The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-05-20
An English Billion.
Sd Henry Bessemer in London TImes.

Ii would be curious to know how many
of your readers have brought fully home
to their inner consciousness the real signif
canoe Of that little word "billion,' which
we have so often seen used in your
columns There are indeed few intellects
that can fairly grasp it and digest it as a
whole, and there are doubtless many
thousands who cannot appreciate its true
worth, even when reduced to fragments
for more easy assimilation. Its arithmet-
ical symbol is simple and without much
pretention. There are no large figures
just a modest | followed by dozen
ciphers, and that is ALL
Let us briefly take a glance at it as a
measure Of time, distance and weight. As
a measure Of time | would take one second
as the unit and carry myself in thought
through the lapse of ages back to the first
day of the year ! of our era, remembering
that in all those years we have 365 days and
in every day just sc, 400 seconds of time.
Hence, in returning in Thought back again
to this year of grace, one might have sup
posed that 900 900 900 900 of seconds
had long since elapsed, but this is not SO.
We have not even passed one-sixteenth Of
80 - sar !. 81 -. 81 81 eo1 o. esu'-r. ~
u % % - ~ - AZ y,s 80 80 "a eais,
fo co,sti,nte oo0 o00 loo ooo @ saoonJs of
time.
1t is no easy matter to bring under the
cognizance of the human eye billion
objects Of any kind. Let us try in imasi-
''.'On J ~ s ~; .n,s nuuipel III III iusPee
D,.I.a1, 49,, 80 ~. &c ir.P PDI: 49,
ono on tLa aronnJ on3 nj, nnon i as
:. III - % E.. :. -
mh % I Is. W.. - 10 - ~ soe' - g n;.;i"-
ATe" ieV 10 pi"0e NUMBERS VI S'n"a'
Columns in close contact forming a ssralgh.
ine ana making sort OF wan ~ leet
hlsn' showing oniy 'he 'h'n euseS Oh the
eoiI m
Imagine TWO suc,l vans running Parale'
70 each ot"er anu lorlning' as 1t were,
long street we must then keep on eX
tending these walls Tor miles, nay, hund-
dreds oi miles, ana sun we snail De lar
short OF the required number And 1t IS
not until we nave extended our imaginary
street to distance OF z,5eo4 miles that
we snail nave presented Tor inspection our
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF CONS.
Or In heu oil tins arrangement we may
place them nat upon the ground, forming
one continuous line ike long golden cham
with every link In close contact But to
do TINS we must pass over iand ana sea-
mountain and valley, desert and PLAIN.
crossing the equator and returning around
the southern hemisphere, through the
trackless ocean, retrace our way again
across the equator, then still on and on
until we again arrive at our starting point,
and when we have thus passed a golden
chain around the huge bulk OF The earth
we shall be but at the beginning OF our
task. we must drag tins imaginary cham
no less 'o' Times around the Siope-
IL L, we can lur'ner iIlaslhe an 'lose ro"s
Oh INKS lalu cioseiy sue Dy sue aiu every y
one In contact with i,s heiSnpor' we shail
nave iortnee Soiueil oanu arounu ,ne
SloDe just % leet lhenes wiue anu lla tnis
VIII represent our OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES o.
COINS. Such chaih' Il iaiu ln a s.rlusu. !.
hne'wouiu feacn traction over lo,o-o'3t'' +,
miles, 1he Wel9he ol wnicn' 4 cs'ina.ea .1a a. -
one-Iour1n ounce each s1,erelsu' %ouiu oe
o,y'o'r.' .. -. SVIs ia as th"U % aS5 aL;ns aaoL
.ISPoiI cI ~ less '"a az ono .an anl'' L., 49,
with a 1uii cargo Oh o'ooo TONS, E'eu
enen 'nele wou'0 oeT pe ooo Iesluue :, f' 'o"s
rePIeseus,ns of'oeL'5I 9ose.ena -,
so,aIIar "ln nn;. - Onr ~ - %aosnr;ua - ~ rs rod TLe
''ll shnots ofnaner @ ~ on which T5e Times ;s nr;rt
81 ;fIa;a pg1 nIt tat - anJ trmlr messed tode,he,
81 co. IL .u MI Ji'i honnd @ M Ioa ypnId ranrsseai
'aonanso % - "o oF abont three LrndreJ and
measure VI apouv oue-olice huhuieu anu