Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/May 2017/Op-ed


 * By TomStar81

During the eventful 19th century, a shift had occurred in human history during which the world passed through one time into another. The shift occurred as a result of advancing scientific and technological advancements that reached a critical mass in the 1800s, resulting in the industrial revolution. This revolution, which saw agricultural and animal-based societies shift to those based on machines and manufactured goods produced in bulk for public and private consumption, resulted in a massive and permanent shift for all societies affecting everything from health and standard of living to transportation and economic advantage. Between the First Industrial Revolution and the Second Industrial Revolution, Europe finally let go of the last remnants of the former age of enlightenment and passed into the early modern period. The industrial revolution that began here would also offer Europe a glimpse of the hell to come in future wars when the United States put steam engines, industrial facilities, and other byproducts of the revolution to work during the American Civil War, but it would not be until World War I that the industrial revolution's full effect on war became obvious to world. It is for this reason that World War I is also known as the first modern war, as it was the first time in history that industry and arms were married to create a logistical system capable of producing whatever war material was needed when it was needed and getting it to where it was needed in something akin to a timely manner.

Unfortunately, one side effect of the industrial revolution not fully appreciated until the outbreak of the war was the need to standardize the various measurement and time systems then in use across Europe to maximize economic output. Although he did not live to see it, Benjamin Franklin conceived of the idea of making more use of daytime to allow for savings on the production and use of candles in an essay titled "An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light". Following up this proposal, New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of daylight saving in 1895.

After Germany and its allies led the way with daylight saving time (DST) (Sommerzeit) during World War I on April 30, 1916, to alleviate hardships from wartime coal shortages and air raid blackouts, the political equation changed in other countries; the United Kingdom introduced DST on May 21, 1916. U.S. retailing and manufacturing interests led by Pittsburgh industrialist Robert Garland soon began lobbying for DST, but were opposed by the railroads. The U.S.'s 1917 entry to the war overcame objections, and DST was established in 1918. The war's end swung the pendulum back. Farmers continued to dislike DST, and many countries repealed it after the war. Britain was an exception: it retained DST nationwide but over the years adjusted transition dates for several reasons, including special rules during the 1920s and 1930s to avoid clock shifts on Easter mornings. Now under a European Community directive summer time begins annually on the last Sunday in March, which may be Easter Sunday (as in 2016). The U.S. was more typical: Congress repealed DST after 1919. President Woodrow Wilson, like William Willett an avid golfer, vetoed the repeal twice but his second veto was overridden. Only a few U.S. cities retained DST locally thereafter, including New York so that its financial exchanges could maintain an hour of arbitrage trading with London, and Chicago and Cleveland to keep pace with New York. Wilson's successor Warren G. Harding opposed DST as a "deception". Reasoning that people should instead get up and go to work earlier in the summer, he ordered District of Columbia federal employees to start work at 08:00 rather than 09:00 during summer 1922. Some businesses followed suit though many others did not; the experiment was not repeated.

Since Germany's adoption in 1916, the world has seen many enactments, adjustments, and repeals of DST, with similar politics involved. Beginning with the end of World War I, daylight saving time was largely repealed until resurrected again for World War II. It has since existed in some form or another in many nations, but has caused controversy since it began. Winston Churchill argued that it enlarges "the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country" and pundits have dubbed it "Daylight Slaving Time". Historically, retailing, sports, and tourism interests have favored daylight saving, while agricultural and evening entertainment interests have opposed it. In the United Kingdom, the fate of Willett's 1907 proposal illustrates several political issues involved: after many hearings his proposal was narrowly defeated in a parliamentary committee vote in 1909. Willett's allies introduced similar bills every year from 1911 through 1914, to no avail. The U.S. was even more skeptical: Andrew Peters introduced a DST bill to the United States House of Representatives in May 1909, but it soon died in committee. Inconsistent implementation lasted until the 1960s, at which point in response to the mass confusion Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act, which has since been extended twice to cover more weeks. Other nations across Europe also make use of DST, to varying effects; some African nations have never used daylight saving time, while other nations in Asia and South America have decided to implement daylight saving time year round.