The Chautauquan, Vol. 04, January 1884: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Promotion of True Culture.; Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
History
The Chautauquan, Vol. 04, January 1884: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Promotion of True Culture.; Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Chautauqua Institution -- Periodicals; Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle -- Periodicals
It is proposed that places located between the meridians given in the
column headed “Boundaries of Sections,” shall adopt the time named in
the same line in the next right hand column headed “Name of Time;” for
example, places located between the meridians 67½ and 82½ west will
adopt “Eastern” time, which is the local time of the 75th meridian, and
is five hours slower than Greenwich and eight minutes 12.09 seconds
faster than Washington time. It is not supposed, however, that this
will be done as exactly as laid down in the table; for a railroad may
be located principally in one section and extend a short distance
into another; in which case it would not be worth while to change the
standard for the short part. Thus, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St.
Louis Railway has its eastern terminus in Pittsburgh, something over
100 miles east of the Central section, in which the main body of the
road lies; and this road adopts Central time throughout its whole
extent. In like manner, San Antonio and Austin, Texas, are both in
the “Mountain” section, but will probably prefer to adopt “Central”
time and be respectively thirty-three and thirty-one minutes slower,
than to adopt “Mountain” time and be respectively twenty-seven and
twenty-nine minutes faster than their local time; and this for the
obvious reason that their business connections are much more extensive
with the Central than the Mountain region. But these cases do not in
the least interfere with the integrity of the general scheme. The
minute-hands of all properly regulated time-pieces will always indicate
the _same minute_, and all “times” can be estimated by the addition
or subtraction of _entire hours_. And in this lies the beauty and
simplicity of the device.
With great unanimity the railroads of the United States, and most of
the principal cities of the Union have already and without a “jar”
adjusted their business to this new basis; and it is to be presumed
that as soon as the advantages are fully understood, some cities that
are now hesitating will fall into line. The fact is, that while the
adoption of the new plan would produce a wonderful uniformity, there
would be a few cases in which the disturbance of local time seems
great; but it is not any greater than in hundreds of cases where the
old method is used. To exhibit the changes we give a few samples: In
New Orleans the time is fourteen seconds slower than local time; in
St. Louis, forty-nine seconds slower; in Denver, no difference; in
Philadelphia, 38.45 seconds slower; in New York, three minutes 58.38
seconds faster; in Baltimore, six minutes slower; in Washington City,
eight minutes twelve seconds slower; while in Kansas City the time is
eighteen minutes 21.7 seconds slower; in Pittsburgh, twenty minutes
three seconds faster; in Cincinnati, twenty-two minutes 18.58 seconds
faster; and in Omaha, twenty-four minutes slower than the respective
local times.
RESULTS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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