04-23-62 Council Meeting Minutes

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COMMUNICATION LAKE MICHIGAN REGION PLANNING COMMITTEE A joint committee of the American Institute of Architects Chapters Winconsin - Chicago - Northerin Indiana - Western Michigan 223 Lincolnway East Mishawaka, Indiana 20 April 1962 Mr. Milton S. Ries, President South Bend- Mishawaka Chamber of Commerce Sherland Building South Bend, Indiana Dear Mr. Ries: The time question continues to be a controversial issue. This is unfortunate. Based on readily available facts and on objective analysis of the situation, it is self- evident that Central Time with daylight summer time, is the proper and best time not only for this area but all Indiana. There are many sound reasons for this conclusion of which the following are only a few of the more important:. 1. The United States government through the Interstate Commerce.Commission which has the responsibility for establisl ing time zones, has in every instance reaffirmed its position that the correct time for our geographic location is Central Standard Time. It's most recent official report and investigation was dated June 9, 1961. This represent the unbiased.expert judgment of those most qualified to render an opinion. 2. All time as we experience it in our day -to -day living is related to the movement of the sun. Humans obviously cannot alter this movement of the sun. The sun's position is constantly changing in relation to every point on earth and consequently it can never be at the same moment even remotely near the same position in Indiana that it is along the east coast of the United States. Because of this simple elementary fact, the various Time Zones were established in the first place to try to equalize this variable relationship. Through this device of limited bands of time running north and south across the world, this sun differential was thus minimized within each zone. Self- evidently if Eastern Time is taylored for the eastern part of the United States,;it cannot be equally satisfactory for our own area 1,000 miles to the west. 3. It is argued by many that to be on Eastern Time will keep this area in step with New York and the east coast, whereas being on Central Time places us one hour behind. Actually in many respects and for all practical pur- .:poses, this is not true. A good example is the matter of television which affects the vast majority of our population. Since the Chicago -New York axis is the main one between these two time zones and since both cities simultaneously move their time forward in the spring and back in the fall to accommodate their daylight time periods, any area which remains on a single time the year around must automatically shift its TV viewing time schedule twice a year because the major broadcasting chains are tied to New York and Chicago time changes.. 4. It is also obvious that C.S.T. railroad schedules in effect here would be out of step with local E.S.T. There is strong indication that rail traffic and mass transit carriers may well be returning to their former importance in our transportation system. There are also many commuter time relationships with Chicago which will immediate- ly and adversely be affected. South Bend is the eastern terminal for the South Shore Railroad. This community would, therefore, if on Eastern Time, probably be the only city on the line not on Central Time. 5. A towering and all- important objection to E.S.T. for us is the fact that this area will eventually be, if it has not already become, an integrated part of the great mid- american urban complex centered on Lake Michigan, with the Chicago metropolitan area as its nucleous. Eventually this should be the major urban center of the country. As a vast Regional City, the time situation necessarily should be uniform throughout its extent. 6. To assume that there are more ties with the east coast than with the central part of the country is to accept a basic economic unreality. It is an illusion predicated on the fact that today financial and many large business headquarters, plus the seat of the federal government are all located in the east. This condition is a remnant of out colonial development and will eventually, in a large measure, change. As the country matures, as the present trend to the west continues and becomes more evident, with the center of population of industry and other elements of our economy moving likewise, the increasing importance of the mid- continental region will force such a re- allignment. But headquarters operations are not synonymous with total operations. Our fundamental cultural, industrial, agricultural and transportation ties are inextricably bound with the Great Lakes- Mississippi Valley Region of which we are a part. 7. There is in this attitude favoring a change to eastern time an imitative pattern, and a lack of self - determinati that certainly never characterized the original pioneer population of the central part of the United States. The very terminology "Central" is a connotation of our enviable position in the nation and should be a source of considerable pride. To climb on the "Eastern" bandwagon subtly downgrades this region and its communities and should be opposed on that basis alone. 8. The whole Eastern Time concept for this area goes counter to historic inevitability. The trend of natural forces is always toward the national or continental center of a land mass rather than to its fringes. This area of ours so near the very hub of this geographic wheel of North American civilization should certainly not ignore that lesson of the past. 9. Finally, if any change is to be made, the only logical one is a single global time in which each and every place .has one and the same time, all the time. This perhaps, is the ultimate solution to our recurring time problems, - although even in that system, while the hour is the same,.its local implications are variable. However, there would be a simplification of schedules and other troubles which now confront us with the many different zones in time - shrunken world. It is only reasonable to assume, then, that any suggested time change should be predicated on a thorough under- standing of the alternatives and the inevitable consequences. There are other valid reasons for opposing this time change which have been repeatedly emphasized in public and need no repetition here. Actually, the long- term disadvantages of eastern Time for this region will become progressively more apparent, even in those areas of Indiana and Michigan now usingkit, with the likelihood that they will return to Central Standard Time, unless (continued)