Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-03-12
filteIligencsr.
leo1aDAY HvE9nso. MARCH II. 1893

. AeS~OS~V0~~~SOD
le01gDAY HvExnS0. MARCH II. 1893.
Wiggins' Prophecies.
The general opinion is that Virgins
for . weather prophet stands up re-
maxkably well under the test of his
prophecy. To be sure, his storm had
not the unprecedented magnitude which
he claimed for it, but 1t was certainly of
Z avery respectable size and, in view of
the customary failures Of weather pre-
dictions made a long time ahead, Pro-
fesor Virgins must be conceded to have
good ground for pluming himself, as
he u said to do, upon the correctness OF
his foretelling. Naturally the newspa-
pess that were rash enough to laugh at
him are disposed still to decry him. We
observe that several metropolitan jour-
nails take the popular tendency to be
lieve that Professor Virgins knew what
he was talking about, as a text for
editorial disquisitions upon the text
/" What fools we mortals he ~
The instruction intended to be
given by these utterances is that
men in general are fools, Virgins, be
ing the particular fool, who undertook to
foretell the future, the people who
thought it possible that he might be able
to do it, were fools for their credulity.
It may be, however, that the foolishness
was in the critical editors rather than in
the credulous people. Such things have
happened men who have thought
themselves very wise for refusing to be-
lieve things heretofore unknown in their
experience and things apparently impos.
sible, have often found that If they had
besn less unbelieving they would have
been wiser. This is supposed to have
been demonstrated in hedaysof Plate !;
and certainly has been shown so often in
our own era as to make it very i'm
prudent in the wisest man to deny
anything that anyone else declares.
Nothing was ever more astonishing than
the development of the powers Of cleo
tricity in our day. That communication
should be made around the earth in a
few seconds of time was quite as impos
sible feat before it was accomplished as
IL. Professor Wiggins' undertaking to
telA the periods OF storm that lie in the
womb of the future. Because nobody
has done it is a very unsafe reason for
believing that nobody will do it. When
Professor Wiggins says that he can
foretell storm hundred years ahead
he says. something which is very i'm.
probable, but not inherently i'm
possible. For he declares that the
weather on the earth is governed
by the positions Of the stars and planets;
and as astronomy declares itself able to
fortell them, if Prof. Virgins theory of
storm breeding is true, there is no reason
why he should not be able to do what he
claims. The only two questions appa-
rently are as to whether the other
heavenly bodies do govern the state of
the air and the water on the surface of
the earth, and whether Professor Wig
gins has discovered the rule by which it
is done. There is not farmer that will
not declare that the moon has pro-
found effect on vegetation, and Profes-
sor Wiggins can readily get the
popular ear, as has been shown,
in predicting great influence upon
the earth's surface to the heav
emily bodies; Notwithstanding edi.
tors scoff. Editors do not know
everything nor, we fear, do many of
them know much, outside of politics,
which they hold as their special sphere ;
they are apt to talk in very silly way ;
and on political matters, too, for that
matter still, as every one is wont to be
politically silly, editors cannot conspicu.
ously show their ears when they adven-
cure in these fields.
With the people whom he has secured
as an audience, Professor Wigglns can
proceed calmly with his demonstrations,
regardless Of the editors and the official
weather prophets of the United States.
The noses of the latter are particularly
out of joint, since they insisted Upon the
calmest of weather in these days, and
would not let Virgins have even little
bit of storm to comfort him. If Gen.
81 Hazen had not already demonstrate
ed to the country that he was of no
account whatever as a weather man, or
any other sort of man, Virgins storm
would have sunk him out of sight; but
being already on the bottom Virgins
big tides could not cover him any deeper.
Perhaps it is true that Virgins has only
this time made lucky hit and that in
fact his blow was all a blow; but his
good luck, at least, earns him suspen-
sion Of opinion and a moderate credulity
i.aiis future predictions, until his luck
or his science fails him.
THERE seems to be no end of disas
ters, big and little, at home and abroad,
in this year of grace 1883. 1t is we'll
that Virgins predictions did not
come true to a greater extent, though
the returns from the Bay of Ben
wo1 IN uh;oh hio honoc oro GxaJ