Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-13
Bad Timinq?

mathematical or humanitar-
ian. In fact, it violates the very
principle which its advocates
claim supports it. Turning for
ward the hands of a clock loses
time and daylight: it could not
be otherwise. Any man who, of
his own volition. rises at 4 or
5 O'Clock of a morning and
turns the clock forward so as
to lose an hour is committing
an act SO irrational that it can
only be regarded as pSychotic.
have seen insane persons who
are "diSoriented as to time"
but never one who tried to set
the clock so as to keep pace
with his fantastic ideas!
Eastern standard time is
based on the careful mathe-
NAUTICAL calculations of the ia
nous Dowd Commission. APP
pointed by a wise Government
of the past century to take the
confusion out of the haphazard
time systems which existed
throughout the Nation. That
word STANDARD" means prin-
ciple. When we deliberately go
off this standard. what method
OF determining the hour of the
day remains to us? That of
twlrling the hands of a $3.50
alarm clock! This empty and
idle action could be performed
by the lowest grade moron in
the country. 1t requires no in
telligence or calculation based
on principle whatever; though.
even the poorest type of moron
probably would know better
than to turn the hands for
ward in order to gain time!
The advocates of daylight
saving time know we'll their
lack of principle to support it
and do not try to defend it by
reason or logic. Its advocates
IN Congress merely compel the
people TO turn forward the
hands of their clocks during
the busiest season Of the year.
but do not attempt to defend
their action by any means ex-
cept contempt and scorn for
those who protest. This is easy
enough. and was the method
used by the old Russian czarist
regime which first propagated
this scheme; but it ill-bef1ts a
democracy to impose the loss
OF an early morning hour on
the i'll and aging worker; those
who are crippled by wars and
polio; working mothers. al
ready overburdened; and those
whose working day is too long
even under Eastern standard
time-those who are rising
every morning at 3 to S.
Elsie S. King.
If Hans A. Nelson was seri-
Gus in his letter Pooling With
the Clock" he was surprisingly
uniformed.
He assumed that the reason
for turning the hands of the
clocks forward an hour for
DAYLIGHT saving time was to
provide self-deception for the
people, and he argued that it
would be better to change
schedules and programs to an
hour earlier without changing
tn" clocks from standard time.
For the past 40 years the
various sources of public in
formation and instruction have
explained annually why we
move timepieces an hour
ahead instead of changing
schedules. Even if Mr.. Nelson
had never heard that explana-
ton 1t should have dawned on
him when he wrote the fol-
lowing sentence: BUS COM
panleS and railroads have al
ready sent out new schedules
bus leaves Hammernsawville
at 5:57 am, instead of 6:57
am" But it seems he never
thought OF the trouble and
expense OF sending out new
schedules"
1t was to avoid the work Of
changing schedules and to
comply more easily with legal
requirements that clocks were
changed to put into effect
daylight saving time. Stores,
post Offices, banks and other
business houses and Offices
usually have the hours they
are open printed on the doors.
Timetables of transportation
companies and programs Of
schools and churches also are
printed in large quantities.
ThiLK how much easier it is to
move the hands of clocks than
to follow Mr.. Nelson's plan and
to repaint and reprint the mil
lions Of signs and schedules.
The impression that Mr..
Nelson might have intended
his letter only as a joke is
strengthened by his sentence:
q A nd a.nA ma L. go. 40. 49,.