Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 187, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 August 1911 — TIME BY MERIDIANS [ARTICLE]

TIME BY MERIDIANS

ARRANGEMENT THAT MAKESI , THE COMMON STANDARD. System Dates From 1883, and Was* Devised to Meet the Requirements of the Railroads— Explanation Is Simple. The measure of any circle, including -the circumference of the earth, of course, Is 360 degrees. The earth revolves on Its axis once in 24 hours; hence the sun appears to pass over one-twenty-fourth of JJie circumference, of the earth in one hour. It is always noon at some point on the earth’s surface, and of course at a point dials-way around the earth, it Is midnight. The extension of the rail-i way -systems of the United States, which cover nearly 60 degrees of longitude, caused all kinds of trouble because of the difference of time. It is noon by the sun at any point on the earth’s surface when the sun is directly over the meridian of that point—that is, it is noon by sun time; but nobody runs by sun time. Why? Because the movement of the earth in its orbit is faster in winter than * In summer; so that the time commonly called “sun time," at each city, is not sun time, as measured by the minute the sun reaches the meridian Of that point; but, what is called “ifiean time,” which is the average time throughout the year that the sun Would be on the meridian If the motion of the earth were absolutely equal at all points in its orbit. The more the railway business of the country increased, the greater became the trouble. So, in 1883, the system called “standard time” was devised and adopted by all the railroads in the United States. The plan—and a remarkably wise one —was to designate certain meridians, 15 degrees apart—and where the difference in, actual sun time would, of course, be' exactly one hour —and have the time; be the same for a space of country, j of which these meridians should bei the middle. The first meridian is that of 75 de-l grees west of Greenwich. This linepasses just east of Philadelphia. For seven and one-half degrees east and west of this, the railroads keep whati is known as “eastern time.” Thei next meridian is that of 90 degrees' west of Greenwich, which passes; through Wisconsin, eastern lowa andj close to Memphis. This is called! “central time." The next is the' space, 15 degrees wide, of which the; meridian of 105 degrees west of| Greenwich is the middle. That merld-i ian passes through the eastern edges) on Montana and Wyoming, and just| west of Denver. This is called“mountain time.” The next time-strip-Jias its middle on the. meridian of 120 degrees west of Greenwich, which passes through Washington, Oregon and California. This is called “Pacific time.” For Instance, suppose one is traveling from San Francisco east, and sets his watch in that city. Suppose he comes east over the Union Pacific? At Ogden, which the railroad has made the point of time-division, he sets his watch an hour faster. At Cheyenne Mills, Colo., he sets it an hour faster again, for the changes from mountain to central time. He reaches Chicago, and goes east over the Lake Shore. At Buffalo he sets his watch one hour faster, that being the dividing • point between central and eastern, time. When he does this he finds his watch agreeing with the time of the places through which he passes, and with the railway timecards. If he traveled westward, he would simply set his watch one hour slower at the point named.