Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1873-01-18
THE PLANETS AND DISEASE,

A physiciah residing in Mexico an
vanccs the thspry that the planets have
an influence !. Upon disease. The pow
erful effect of the suns light and heat
upon all life is, of course, truism.
The doctor maintains that it's attractive
force, when reinforced by the attraction
of the larger planets, is almost equally
powerful. Changes in that attractive
force would then produce changes, good
or bad, in the cofidition of life. The
same result is reached in o different
way. Health depends, in great part,
upon the gravity of the atmosphere
breathed. On mountain top, respir-
alton becomes difficult, the head be
gins to swim, the limbs lose their
strength. A great pressure of air pro-
duces much the same results. There.
fore, again, anything that effects the
gravity of the atmosphere affects life.
The attractive force Of the planet does
this. The consequence is clear. If
this theory be true; we should find that
the greatest sickness occurs at the peri
DDS of greatest disturbance of the air,
that is, when the planetary attraction
is greatest. This happens when the
planets are nearest the sun. Their
force OF grav.tation ara then combined;
sudden change takes place in one Of
the most essential conditions of life;
and animals and plants die. The sup
position explains the bigbts in vegeta-
ton that usually precede and accom-.
pany epidemics. Some curious statis-.
tics are submitted, in an attempt to-
show that the facts of the past verify
the new theory. Jupiter is nearest the
sun-that is, reaches his perihelion
about every twelfth year. His late
dates have been 1868, 1856, 1845, 1888,
1921, 1910, 1898, and 1785.
Every one of these has been cholera
year for India and time OF pestilence
throughout the world. It Is slso
claimed that every twelfth year, as far
back as 1872, has been fruitful in epid-
emic sickness. Saturn revolves in
little less than twenty-ninc and half
years. He passed his perihelion in
1856, 1926, 1767, and 1897. His dis
turbins influence, although less than
that of Jupiter, must greatly strengthen
the latter, whenever their perihelia coin
eide. Every fifty-nine years this hap
pens. 1t happened in 1916 and 1896:
In the former the yellow fever did its
deadliest work at New Orleans. In
1845, at the time of Jupiter's perihe-
lion the Irish ship fever began its raw
ages. 1t was succeeded by the cholera,
which eliminated in 1856. Going back
to 1897, we find that the yellow fever
| then visited every seaport Of the United
States, while the cholefa ragged in Hin
dostan, and sickness was prevalent
everywhere. BY such statistics DIR.
Knapp essays to prove his theory. He
comes near enough doing so to make.
us wish that he had suffered us to keep
the bliss of ignorance instead of re-
vealing the fact Jupiter will reach his
next perihelion in 1880, that Jupiter
and Saturn will meet in 1881; that Ur-
anus and Neptune will have coincided
perihelia in 1882, and that the next
perihelion passage of Saturn will be in
1885. The prospect for continual
change in our tickle atmosphere, and
consequent continual disease, is GER
tainly fair--if "a very important if) the
theory is true. There has seemed to
be small danger of the days of star
worship coming back again. But ev-
cry religion is, according to Lecky,
founded on fear. If we must per-
force be afraid Of the planets perihelia,
Wa at least lay the foundation of the
long forgotten faith.