May 5, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



689 



Let us see how this will look in a more 

 definite and practical form. 



Suppose that Science should found the 



Calendar Betterment Association 



to spread information and enlist interest and 

 influence suiScient to secure the passage of a 

 law something as follows; similar action to 

 be urged in other countries : 



It is hereby enacted that the calendar year 

 1917 shall end and the new-calendar year 1918 

 shall begin at midnight of the thirtieth day 

 of December, 1917. 



That a new calendar is hereby established 

 requiring : 



That the years 1918 to 1924, inclusive, shall 

 consist of fifty-two weeks of seven days each, 

 thus giving these years the uniform length of 

 364 days. 



That during these seven years the twelve 

 months shall be recognized in their customary 

 order and grouped in the usual four seasons, 

 but with a length of thirty days each for the 

 first two months and thirty-one days for the 

 last month of each quarter. Each first month 

 of a quarter will then begin with Monday, the 

 second with Wednesday and the last with 

 Friday, and all thirty-first days will fall on 

 Sunday. 



That the dates in existing legal papers, or 

 future ones which may mention months, shall 

 apply to the months of the new calendar, in 

 which the first days of January, February, 

 June, August, September and November will 

 take the place of the suppressed thirty-first 

 days of the preceding months. 



That the dates in all legal papers made 

 under this new calendar shall be expressed by 

 stating the day of the week, the number of the 

 week and the year, the weeks being numbered 

 in succession from the beginning thereof and 

 the days of the week from one to seven, or 

 named as usual, from Monday, the first day, 

 to Sunday, the last. When the date is ex- 

 pressed in fractional form the numerator 

 shall be the number,, or name, of the day and 

 the denominator that of the week, thus: the 

 first Tuesday in 1918 will be 2/1 1918 or 

 Tu/1 1918, and the last Saturday 6/52 1918 



or Sa/52 1918, and the date may be under- 

 scored when confusion might occur with an 

 old calendar date. For relatively unimpor- 

 tant purposes these dates may be written thus : 

 20118 and 65218. 



That during the commsn years previous to 

 1925 the necessary adaptations of business 

 procedure to the occurrence of long years of 

 53 weeks each shall be made. 



That as the year 1924 will end about the 

 shortest day, and as certain of the calendar 

 years must be lengthened to make their av- 

 erage the natural length, the year 1925, and 

 every fifth year thereafter, shall be a long 

 year of 53 weeks, with the exception of the 

 year 1950 and subsequent years divisible by 

 50, which shall be common years. 



That for a still closer adjustment the years 

 1995, 2395, etc., at intervals of four hundred 

 years shall be changed back to common years 

 of 52 weeks each. 



That no further adjustment is to be antici- 

 pated for 25,000 years. 



That after 1/1 1925 all legal and business 

 documents shall be dated by the day, week 

 and year, and periods of time shall be stated 

 in days, weeks and years, and that so stated a 

 year shall be held to mean 52 weeks, and that 

 when a year of 53 weeks is intended it must 

 so be stated or the term " long year " used. 



It was my first intention to write a criticism 

 of the calendar proposed in the letter referred 

 to, but on a visit to an old friend shortly after 

 its publication we discussed it and also my 

 system, which he urged me to put in print. 

 From the point of view of the writer of the 

 letter, which my friend somewhat favored, the 

 calendar he proposes has much to recommend 

 it. It is certainly picturesque, too much so 

 for business purposes, but not enough for 

 ecclesiastical. If the definition of a calendar 

 could be changed to make it a piece of tapestry 

 to decorate the seasons, it might be acceptable 

 in America with publishers of calendars and 

 others on the ground that people here are too 

 practical and lack in artistic feeling, and need 

 something of the kind to educate them to 

 appreciate the beauties of the church calen- 

 dars, but business people want a plain calendar. 



