The New York herald., 1921-12-04
SAVANYS OF FRANCE
DEBATE CALENDAR
!. REFORMPROPOSALS
A Few Turn Attention to
Pickering Theory Of an
Inhabited Moon.
TIME REVISION SOUGHT
Abandonment Of Leap Year
for New System Under
Consideration.

Special Cable to The New YorK HEnLp.
Copyright, 1891, By TIE NEW YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
Paris. Dec. 3.
While tho rest Of the world Is
wrinkling its forehead over the arma-
ment problems and as to whether It is
possible to make Germany pay her
debts, French savants are concentrat-
Ing their whole attention to-day on
two problems which have worried a
score Of generations.
The first OF these is whether the
moon Is Inhabited, as Prof. Pickering
contends, and the second is whether
1t Is wiso to commence a revision Of
the Gregorian calendar so as to do
away with the leap years.
The moons population. as matter of
fact. is considered here as the lesser Of
the two questions as, regardless Of what
Prof. Pickering thinks OF the great
scheme Of using mine shaft as tele-
scope barrel in photographing lunar
landscapes, the majority of French as
tronomers are backing the noted Able
Moreaux, director OF the Bruggs Observ-
atory, who says that it would be impos-
sible for any. type of life such as ave
know to exist under lunar conditions.
"It Is ridiculous and fantastic" de-
clares Abbe Moreaux. ''Why. the tenn
perature OF the moon during the period
corresponding to our daytime is never
less than 200 degrees centfgrade. Who
could conceive of human existence under
such boiling conditions? Then every
fourteen days comes the lunar night.
which is exactly the reverse, the temper
ature falling to 200 degrees below zero.
or semi-monthly difference Of 400 de-
grees centigrade. which would be enough
to send the whole lunar population into
fatal pneumonia"
The calendar problem. however, Is ex-
citing great attention and IL Is certain
that the approaching conference at
Rome will find. the French delegation
strong for change, but divided as to
the wisdom Of tangfins the almanac
calculations until other world questions
are moro settled. The Catholics espe-
cially are watching the progress of the
calendar revision movement with great
concern. not desiring to approve any
change which will affect the regularity
OF church festivals.
Father de la Briere, one Of the most
eminent scientists In the Catholic Col
lege. Is especially insistent that the
savants In trying to make the solar year
correspond to the almanac do not in
terfere with the observance of Christ
mas. Easter and the various saints
days. He considers the calculations by
the Catholic astronomer Dugout as the
only system likely to meet with general
approval That would make New Years
day an extra day yearly between De-
cember 81 and January /, leaving only
occasional rectifcation necessary to
overcome tho small solar variations
which might be effected through an In
ternational decree after the scientific
men have reached q unanimous agree
ment
Other savants like Prof. Andoyer,
member Of the French Institute, de-
clare the whole system of months and
weeks must be changed Just as they were
In the modification OF the Julian year
to meet the corrected ideas of the Gre
gorian period. Prof. Andoyer holds that
the present system of leap years can
only be overcome by creating a year
with four quarters each with thirteen
weeks and with the flnal month In each
quarter containing thlrty-one days, and
then throwing In an extra day here and
there to meet the solar requirements.
When one recalls the difficulty of
making the metropolitan population un-
derstand the wisdom OF such changes
and how absolutely impossible Napoleon
found It to make rural districts adopt
high sounding names for the months
such as Pluviose, Floreal, Brumaire.
Messidor. Fructidor &c.-it is doubtful
IL the French delegation will achieve
much at the Rome conference, and 1t Is
being prophesied that the calendar will
remain on Its present basis for many
generations TO come.