The same standards are used by the Railway Mail Service of the United States Post-office Department, which had previously used Washington time exclusively for through schedules.

It will at once be apparent how undesirable any action would be to the transportation interests of this country, which should so locate the prime meridian as to require these time-standard meridians to be designated by other than exact degrees of longitude.  That these standard meridians should continue to be designated as even multiples of fifteen degrees from Greenwich is regarded as decidedly preferable.  To change to different standards, based upon exact degrees of some other prime meridian, would require an amount of legislation very difficult to obtain.

At a convention of the managers of many important railway lines which control through their connections fully three-fourths of the entire railway system of this country, held in Philadelphia on October 9, 1884, certain action was taken, of which I have the honor to present a duly attested copy.

     “At a meeting of the General Railway Time Convention, held
     in Philadelphia, October 9th, 1884, the following minute
     was unanimously adopted: 

     “Whereas, An International Conference is now in session at
     Washington, D. C., for the purpose of fixing upon a prime
     meridian and standard of time-reckoning; and

“Whereas, The railway companies of the United States and Canada have adopted a system of time standards based, respectively, upon the mean local times of the 75th, 90th, 105th, and 120th meridians west from Greenwich, and this system has proved so satisfactory in its working as to render any further change inexpedient and unnecessary; therefore

“Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Convention that the selection of any prime meridian which would change the denomination of these governing meridians from even degrees and make them fractional in their character would be disturbing in no small measure to the transportation lines of the United States and Canada.

     “Resolved, That a duly attested copy of these resolution
     be presented to the Conference.”

                                   P. P. WRIGHT,
                                   Chairman.

     Attest:  HENRY B. STONE,
     Secretary pro tempore.

Count LEWENHAUPT, Delegate of Sweden.  Mr. President, I propose as an amendment to the resolution just offered the fourth resolution adopted by the Congress at Rome: 

     “It is proper to count longitude from the meridian of
     Greenwich in one direction from west to east.”

Baron H. VON ALVENSLEBEN, Delegate of Germany.  Mr. President, I beg to state that I think that this is only a question of detail; and, if the question is put to the Conference, I shall not be able to vote, and I shall abstain from voting.