Show WHEN DOES DOBS THE CENTURY BEGIN an exchange regards it as a mysterious 0 us peculiarity of the human mind that so much uncertainty exists regarding the true beginning of the twentieth century there Is probably not a newspaper in the country that does not at regular intervals receive a well worded request to kindly publish in your valuable paper the date of the commencement of the next century and some periodicals find it necessary to publish the proper reply to this question every week in the same way in any company of persons persona there are almost sure to be some who will argue that the next century begins on the first of january there can be no doubt upon this point the first century commenced with the year 1 and ended with the year the next century began with the year and ended with and in analogy with this the nineteenth century ends with the year 1900 and the next commences with 1901 if ocular demonstration is needed the I 1 inquirer might arrange two thou thousand sana marbles or beads or silver dollars if they should happen to be in more re handy in twenty piles one hundred in each and he would find that it would not occur to him in counting them to begin the twentieth pile with the last dollar or marble of the nineteenth pile it is in only in counting years and centuries cen turlee that this to some occurs as the correct proceeding the reason is probably to seek in the fact that the years between 1809 and 1900 are the nineteenth century and since alv all the years commencing with 18 except the first belong to the nineteenth pile it appears plausible that all the years that begin with a u should be classed in the twentieth there to is where the confusion aramm and not in any peculiarity in the mental makeup make up of man one reflection is sufficient to convince aw ny one that since it takes years yeara to fo complete a century the present century cannot expire and the next cannot begin until the last day of the year 1900 has passed away |