Evening star., 1942-02-09
Confusion
.MarksChange
To War Time
Advance of Hour
Increases Traffic
Before Down

Washington, in common with the
rest Of the country, today got up an
hour earlier-and turned on the
ights-in order to save electricity.
The Nation went on war time"
at 2 am. and the clocks were moved
ahead one hour. The schedule will
prevail for the duration.
The first apparent result of the
shift was that early vehicular traffic
ordinarily moving in full daylight
at this time of year, was proceeding
under lights until nearly o'clock,
and traffic lights also were operat-
ing.
Step Beyond Daylight Time.
The change to war time"-Presi-
dent Roosevelt so named it-in the
United States was somewhat COM
parable to the action taken by other
bellgerent nations when the war
began more than two years ago, and
gees step farther than daylight
saving" time established in the last
war.
In that conflict, this country
moved its clocks up only from March
to October, the period that cut
tomarily has been observed in those
communities annually observing
daylight time.
Transportation services and the
radio industry looked for little con-
fusion. Indeed, they have been
advocating the Nation wide step on
a year round basis to supplant
summer daylight time observance
spotted over the country.
Proponents of the measure, in
cluding President Roosevelt have
asserted that the advanced time
would contribute to the Nations
available electric power supply by
leveling of some of the demand
peaks.
One pre-war estimate was that
$4,000 kilowatts of power capacity,
equal to about 1000 900 horsepower
for industry, would be saved. The
Federal Power Commission plans to
make detailed study in an effort
to measure accurately the effect Of
daylight saving" time.
Radio Schedules Unchanged.
There will be no immediate
changes in transportation or radio
schedules as a result of the new
time standards. In other words,
the commuters special will pull out
at BIS, as usual, and favorite radio
programs will be aired at their
regular hour as far as the clock
goes, but the clocks will be showing
war time" instead of the old
standard time
The only real change occasioned
by faster time" will be the rela-
ton between clocks and sun, which
will rise and set an hour earlier,
so far as the United States Is con-
cerned.
Here is where the farmers run
into trouble. In the hay and grain
harvesting season, the workers don't
get into the fields until about 9
am. when the dew is of the
| ground, and "the last hour of the
day is the best one" as they put it.
Where farmers hire labor, the Gus
tomary hour for them to report is
7 am, and in consequence, there
will be an hour lost, or. perhaps
even more, when rain has fallen
during the night.
The law provides for a return to
the old standards in the four-time
zones six months after the end Of
the war. People who lost an hours
sleep will regain it then.
Tricky Pay Question.
The change in hours posed a
tricky pay question involving the
status of night workers that prob
ably will be dropped in the lap of
the General Accounting ONCE. The
point is, whether workers on shifts
that were shortened an hour by the
new schedule are to lose that time.
Officials believed that personnel en-
ployed on a per diem or per annum
basis would not be affected, but that
those paid by the hour would be.
At the Government Printing
Office the midnight to am. shift
was permitted to work until am.
where possible, to avert pay loss.
Where this could not be done. the
hour was charged against annual
leave, which also permitted the en-
ployes to be paid. Those who had
no annual leave due, however, lost
the hour.
The Bureau Of Engraving and
| Printing also works a night force,