Palisadian., 1924-07-25
new CALENDAR IS
ASKED FOR 1928
Scientists Point to Value of
Plan Having Uniform
Dates for Each Day.

vising the calendar is coming up anew.
official bodies of no less Importance
than the weather bureau in the United
States and the League of Nations in
Europe are giving serious considera-
tion to a general revision of the method
of computing time. Efforts now are
being made to bring about an interna-
tional conference for a discussion Of
the problem and the formation of a
new system.
The League of Nations has appointed
special committee to investigate the
necessity and desirability for a reform
| Of the calendar. The committee has
held some sessions, but at present is in
adjournment pending the gathering Of
additional data. Should the United
States government, or any other gov
ernment, call an international confer
ence on the subject it is certain that
the committee would play large part
in the deliberations
| DR.. c. F. Marvin, chief of the United
sidered as the head of the movement
| for calendar reform in this country.
| He has given much study to the sub
| ject and Is probably the leading Amer
| ican expert. He advocates a simplifi-
cation which would base the year on
! the seven-day week as the major unit.
| The year would consist of 13 months
of % days each, or exactly four weeks
each.
One Day All by Itself.
One extra day would be left over.
Doctor Marvin suggests that this ex-
ira day be not included in any month,
but given a name of it's own. 1t might
be New Years day, or any other which
could be agreed upon. The day, under
the plan, would be worldwide hoh-
day. 1t should be placed, in Doctor
Marvin's opinion, between December
2S and January 1.
Doctor Marvin would insert his extra
month in midsummer, in the belief that
this would cause the least disturbance
to accustomed calculations. This
would bring it between the present
months of June and July. Every four
years would come still an extra day
and this would be taken care of by alb
solutely separate classification. It
would have its own special name, such
as Leap Year day, and would not be
a part Of any regular month. 1t. too,
might be q worldwide holiday.
Doctor Marvin says there are many
advantages to the plan he proposes.
Dividing the year into months which
are precise multiples of the seven-day
week would simplify business and
scientific transactions. Bank interest
could be more easily reckoned and ac-
counting could be better standardized.
Scientific data, particularly of me-
teorological nature, would be better
handled on a basis Of even week units.
A Simple Reform.
To effect the reform would be no
simple matter. The governments Of
the world business communities, scien-
tific institutions and perhaps, most i'm
portant Of all, the various churches,
would have to be brought into agree
ment upon the program. Because of
the numerous church festivals, saints
days and the like, the church Is close
ly bound up with the calendar; in
deed, heretofore the calendar has been
In the hands of the churchmen rather
than laymen, and the calendar that
this letter is dated by was established
by the pope of Rome.
Doctor Marvin points out that the
change could be effected with least in
convenience by taking action before
1928, the nearest year in which jan
uary falls on Sunday. This would
enable the new year to start on the
first day of week.
The history of the development OF
the calendar is of absorbing interest.
The earliest savages were dimly aware
of divisions of time, reckoning them by
astronomical phenomena. Our own
North American Indians to this day re-
fer to the months as the moons"
There is the "moon of blossoms and
so on, with distinctive name for each
cycle of the moon. The Indian reckons
lesser periods of time, by suns. From
one pidCe U duOtiitI VIII pC oCo'.itDSN
as FIVE suns journey.
The early Egyptians had year OF
12 3O-day months with an extra five
days each year. In early Hebrew his
tory we find the year of II months
with an occasional extra month when
one was needed to adjust the calendar.
The early Greeks also had a II
month year. Every 19 years the moon
returns on precisely the same day,
completing a cycle, and the Greeks
were guided by this and made ADJUST
ments accordingly.
The Greek month was not divided
into weeks, as our month is, but into
decades. Each 30-day month had
three decades of ten days each. In
some respects this might be regarded
as simpler system than the four-week
month, but Christendom would never
accept such a scheme because of the
teaching of Genesis which specifically
tells that the Lord labored six days
and rested upon the seventh. The
teachings of the Scriptures enjoin upon
us six days labor and then day of
rest. This has fixed the seven-day
week in the Occident.
Caesar Made Changes.
The Greek system was generally en-
ployed in the Mediterranean basin but
by the time of. the Roman emperor,
T,,Itue Coosar tho diviSiOn of months