Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-10-11
Caesar Started
Trouble With Time

Washington, Oct. 11.-JuliuS Caesar.
by his unscientific Juggling of the cal
cndar. has caused unnecessary confu-
sion for centuries. say members of the
International Fixed Calendar League,
who advocate the adoption Of a 13
month year with each month contain
ing 2S days and an international holi-
day added each year to make up the
3G5 days Of the solar calendar.
There is really no reason why the
calendar should be SO broken up.
league members say. In the days of
the ancient Egyptians, who originated
the calendar. working with the shad
ows of pyramids and ohelisks, the cal
cndar was arranged with IS months of
equal length. with a five days fcsti-
val at the end of the year to square
things up with the sun. The reason
for the pyramids and obelisks was
their use in astronomy and calendar
making, it is said.
In 46 T.. c., Julius Caesar dissatis-
fed with the moon-chasing calendar of
his day, adopted the Egyptian system
with notifications. Tine Romans
We're superstitous about odd numbers,
so Julius started to do with the calen-
dar as lie had done with the world and
when he was through the equal length
months We're all broken up, the five
day festival was eliminated, and the
months were arranged alternately with
so and 81 days
So pleased was the Roman Senate
with Caesars work, it Immediately
named the seventh month in his calcn-
dar in his honor. and the system is
known as the Julian calendar.
That worked for while until one
of Caesars successors, Augustus by
name, changed his forebcars WORK. in
=. G. IS. and when his heavy hand was
through, the calendar resulted in its
present state; the odd and even num-
bered months were changed around
and arbitrarily fixed, February was
given little more liberty than the
other months, and the half-years were
set on unequal bases-thc first half
getting only ISL days and the second
1874. The Roman Senate retaliated by
changing the name of the eighth
month to honor Augustus, as that was
his birth-month as July was julius.
constantine the Great" says
league publication, conferred the ever
welcome Sabbath rest each 9TH day on
Europeans; but the unequal lengths of
IS and 81 day months imposed by Jul
Illus and Augustus have since forced
the Constantine weeks yearly to slice
months into different weeks, and at
month-ends almost split weeks into
parts. necessarily but necdlcssly con-
fusing weeks arG months"
In 1852 another change was mad1,
when Pope Gregory XIII found Julius
had been wrong in his arithmetic and
made an error n computing leap years
and that as result 10 extra days had
piled up from somewhere in the mean
while. The sun and the earth, accord
ing to that timetable, were not trav-
cling on the same schedule. So Greg
DRY did what many other people have
often wished they could do, he dug out
10 days from one month-Octobcr Of
that year-and threw them into the
discard in order to readjust the 21st OF
March to the Equinox and the rest Of
the calendar to the seasons.
Since then we have been travelling
under the Gregorian calendar. In con
sequence, the league complains. Greg |
CRY moved the Christian years end
(Which ever since the establishment |
of the Christian era had been cello |
bratcd at Christmas) from Christmas !
to January 1st-one week farther !
away from natures ycar's-end, De- |
combcr end Russia and Greece |
alone did not comply with that edict, |
and continue as of old.
After several national and interna- (
tional conferences during 1922. Of |
those interested in the new movement,
a final international conference was /
planned to be held sometime during
the coming year. 1t will be held here. |
at the Presidents call. Many repre- |
sentatives of world nations will attend,
to discuss program which includes.
Location Of the Year Day. re- !