International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.: Protocols of the ProceedingsInternational Meridian Conference (1884 : Washington, D.C.)
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International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.: Protocols of the Proceedings
International Meridian Conference (1884 : Washington, D.C.)
Prime Meridian -- Congresses; Time -- Systems and standards -- Congresses
The alacrity and unanimity with which the change has been accepted in
North America encourages the belief that the introduction of cosmic
time in every-day life is not unattainable. The intelligence of the
people will not fail to discover, before long, that the adoption of
correct principles of time-reckoning will in no way change or
seriously affect the habits they have been accustomed to. It will
certainly sweep away nothing valuable to them. The sun will rise and
set to regulate their social affairs. All classes will soon learn to
understand the hour of noon, whatever the number on the dial, whether
six, as in Scriptural times, or twelve, or eighteen, or any other
number. People will get up and retire to bed, begin and end work, take
breakfast and dinner at the same periods of the day as at present, and
our social habits and customs will remain without a change, depending,
as now, on the daily returning phenomena of light and darkness.
The one alteration will be in the notation of the hours, so as to
secure uniformity in every longitude. It is to be expected that this
change will at first create some bewilderment, and that it will be
somewhat difficult to be understood by the masses. The causes for such
a change to many will appear insufficient or fanciful. In a few years,
however, this feeling must pass away, and the advantages to be gained
will become so manifest that I do not doubt so desirable a reform will
eventually commend itself to general favor, and be adopted in all the
affairs of life.
Be that as it may, it seems to me highly important that a
comprehensive time system should be initiated to facilitate scientific
observations, and definitely to establish chronological dates; that it
should be designed for general use in connection with railways and
telegraphs, and for such other purposes for which it may be found
convenient.
The Cosmic day set forth in the recommendations would be the date for
the world recognizable by all nations. It would theoretically and
practically be the mean of all local days, and the common standard to
which all local reckoning would be referable.
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