Various - International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.
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Various >> International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.
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At Rome the adoption of the metric system of weights and measures, of
which France had the glorious initiative, was held out to us, but here
we are simply invited to sacrifice traditions dear to our navy, to
national science, by adding to that immolation pecuniary sacrifices.
We are assuredly very much flattered that there should be attributed
to us sufficient abnegation to elevate us to that double heroism. We
wish that we were able to justify such a flattering opinion, and
especially we should like to be encouraged by examples. There are at
this very moment magnificent transformations to be realized for
the progress of science, and of the friendly relations of
nations--unification of weights and measures, adoption of a common
standard of moneys, and many other innovations of a well recognized
utility, infinitely more pressing and more practical than that of
meridians. When the discussion of these great questions is begun, let
each nation come and bring its share of sacrifices for this
international progress. France, according to her usage, I may say so
without vain glory as without false modesty, France will not remain
behind. For the present we decline the honor of immolating ourselves
alone for progress of a problematic, and eminently secondary order;
and it is with perfect tranquillity of conscience that we declare that
we do not concur in the adoption of the meridian of Greenwich,
persuaded as we are that France does not incur the reproach of
retarding and of obstructing the march of science by abstaining from
participating in this decision.
The PRESIDENT. Unless some other Delegate desires to speak, the
question will be put upon the amendment of the Delegate of Great
Britain, Mr. FLEMING.
The question was then put, and the amendment was lost.
The PRESIDENT. The Chair sees upon the floor to-day, as the guest of
this Conference, one of the most distinguished scientists, who was
invited to be present at our meetings, Sir WILLIAM THOMSON, whose name
is known the world over in connection with subjects kindred to this we
are now discussing. If it be the pleasure of the Conference to ask Sir
WILLIAM THOMSON briefly to express his views, the Chair would be very
happy to make the invitation.
The Chair, hearing no dissent, takes pleasure in introducing Sir
WILLIAM THOMSON.
Sir WILLIAM THOMSON. Mr. President and Gentlemen, I thank you for
permitting me to be present on this occasion, and I thank you also for
giving me the opportunity of expressing myself in reference to the
subject under discussion. I only wish that the permission which you
have so kindly given me may conduce to the objects of this Conference
more than I can hope any words of mine can do.
The question immediately under discussion is, I understand, the
proposal that the meridian passing through the centre of the
instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich shall be adopted as the
initial meridian of longitude, and it does seem to me that this is a
practical question; that this resolution expresses a practical
conclusion that it is expected by the world the present Conference may
reach. It is expected that the resolutions adopted will be for the
general convenience, and not for the decision of a scientific
question. It is the settlement of a question which is a matter of
business arrangement. The question is, what will be most convenient,
on the whole, for the whole world.
It cannot be said that one meridian is more scientific than another,
but it can be said that one meridian is more convenient for practical
purposes than another, and I think that this may be said pre-eminently
of the meridian of Greenwich.
I do most sincerely and fervently hope that the Delegates from France
and from the other nations who voted for the preceding resolution will
see their way to adopt the resolution that is now before the
Conference. It does seem to me that it is a question of sacrifice, and
I do trust that the honorable Delegate from France who spoke last, Mr.
LEFAIVRE, will see that France is not being asked to make any
sacrifice that it was not prepared to make.
In the admirable and interesting addresses which Mr. JANSSEN has given
to this Conference, (which I had not the pleasure or satisfaction of
hearing, but which I have read with great interest,) the readiness of
France to make a much greater sacrifice than that which is now
proposed was announced. The amount of sacrifice involved in making
any change from an existing usage must always be more or less great,
because it cannot be said that it is a matter of no trouble to make
such a change; but what I may be allowed to suggest is that the
sacrifice which France was ready to make would be very much greater
than that which would be made by adopting the resolution now pending.
If the resolution for a neutral meridian had been adopted, all nations
would have to make the sacrifice necessary for a change to a meridian
not actually determined, and the relations of which could not be so
convenient with those meridians already adopted as are the relations
between the meridians now in use with that of Greenwich. It does seem
to me that if the Delegates of France could see their way to adopt
this resolution, they would have no occasion whatever to regret it.
I sympathize deeply with what has been said in regard to a common
metrical system. I have a very strong opinion upon this subject, which
I will not express, however, if it meets any objection from the Chair;
but it seems to me that England is making a sacrifice in not adopting
the metrical system. The question, however, cannot be put in that way.
We are not here to consider whether England would gain or lose by
adopting the metrical system. That is not the way to view this
question at all, because whether England should adopt the metrical
system is a matter for its own convenience and use, and whether it
adopts it or not, other nations are not affected by its course. It
would not at all be for the benefit or the reverse of other nations.
The PRESIDENT. The Chair would be very glad to hear Sir WM. THOMSON'S
views on this subject if it were before the Conference for discussion,
but it is not.
Sir WILLIAM THOMSON. I beg pardon for having mentioned it.
I would repeat that the adoption of the meridian of Greenwich is one
of convenience. The difference of other meridians from it is readily
ascertained, and therefore it seems to me that the minimum of trouble
will be entailed on the world by the general adoption of the meridian
of Greenwich. This would require the minimum of change, and,
furthermore, the changes which would be necessary are already wholly
ascertained.
I would inquire of the Chair whether it would be in order for me to
allude to the resolutions number 2 and 3, which have been read?
The PRESIDENT. I think that we must confine ourselves to the subject
immediately under discussion--the adoption of a prime meridian.
Sir WILLIAM THOMSON. Then I have only to thank you and the Delegates
for allowing me to speak, and to express my very strong approbation of
the resolution that has been proposed.
Sir F. J. O. EVANS, Delegate of Great Britain, then made the following
remarks:
In view of the interesting information furnished to the Congress by M.
JANSSEN on the hydrographic labors of France, past and present, and of
the results as represented by the number of Government charts; it has
appeared to myself--as having held the office of hydrographer to the
Admiralty of Great Britain for many years--in which opinion I am
supported by my colleagues, that I should place at the disposal of the
Congress certain statistical facts bearing on the great interests of
navigation and commerce, as illustrated by the number of marine
charts, of sailing directions, and of nautical almanacs annually
produced under the authority of the British Government, and of their
distribution.
I would wish to disclaim any comparison in this respect with the
labors of other countries. From personal knowledge I am aware that all
nations--with only one or two exceptions--are, and especially so in
the last few years, diligent in the development of hydrography, and
that a cordial interchange of the results unfettered by any conditions
is steadily being pursued.
With this preface I would lay before you the following statements,
observing that the shores of the whole navigable parts of the globe
are embraced in the series of Admiralty charts referred to:
The number of copper chart plates in constant use is between 2,850 and
2,900. This number keeps up steadily. About 60 new plates are added
every year.
Average number of copper plates annually receiving correction amount
to 2,700.
Total number of charts annually printed for the daily use of the ships
of Her Majesty's fleet in commission, and for sale to the general
public, has for some years ranged between 180,000 and 230,000.
The sale of Admiralty charts to the public through an authorized
agent, both in London and at other commercial ports in the kingdom,
has been for the last seven years as follows:
1877................................104,562
1878................................109,881
1879................................103,943
1880................................114,430
1881................................118,542
1882................................131,801
1883................................157,325
Of these numbers, about one-fifth have been purchased by the
governments or agents of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Russia,
Turkey, and the United States. The appended list, which was furnished
to me by the Admiralty Chart agent during the present year, gives the
more precise particulars.
+-------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
| | |Ger- |United | | | | | |
|Years. |France.|many. |States.|Italy.|Russia.|Turkey.|Austria.|Total. |
+-------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
|1877 ..| 2,039 | 5,184| 2,067 | 1,518| 11,763| | | 22,561|
|1878 ..| 5,741 | 3,381| 2,641 | 2,645| 5,651| | 600 | 20,529|
|1879 ..| 3,340 | 6,425| 5,185 | 802| 9,354| | 641 | 25,747|
|1880 ..| 5,793 | 5,280| 1,879 | 797| 10,145| 519 | 376 | 24,788|
|1881 ..| 4,418 | 3,640| 1,273 | 2,694| 3,406| 1,160 | 996 | 17,587|
|1882 ..| 7,454 | 5,656| 1,716 | 2,569| 4,245| 115 | 1,197 | 22,952|
|1888 ..| 5,592 | 7,882| 6,174 | 2,607| 6,280| 2,368 | 2,158 | 32,961|
|1884 | | | | | | | | |
|(1st | | | | | | | | |
|quar.) | 1,367 | 2,261| 2,942 | 908| 2,186| 429 | 677 | 10,670|
| +-------+------+-------+------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
| |35,741 |39,679|23,867 |14,440| 52,930| 4,591 | 6,544 |177,795|
+-------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+-------+--------+-------+
But the chart resources of the British Admiralty, great as they are,
do not suffice to meet the requirements of the smaller class ships of
the mercantile marine of Great Britain. There are three commercial
firms in London who publish special charts, based, however, on
admiralty documents, to satisfy this demand. On inquiry I found that
these firms publish 640 charts, which, from their large size, require
about 930 copper plates. I am not able to furnish the number of charts
sold by these firms, but it is large.
Supplementary to the Admiralty Charts, there are 51 volumes of Sailing
Directions. Several of these volumes exceed 500 pages, and have passed
through several editions. Private commercial firms also, in addition
to their charts, publish directions for many parts of the globe. These
include regions with which the Admiralty have not yet, notwithstanding
great diligence, been able to deal.
The annual sales of nautical almanacs for the past seven years have
been:
1877................................18,439
1878................................16,408
1879................................16,290
1880................................14,561
1881................................15,870
1882................................15,071
1883................................15,535
I think, sir, that these are salient points, which will assist the
Conference in coming to a clearer view of the great interest which
navigation and commerce have in the charts of a particular country.
The question was then put on the adoption of the resolution offered by
the Delegate of the United States, Mr. RUTHERFURD, as follows:
"That the Conference proposes to the Governments here
represented the adoption of the meridian passing through the
transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich as the
initial meridian for longitude."
The roll was called, and the different States voted as follows:
In the affirmative--
Austria, Mexico,
Chili, Netherlands,
Costa Rica, Paraguay,
Columbia, Russia,
Germany, Spain,
Great Britain, Sweden,
Guatemala, Switzerland,
Hawaii, Turkey,
Italy, Venezuela,
Japan, United States.
Liberia,
In the negative--
San Domingo.
Abstaining from voting--
Brazil, France.
The result was then announced, as follows:
Ayes, 21; noes, 1; abstaining from voting, 2.
The PRESIDENT then announced that the resolution was passed.
Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia. In the name of the Delegates for
Russia I have now, at this point of the discussion, to say a few
words.
If we had to consider the scientific side alone of the questions,
which have already been discussed and resolved by the prominent
scientists of the different countries at the General Conference of the
International Geodetical Association at Rome, in 1883, we might as
well simply adhere to the resolutions of the Roman Conference, and
limit our work to the shaping of these resolutions into the form of a
draft of an international convention, to be submitted for approbation
to our respective Governments. But, as we have, besides, to consider
the application of the intended reform to practical life, we beg to
submit the following suggestions to the kind attention of the
Conference.
It is important to find for the more densely populated countries the
simplest mode possible of transition from local to universal time, and
_vice versa_; and we believe, therefore, that it would be convenient
for the practical purposes of the question to adopt for the beginning
of the universal day the midnight of Greenwich, and not the noon, as
was deemed advisable by the Conference of Rome.
This modification would offer for the whole of Europe and for the
greatest part of America the advantage of avoiding the double date in
local and universal time during the principal business hours of the
day, and would afford great facilities in the transition from local
time to universal.
In adopting the universal time for the astronomical almanacs and for
astronomical ephemerides, and in counting the beginning of the day
from the midnight of Greenwich, there would be, it is true, a
modification of the astronomical chronology, as heretofore used; but
we think it easier for the astronomers to change the starting point,
and to make allowance for these 12 hours of difference in their
calculations, than it would be for the public and for the business
men, if the date for the universal time began at noon, and not at
midnight.
The Conference at Rome proposes to count the longitudes from O deg. to
360 deg. in the direction from west to east. It seems to us that this
system can lead to misunderstanding in the local and universal
chronology for the countries beyond the 180 deg. east of Greenwich.
We believe that a more practical result of the reform could be easily
obtained by modifying the clause IV of the resolutions of the Roman
Conference, and by maintaining the system already in use for a long
time, which is to count the longitudes from 0 deg. to 180 deg. to east and
west, adopting the sign + for eastern longitudes, and the sign - for
western longitudes Thus the transition from universal to local time
could be exactly expressed by the formula:
Universal time = Local time - Longitude.
The adoption of this modification would necessitate that the change of
the day of the week, historically established on or about the
anti-meridian of Greenwich, should henceforth take place exactly on
that meridian.
We are in favor of the adoption of the universal time (clause V of the
resolutions of the Roman Conference) side by side with the local time,
for international telegraphic correspondence, and for through
international lines by railroads and steamers.
We fully accept the resolution of the Roman Conference concerning the
introduction of the system of counting the hours of the universal day
from 0 to 24; and we think it desirable that the same system should be
introduced for counting the hours in ordinary life. This would greatly
contribute to the disappearance of the arbitrary division of the day
into two parts, a. m. and p. m., and to an easier transition from
local to universal time.
We think it advisable to mark on all general maps the meridians in
time as well as in degrees of longitude, which would render the reform
familiar to the public, and facilitate its introduction in the
education of the young.
On maritime charts the longitudes ought to be given in degrees, as
these are necessary for the determination of distances in maritime
miles.
The topographical maps may maintain temporarily their national
meridian, in consequence of the difficulties of the modification of
the co-ordinates for plates already engraved; but it would be
necessary to mark on every sheet the difference between the national
and the initial universal meridian in degrees of longitude.
It would be most desirable to have in all new geographical catalogues
of astronomical and geodetical points the longitudes given in degrees
as well as in time, and that in these new catalogues the new initial
meridian be taken as the starting point for the longitudes.
The PRESIDENT. The Chair has listened with great interest and pleasure
to the paper which has just been read by the Delegate of Russia, Mr.
DE STRUVE, but the Chair begs to state that there is no resolution
before the Conference.
The PRESIDENT. The Chair will now direct the second resolution to be
read.
The resolution was read, as follows:
"From this meridian" (_i.e._, the meridian passing through
the centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory at
Greenwich) "longitude shall be counted in two directions up
to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus and west longitude
minus."
Mr. RUTHERFURD, Delegate of the United States. Mr. President, In
submitting this resolution to the Conference, I wish to say that the
remarks of the Delegate of Russia have increased my confidence in the
belief of its propriety.
Mr. W. F. ALLEN, Delegate of the United States. Mr. President, the
establishment of a prime meridian has, from the force of
circumstances, become of practical importance to certain interests
entrusted with vast responsibilities for the safety of life and
property. These interests bear an important relation to the commerce
of the world, and especially to the internal commerce of an extent of
country embracing within its limits about sixty-five degrees of
longitude. Exactness of time reckoning is an imperative necessity in
the conduct of business.
On November 18, 1883, the several railway companies of the United
States and the Dominion of Canada united in the adoption of the mean
local times of the seventy-fifth, ninetieth, one hundred and fifth,
and one hundred and twentieth meridians, west from Greenwich, as the
standards of time for the operation of their roads. The system under
which they have since been working has proved satisfactory. They have
no desire to make any further change. A large majority of the people
in the several sections of the country through which the railways pass
have either by mutual consent or special legislation adopted for their
local use, for all purposes, the standards of time employed by the
adjacent roads. Upon the public and working railway time-tables
generally the fact has been published that the trains are run by the
time of the seventy-fifth or ninetieth, etc., meridians, as the case
may be.
The same standards are used by the Railway Mail Service of the United
States Post-office Department, which had previously used Washington
time exclusively for through schedules.
It will at once be apparent how undesirable any action would be to the
transportation interests of this country, which should so locate the
prime meridian as to require these time-standard meridians to be
designated by other than exact degrees of longitude. That these
standard meridians should continue to be designated as even multiples
of fifteen degrees from Greenwich is regarded as decidedly preferable.
To change to different standards, based upon exact degrees of some
other prime meridian, would require an amount of legislation very
difficult to obtain.
At a convention of the managers of many important railway lines which
control through their connections fully three-fourths of the entire
railway system of this country, held in Philadelphia on October 9,
1884, certain action was taken, of which I have the honor to present a
duly attested copy.
"At a meeting of the _General Railway Time Convention_, held
in _Philadelphia, October 9th, 1884_, the following minute
was unanimously adopted:
"_Whereas_, An International Conference is now in session at
Washington, D. C., for the purpose of fixing upon a prime
meridian and standard of time-reckoning; and
"_Whereas_, The railway companies of the United States and
Canada have adopted a system of time standards based,
respectively, upon the mean local times of the 75th, 90th,
105th, and 120th meridians west from Greenwich, and this
system has proved so satisfactory in its working as to
render any further change inexpedient and unnecessary;
therefore
"_Resolved_, That it is the opinion of this Convention that
the selection of any prime meridian which would change the
denomination of these governing meridians from even degrees
and make them fractional in their character would be
disturbing in no small measure to the transportation lines
of the United States and Canada.
"_Resolved_, That a duly attested copy of these resolution
be presented to the Conference."
P. P. WRIGHT,
_Chairman._
Attest: HENRY B. STONE,
_Secretary pro tempore_.
Count LEWENHAUPT, Delegate of Sweden. Mr. President, I propose as an
amendment to the resolution just offered the fourth resolution adopted
by the Congress at Rome:
"It is proper to count longitude from the meridian of
Greenwich in one direction from west to east."
Baron H. VON ALVENSLEBEN, Delegate of Germany. Mr. President, I beg to
state that I think that this is only a question of detail; and, if the
question is put to the Conference, I shall not be able to vote, and I
shall abstain from voting.
The PRESIDENT. May I ask the Delegate from Germany whether his remark
applies to the amendment?
Baron H. VON ALVENSLEBEN, Delegate of Germany. Yes, sir; to the
amendment, and to the resolution, also.
Prof. ADAMS, Delegate of England. Mr. President, I must say that I am
very much inclined to agree with the Delegate of Germany in the
opinion that this is only a question of detail.
It is a mere matter of convenience whether we count longitudes in one
direction only, or in two opposite directions, considering longitudes
measured in one direction as positive and in the opposite direction as
negative. These two methods are nominally different from each other,
but in reality there is no contradiction between them.
In the mathematical reckoning of angles we may agree to begin at zero,
and reckon in one direction round the entire circumference of 360
degrees, but this does not prevent a mathematician, if he finds it
convenient for any purpose, from reckoning angles as positive when
measured in one direction, and negative when measured in the opposite
direction.
If angles be considered positive when reckoned towards the east, it is
quite consistent with this usage that they should be considered
negative when reckoned towards the west.
It is much more convenient to consider all angles as positive in
astronomical tables, but for other purposes it may be more convenient
to employ negative angles also, especially when, by so doing, you
avoid the use of large numbers.
In comparatively small countries, like Great Britain for instance, it
is more convenient when giving the longitude of a place in the west of
England to consider it as being a few degrees west of Greenwich,
rather than 350 and some degrees to the east of that meridian.
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