Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-09-02
P!arot1-r Dangers.

"Auaorr the van j'.e questions askei
me-" writes NJ. R;cA.ri y. Proctor,
respecting matters aslfon"LAir+i, l
have found uoue more fr'qGent.: r.
pea:e,i lard none. let ule nih, moe ~
surd.) tLan those rr!i'lhg to TIE
dangers ohich are suppose; 10 b''
threatened this Year aiid dp'!aS tue
next four wears by pla; etary Iti.arUcrs.
1t has been noticed ~ certain writer's
who have derived their luinrmafi"h
from astronomers though 10 idse by
their tone they Eiight be ttemSeive7
the Newtons and Htrsch'iS 81 n lay
-thst during the years 1881 -ls91 the
four gla.t planets, Jupiter. 'a'inrn,
U:aIus and Nrp.une, !'@ss 'helr perl
heiia, or the points % iEt II heafeS' ~
proach to the sGn. Then also II hes
been notice that durin5 th:t tio.o thu
giant planets uT;4 more tUaI one i"
col iLet OF IL pans WIFE each o!htr'
and three Of them III close, bat Rot cx
act, alignment with e1"h otter, With
the SIN ard with the noon o'i'c"rtali
dates. The writers refer to az" ran
ifestly III gr. At confusion ui mind as t.
the real natute OF these i.ltuolEeLa 81
planetary motion. though This cJuiu-
sion only tens to lake their pEophe-
cies more impressive by glvlnG - them
an air Of great mystery.
Recently what lsy lie t"rmel =
new :, stem Of a>:ruiogy l. IS beep sug-
gested by the Ill weighed words of
some who ore Let without prc;ensiohH
to be regarded rs men OF sciences. The
idea has been thrown Ont ;hst the spots
On the sun nsy in eome way irtl1eEct
terrestrial weather. not generally bat
specifically, IN such sort that coaid the
law If the il haeIce he Gut Recognized:
it would becpme rossi*le % preiict Tia.
weather for long periods II advance,
and with the weather s1ch events as
famines, pestilences, COMMERCIAL DIS
asters, and so forth. Then II has bt en
suggested that the sun spots are il
some way dependent on the planetary
movements. A. one time. indeed
there we're thought to tie good reasons
| for believing I! at the great sna spul
period is identical with tiie period i'll
Which Jupiter travels around tie sun.
| my self, when as YET the evidence wa
inc u plete, suggested tie possibility
thst long .r pc i d oinrarlyeizt, ,ears,
which seemed to lave ht en- recognized
in the sun spot changes. raieht he re
lated TO tie period ia VII ca Juniier aid
| Saturn come successfully Alto COZ luuc
ZION. OF Jurse a. soon az 1t Was proved
that in neither Of these Cases do tie
periods reall, synchronize, this iiea OF
planetary influence in CONNECTION with
he solar spots was a. once seen tn Ut
uutenable by any logically minded
student Of science.
! At one time spo.s have been mos
nun, rous when Jupiter Las been il
perihelion, at snolle when lie bas
been in aphelior his distance, then
cannot possibly ba in aug way con
nected with tho occurrence uf san spots
and similarly of tie oijunctions OF
Jupiter and Saturn. Il i-a mere acci
dent that in these cases there had been
an approach to synchronism. though Of
course science had done as well and
| wisely in noting the apparent comes
ton and in discussing its possibility a.
later in rejecting the idea OF any real
| association.
"On the strength of these two IDEAS.
one of which has had to be r, j-ctei
while the other (thst of collar i'll leuce
on terrestrial weather. IS held by
scarcely one man of science competent
to express al opinion upon 1t, some
foolish (lua two or three designiuP)
persons h We based the idea Of plane
t.,rx .i.n So tnf,
shadow OF any real foundation. They
are. i, deed, es absurd and unscientl6c
as the pretended priDcip'as on which
such men as Tee and Vennor ct hoe
genus Omne, claim to predict the wealth
or. Tue professors (-ave the nark) OF
the new astrology are his ignorant atd
mischlevous as the chariatans Who,
under the names of z ,dkiel. Raphael,
etc, have deluded foolish persons With
the ugon OF the old astrOiogy, the real
principles of which are utterly unknown
| to them.
may mention here chat q shor.
time since | noticed ID IA lett ad-
dressed to contemporary an impudeni
attempt 10 maintain that the astrolog-Is
OF our time, L,eute ant Morrison
| (Z,dkieD and the like. are mathema-
,lciahs. because they atm uuce the da, {
Of planetary cnj u ction. eic two OI
three years In advance if it were
not we'll known that AL expenditure
Of dollar would enable any one, by
purchasing nautical almanac. to pre-
dict such phenomena five years IN ad.
vance,"