in restaurants.
at homo. catch the signal and can SGT
their watches and clocks by it. know
ing that all the other timepieces in
town will be using the same guide.
By this simple device Montevideo
does away with the endless variety
of time which the clocks in the aver
age city offer.
Th, success Of the Uruguayan sys-
tenn is being brought TO the attention
OF cities i'm this country by the
Horoloricai Institute OF America.
According To A. +. Beal, chief of
the time section OF the Bureau of
Standards. and a member of the insti-
tute. the electric light time signal is
quite desirable from the standpoint
Of the public.
so far as the power companies
are concerned. however" he explain
cd. there are few difficulties to con-
slider. IL the signal Is operated by
hand. reliable man must be ap-
pointed TO operate the switch each
evening If the man entrusted with
;his duty delayed giving the signal
Tor minute or two. or forgot 10 flash
IL 'sltogether. there might be criticism
OF the company. However, mistakes
are very unlikely to happen. The
chances are that the time signal would
never be in error more than ten sec
onds. and it is entirely beyond the
question TO assume that il would be
in error as much as a minute with a
reliable man at the switch. If small
mistake did occur, however. and the
ngnal were given a few seconds too
soon or too late. all the clocks of the
city would still be uniform if adjusted
by IL.
Automatic Device Practical.
The operation of the signal could
easily be made automatic. Neces-
sary apparatus to accomplish this
would involve a small initial ex-.
rense. but by using an automatic
signal the company would be prac-
lAtdllN Tree ifbfl EetblNtslE
because OF some slight inaccuracy
Whether the signal is. operated by
hand or automatically there must be
a reliable clock 10 be used as a guide.
II may be figured that a couple of
hundred dollars would cover the ex-
pense TO the power company. 1t is
quite possible that this would be pro-
Nided by many cities by popular sub
sCription."
In a city or town of 25.000 people.
where one power plant supplies the
electricity the signal would be easiest
to manage. One man could give il by
thEowing a signal switch at eight
o'clock each night.
In cities that have several plants
the signal would have TO be given
from each base. II has been suggest
ed that where the same circuits are
used for lighting current and for
power to drive heavy machinery, the
fash down and up of the current might
possibly involve difficulties. Engineers
have considered this point, however.
and believe the signal would not
cause any trouble.
These difficulties which power
company would have to consider and
investigate thoroughly before offer
ing 10 give the time signal are Offset
by certain advantages. TO the COM
pany. There are at least two adj
vantages. Mr.. Beai points out:
First. the intangible but important
asset known as good will" which
means satisfaction and kindly feeling
between company and its patrons;
and this would undoubtedly be stimu-
lated by supplying the time signal
Then, second. in a more substantial
way. the company would be likely to
profit by giving the signal as this
would be an extra advantage of using
electricity in the home. Houses using
gas alone would be without the signal
unless they were able to catch ii from
some outside electric light
The important thing about the cleo
trio time signal is that it is flashed
20 the people of whole city so that
they are compelled for an instant to
think about the time InstinctiveIy
they pull out their watches or look
up at the clock and note the varia-
ton. Without the signal they could
get the approximate time daily at a
number of more or less reliable clocks
about the streets. but that involves
effort and the effort is not impelled
~ an outside influence as in the case
OF the electric light signal.
Need for Such Reform.
The need for a single stands I'd Of
correct time is apparent in our cities
Eecsuse Of the large number of such
calls. telephone operators are forbid
Gen to respond to appeals for the
right time please" Comparisons OF
the big clocks on towers and posts
and the chronometers in windows will
show that scarcely two have exactly
the same time. According to Mr. Beal,
most people would be surprised to
know how much window chronometers
are permitted TO get in error, even
though they may carry a card in
scribed correct time Yet, people
set their watches by these different
clocks and chronometers daily. each
feeling that the particular one he Sc
lects as standard is the most re-
liable
The Western Union. clocks. which
are set regularly by electricity are as
trustworthy guides as our cities now
o6er. These clocks have as their
standard the Naval Observatory time
pieces at Washington. the correct
time being wired TO each city al noon
every day. The Naval Observatory
clock is one of the master clocks of
the country. There is another at the
Bureau OF Standards. Such clocks
vary as little as one-hundredth of a