Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-02-22
THE MOONS INFLUENCE.
HOW FAR DOES IT EXTEND OVER
Tuls GLOBE AND ITS OCCUPANTS

Within two short years tle pseudo scientists
and would be smart Alexis have allowed
their opinions TO undergo a radical change.
In predicting the ultimate fate Of tho earth
thev no longer calculate that the suns fires
will gradually burn out, and that the tempera-
ture will cool until the charging glacial zones
drive shivering humanity towards the e9ua-
tor where the remnants OF the mighty ma
tions will be crowded out Of existence or
perish from excessive cold. Neither do they
nrof.ss 70 believe now. as they once did, that
orr water supply will eventually become ex-
haustcd. We are no iongcr bounded 10 death
with the idea that the surface OF the earth Is
diminishing and that the earth VIII suisse
quently be dcvoured 10y the restless roll OF the
ocean. Tho astrologer who few years ago
warned us Of the impending danger TO which
we were being subjected on account OF the
perihelion Of Uranus, Saturn, Neptune and
Jupiter is, however, now in his element. 1t
was in 1880, believe, not farther back than
1873. at any rate, that this occult seer promised
us fifteen years Of suffering and death. Count
ing from the last date given, the time during
which the atmosphere, according to his opin-
ion. will reek with baleful influences, is not
finished by over three years. Hear what the
communer with the unknowable says in re-
gard to "Perihelion and Pcstllence;"
TRYING TIMES
During the fifteen years following the
year 1850 the vitality Of every living thing
will be put to a severe and trying ordeal
Evidence in abundance points 70 great disas-
ters in the immediate future.
There will De excessive heat, unexampled
cold and prevalence Of fool and disaster in
all directions We do not write TO alarm any
one, nor to make a sensation. Readers can
Judge for themselves what Importance to at
tach 20 the subject. That the cOnjont peri
hclion Of all the large planets Of the solar
system ore Of which, Jupiter, is 900 times
larger than our earth, must disturb our at
mo,pere and temperature very considerably
is probable. that this disturbance must be in
furious to health and life is certain, and that
these periods have hitherto been pestilentlai
is matter of record. How much we shall
suffer during the next twelve or fifteen years
depends very much upon how nearly We live
in accordance with the laws Of life"
In the estimation of the superstitiOus Ghe
majority Of the human race come under that
heading, education and boosted Nineteenth
century enlightenment notwithstanding the
prophecies of this unknown seer have, TO
degree at least, been startlingly fulfilled
Surely we have had atmospheric disturb
ances enough TO be considered Notifications
Of the widest imaginings of this prophet Of
evil"
The most disastrous floods and most yio-
lent tempests Of the last thousand years have
occurred since the "Pcrihelion and Pesti-
lence" prophecy appeared in The Science Of
Health Earthquakes have claimed GO,OOO
victims, and other disasters twice as many
more. Seven comets "shook their fiery
Names during the season Of 1851, followed
Immediately by a period Of red suns and
blue moons. What effect, if any, the ex-
traorlinary aspect Of our sun setting in
sea Of fire. or Of the moon hiding her face
behind "a e. rtlean veil, has on terrestrial in
habitants the writer will not attempt TO say;
that in her normal condition she eXerts a
mighty influence for veal or woe he does not
doubt.
TIE MOON AND TIE SCIENTISTS.
The great scientists and astronomers concur
people believe the moon to exercise an infu-
ence over human affairs; only 10 tell us on
the next page Of monstrous tides invisbly put
in motion and induced by the very agency
sneercd at in preceding chapter. That our
attendant satellite does exert a powerful i'll
fluence over our little globe may be inferred
from what Vs. know Of it, tide .-""dncins
power clone. As our planet sweeps along at
an unthnkable rate Of speed it is drawn to
ward the moon very pcrceptbly, enough 10
produce tides on opposite sides Of the earth's
surface at the same time.
If these great mountains Of water can be
put in motion by the pale white orb Of
night" why should we not attribute it 10
minor influences, even though they be Of a
detrimental or pestlential characterl De
nying the truth in the case can never help
matters. But how can the moon be the
cause Of tides in America and in China at the
same tmeN some one says. According 10
the best authority on the subject Of tides,
that part of the carth's surface which Is
turned away from the moon or sun has
smaller degree OF attraction than the side
next tho lumnary exertin3 the pulling
power; thus, in effect, leaving the water be
hind, and producing tide on the opposite, as
well as upon the side acted upon directly by
the force of gravity.
The moon is now 240 900 miles away; geol-
ogists and astronomers tell us that there was
a time when it was only 10000 miles distant,
only one-Sixth of what 1t is at the present
moment. The tides of today average all the
way from three 10 fifty feet. Say that they
are now three feet al the Eads jetties at the
mouth Of the Mississippi; what would be the
result of the moon being brought five sixtns
nearer, or back to the ola mythical 5000
mile markl Instead of tides being three feet
at the mouth Of the parent of waters, they
would rise to height of GlS feet. The whole
of the Mississippi valley would present the
appearance Of a vast beach; st. Louis would
be covered out Of sight, and waves forty
eight feet high would flow through the streets
of Chicago into Lake Mchigan The writer
is not an astrologer, astronomer or sooth-
saver: he knows nothing OF "divindtionsn or
black art; does not even profess to believe
that we are on the eve of pestilential visi-
tation, but will not deny believing in moon
influences john W. Wright in st. Louis
Republic.