BROOKLYN’S PLAN TO SAVE DAYLIGHT (1917)
Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes.
The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations.
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It’s difficult to believe that just over 100 years ago there was opposition to Brooklyn’s plan to “save daylight.”
But in 1917, when Brooklyn State Senator Calder was talking up his “Daylight Saving” idea, many future-opponents started, at that time, to smell (and prepare for) a fight.
As such, when the bill was actually lodged the following year, these opponents of sunlight came out from the dark in full force with every reason NOT to have daylight saving – under the sun:
(1.) The theaters would go out of business, as no one wants to attend while the sun is still shining.
(2.) The Bible is opposed to it – read Joshua, chapter 10, where he fought the Amorites – during the battle of which God held the sun from going down for one hour – long enough for Joshua to win his battle.
(3.) Too much sun is bad for us, claimed some doctors.
(4.) Steamship and railway lines would suffer, as their adjusted timetables would confuse passengers.
(5.) It violated Home Rule, said Governor Al Smith.
The reasons were as endless as they were interesting.
But just as the sun will rise tomorrow, so was it eventual that Daylight Saving would come. In the end, the measure won the day, and the most ironic part about it came from the body to which Senator Calder belonged – the New York State Legislature. For it seemed that the folks who got us into this whole mess, turned out to have had it the most difficult.
Apparently, reported the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the Senate and the Assembly were of different minds. In 1923, starting on 1 May, the day that Daylight Saving was to go into effect, the two bodies continued to grouse about the measure.
“(T)he State Senate will operate on daylight saving time, the Assembly on Eastern Standard time, and the Capitol lunch room between time,” joked the Eagle.
The G.O.P. leaders of the Assembly, the Eagle continued, “faithful to their tactics of rejecting all Senate proposals, refused to adopt the new time.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same…
Even “time.”
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