Volume 12, Issue 09
The PEACEKEEPER
Page 2
Daylight Savings Time
TIME continued from pg. 1
se s and Rhode Island, and in some ci es, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt ins tuted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called "War
Time," from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945. From 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law regarding Daylight Saving Time, so states and locali es were free to choose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time and
could choose when it began and ended. This understandably caused confusion, especially for the broadcas ng industry, as well as for railways, airlines, and bus companies. Because of the di?erent local customs and laws, radio and
TV sta ons and the transporta on companies had to publish new schedules every me a state or town began or
ended Daylight Saving Time.
On January 4, 1974, President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservaon Act of 1973. Then, beginning on January 6, 1974, implemen ng the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were
set ahead. On October 5, 1974, Congress amended the Act, and Standard Time returned on October 27, 1974. Daylight Saving Time resumed on February 23, 1975 and ended on October 26, 1975.
Inconsistent use in the U.S.
In the early 1960s, observance of Daylight Saving Time was quite inconsistent, with a hodgepodge of me
observances, and no agreement about when to change clocks. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the na on's
mekeeper, was immobilized, and the ma er remained deadlocked. Many business interests were suppor ve of
standardiza on, although it became a bi er ?ght between the indoor and outdoor theater industries. The farmers,
however, were opposed to such uniformity. State and local governments were a mixed bag, depending on local condi ons.
E?orts at standardiza on were encouraged by a transporta on industry organiza on, the Commi ee for
Time Uniformity. They surveyed the en re na on, through ques oning telephone operators as to local me observances, and found the situa on was quite confusing. Next, the Commi ee's goal was a strong suppor ve story on
the front page of the New York Times. Having rallied the general public's support, the Time Uniformity Commi ee's
goal was accomplished, but only a er discovering and disclosing that on the 35-mile stretch of highway (Route 2)
between Moundsville, W.V., and Steubenville, Ohio, every bus driver and his passengers had to endure seven me
changes!
The Uniform Time Act
By 1966, some 100 million Americans were observing
Daylight Saving Time based on their local laws and customs.
Congress decided to step in and end the confusion, and to establish one pa ern across the country. The Uniform Time Act of
1966 (15 U.S. Code Sec on 260a) [see law], signed into Public
Law 89-387 on April 12, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson,
created Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of
April and to end on the last Sunday of October. Any State that
wanted to be exempt from Daylight Saving Time could do so by
passing a state law.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established a system of uniform (within each
See TIME continued on pg. 3