Business: Calendar

President George M. Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Co., last week again assumed championship of calendar reform.

There are three principal defects in the present (Gregorian) calendar: 1) Three divisions of the year (months, quarters and half years) are of unequal length. Months vary from 28 to 31 days in length, quarters from 90 to 92 days, half years from 181 to 184 days. 2) The month is not an even multiple of the seven-day week. Except for February each month contains four weeks plus two or three days. For 1927, January, April, July, October and December have five Saturdays, other months but four. Day names and dates change each month. 3) The calendar is not fixed; it changes each year. Because the ordinary year has one day over 52 weeks, the date of the month falls each year on a different day of the week from the preceding year.

Methods of subdividing the year (calendars) have been changed repeatedly. Julius Caesar found the Egyptians using twelve 30-day months. The five extra days (six in leap years) they celebrated as holidays. Julius Caesar gave six odd months 31 days and February only 29 (30 in leap year). Emperor Augustus Caesar, jealous of his Uncle Julius’ month July, gave to August 31 days also, and shifted other months to the present reckoning. In 1582 Pope Gregory corrected the calendar, which had lagged ten days behind astronomical time because the actual year contains 365.242 days, while the calendar year accounts roughly for 365.25. (The extra quarter day is made up during leap years. U. S. presidential election years are leap years.)

Mr. Eastman, businessman, has found the Gregorian division of years irksome. Statistics at present are never exactly comparable. Therefore Mr. Eastman has championed the International Fixed Calendar, devised by Moses B. Cotsworth of England, and considered well worth adoption by a committee of inquiry of the League of Nations.

This Cotsworth-Eastman calendar would divide the year into 13 equal months of 28 days each, each day numbered and named exactly the same. The 13th month would be called Sol and would go between June and July. The 365th day would be called “year-day” and be numbered December 29. In leap year the 366th day would be numbered June 29.

Mr. Eastman, in supporting the revised International Fixed calendar, distributed new documents last week and called attention to potent businessmen who already favored the idea: President H. Edson White of Armour & Co., Chairman E. M. Beatty of the Canadian Pacific Railway, President V. M. Cutter of United Fruit Co., President George H. Wilcox of International Silver Co., President C. M. Chester Jr. of Postum Cereal Co., President S. L. Willson of American Writing Paper Co., dozens of others.