The Belding banner-news., 1922-03-15
Elk III ONCE FOR ALL

Ia IL O4NSE OIN ALL
Once more the annual discussion
over The daylight-saving time has
started in various Michigan cities,
which only serves 10 make clearer
the desirability of settling the mat.
ter permanently by uniform state
law.
Why discuss it any longer? 1t
has been discussed ever since the
war until everybody is tired of it.
1t has been agitated again and
again in dozens of cities, with ar
guments pro and con, pulling and
hauling, straw votes and real votes
with the result that the confusion
is worse than ever. After years
of agitation we have got nowhere.
Nobody knows to a certainty what
his own town is going to do, and
nobody knows without inquiry
what kind of time prevails in any
other town
Among the larger cities that used
Eastern time last summer are De-
troit, Flint, Pontiac, Port Huron
Ann Arbor, Bay City, Saginaw, Bat
tie Greek and Grand Rapids. Of
these cities the first half dozen use
Eastern time the year round. To-
ledo also uses it the year round.
Two or three of these cities are go
ing to vote on the question once
more, but there is no prospect of
any of them abandoning Eastern
time for the summer months. That
question is settled as far as prac-
tically all the important cities are
concerned-ahe cities where most
of the states business is done, and
where practically all railroad con-
nections are made.
Yet the diversity of practice is
almost as bad as ever. because sew
eral of the largest cities use East
ern time in winter as well as sum-
mer while at least one important
-Lansing-sticks to Central
time the year around. The result is
: that nobody can be sure, without
inquiry, what time prevails any
where, either winter or summer. Of
course it is just as confusing to
find Ann Arbor or Flint on Eastern
time in the winter as it is to find
Lansing sticking to Central time in
the summer, and there always is
uncertainty as to the date of change
in those places where the clocks
are turned forward in the spring.
AS far as Adrian is concerned,
probobly public opinion has not
changed much either way. There
always has been a division of opin-
ion and probably there will be for
years to come. Last spring the
majority of voters decided in favor
of daylight-saving time at the city
election. A count of noses is the
only way for a community to settle
such question for nobody seems
able to change anybody else's opinion
by argument.
But the matter ought no longer
to be left to local action, with all
its uncertainties, and with some
cities out of step with their neigh
bors both winter and summer. The
time nuisance should be abated once
for all by an act of the Legislature
prescribing some uniform system
for the entire state. No plan would
suit everybody, for some want to
use Eastern time the year around,
some Central the year round, and
some half-and-half. But there ought
to be only one kind of time whether
it suits everybody or not.
Since this is purely question of
individual preference, it is an issue
peculiarly suited to a referendum
vote. One persons preference is as
good as another's and no better so
a count of noses is not only the
simplest plan but also the fairest.
There surely would be a majority
for some plan or other, and what
ever the majority want ought to be
the uniform system for everybody.
We tax the above from the Daily
Telegram. of Adrian, but it applies
equally as well to Belding.