The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1894-05-30

r,r,o Inbabjtants of That Planet Appear to
BE Signalling Us Every NiGht--The
Scientists Are Studying 1t.
Thomas A. Edison has turned Ogden
mountain, in New Jersey, into great
,nacret and coiled miles of wire about it..
At the time of the last opposition CT
Mars he noticed an increase of the seismic
mutterings, which have recent y been so
violent. Mr.. Edison and Mr.. Preece, of
ENGLAND. are only two of the scientists
who are now experimenting along these
lines. and the whole scientific world is
watching the progress being made.
Neither Mr. Edison nor Mr.. Preece has
been SO bold as to say that the strange
sounds referred t. are messages sent by
the inhabitants of Mars to those of earth,
hut they have not otherwise explained
them.
On the other hand, there are many
scientists firm in the belief that the next
few wears will witness the opening up of
communication between the people Of
the two planets. This conviction has
been enormously strengthened by the
strange lights seen at the Lick OBJ
servatory when Mars was under, observa-
ton during its opposition a little over a
year ago. The threelights were arranged
in triangle. Nightly as the great red
orb rose from her ocean bed to the vault
of heaven the lights flashed out as soon as
darkness had set in and in the immense
lens of the Lick telescope they glowed
with steady, and continued effulgence.
Was this an effort of the inhabitants of
Mars to attract the attention of those on
earth?
Such had been the opinion of Flamma-
rion, who had argued in favor of earth
signaling back with triangle OF lights
thirty miles across. 1t was shown
that the conditions of Mars were more
nearly of those of earth than of any other
planet. Both of the snow caps could lie
plainly seen and may be seen now in any
frst-class telescope, for Mars is now to be
observed in the morning about 30 de-
grees vest and IA degrees south from
Venus in the constellation Capricorn.
The well defined atmosphere OF Mars is
also plainly visible, and astronomers can
tell by the increase or decrease of its
snow caps and its position in regard to
the sun, the progress of its seasons and
whether on not the Marsians are having
a cold winter. The canal theory OF
Schiapparelli has likewise many believ-
ers who assert that the strange straight
lines on Mars are canals built by its high
ly civilized inhabitants
MI. Preece says he has kept record
of the strange, mysterious sounds which
have attracted his attention, while Edi-
son has done likewise. These will re-
uuire much study to decipher if they are
messages from Mars. The Preece dis
covery, on the other hand, puts it in the
power of the people of earth to send
direct electrical currents to Mars, whose
IDldDlLd9IS are 81 luuCLA Ia ESNA "SO VI 80
selves that they may be able to help us
out iu the work of opening up converse.
A pantomimic electrical Interchange vii!
be necessary for some time, but what
will be the emotions Of the scientific
world when the message is sent out that
communication has been established?
There are those who firmly assert that
this is an experience of the immediate
future: that electricity is the universal
force and the one whereby the planets
will come in communication with each
other if they ever do The mystery of
electricity is the strange fluctuations it
undergoes If it were an earth property
solely it would be steady, as it would be
were it common to all the universe and
not interferred with. But its strange
coings and coming, its apparent relations
to the sun, and yet its known sympathy
with other heavenly bodies, seem to sho "
that somebody is tooling with the dyna-
mo and cutting off and turning on the
current.