Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-08-10
UNKNOWN WORLDS.
ARE THEY INHABITED BY INTEL
LECTUAL BEINGS
Is IL Possible for Them TO COmmunt.
cate With Us-SOme Reasons for
Believing That the Affirmative
of This Proposition L. True.

At the conclusion OF our first paper
on this interesting theme we were
ready to assert, so far, all is we'll.
But what shall be said OF Marsian
life being actuated by that sentient,
subtitle, moral essence which alone
distinguishes a man from a brute?
That is the question, and We must
telegraph to get the desired informa-
ton. Up to this point We have been
guided by the fair handmade OF
science, now We are traversing the
illimitable fields OF speculation, lighted
up, however, here and there, by sound
analogy and reason. Mars is an
older world than the earth; millions
Of years older; our next elder brother,
in fact; that body having been born
OF the sun while We were as yet part
and parcel of that luminary's seething
substance.
Now globes are to each other in
volume as the cubes of their diameters.
So if We cube the diameter of the
earth and that of Mars and compare
the results, we shall find that the
volume of the earth is about seven
times that of Mars. Thus, adopting
the nebular hypothesis, if it required
seven millions Of years for our globe
to cool from q state of fuidity sui.
ficiently for the advent of vegetable
and animal life, then, other condi-
tons being equal, it required but one
million of years for the globe of Mars
to go through and perfect a similar
transition period. Upon this assump-
ton Mars would have six millions of
years the start of the earth in his geo.
ogical development, while his fauna
and fora would be the recipients of a
similar advantage in the great race of
life evolution. If this is not true,
then it is not true that farmer who
had settled upon his land seven years
prior to the coming of his neighbOr
would be correspondingly in advance
OF him in agricultural Improvements.
Natural law needs no executive
power to enforce its demands; it
works out its own results. Life is the
significance of matter, and mind the
significance of life. So we reason
that the people of Mars have been all
these ages lettering their condition !;
that along the upgrade of evolution
they have advanced until they are
head and shoulders above earth's hui
mainly in all that appertains to intel
lectual and psychological being. Nay,
they are our tutors in the great prob
blem under discussion and now, laying
hold of the subtle powers within the
province of their own world, they are
reaching out into the voids of space ;
the trend of that exodus is earthward
across the narrow belt that intyryenes
between themselves and us at every
conjunction of our two planets. Evil
dence is daily gaining ground that
they have seized upon the thews OF
electricity if haply they may attract
our attention and secure intelligent
recognition in return.
1t is the most egregious vanity to sup
pose that all the science of Gods uni
verse is confined to the little planet
upon which we tread and build our
evanescent works. knowledge is
proudly cosmopolitan and its range
is as wide as the domain of creation.
Already, indeed, strange bright lights
have been seen upon the Marsian sur
face. Stranger still, these scintilla-
tons appear to be other than those
which could proceed from natural
causes alone. Then are they really
and indeed electrical signals flashed
by Marsian scientists into the up
turned telescopes of their neighbor
earth's Inhabitants? Who knows?
Furthermore, suppose that by means
of powerful electric lights we were to
display on vast plain in the night
time, some geometrical figure, and in
due course, precisely such q figure
were displayed upon the surface of
Mars; the logical inference would be
that intelligent thought had been
transmitted between the two worlds.
Suppose these crude beginnings were
followed up ON both planets until some
approach to an alphabet Of natural
symbols had been formulated and
agreed upon by both parties; might
not nude thoughts evolve into ideas,
and ideas into language? Who knows?
A ray OF light or an electrical i'm.
pulse over . wire would consume
about three minutes in passing from
the earth to Mars, or vice versa, when
the planets were in conjunction or At
their nearest point of approach.
AS to the law regulating the power
OF telescope when brought to bear
upon distant object, the practical
formula is very simple. If we divide
the absolute distance of an object by
the magnifying power Of the telescope
expressed in diameters the quotient
will represent the apparent or lessened
distance of that object. For example,
suppose q field-glsss msgnifies ten
diameters and we point it towards an
object 20 miles away; then
90 10=2
That is, the observer would see the
object the same size as if he were
viewing it at distance OF two miles;
and the Transporting power OF the
instrument would be eighteen miles.
Thus, the observer would appear to
have been transported eighteen miles
towards the object or, which is the
same thing, the object would appear
to have been brought eighteen miles
nearer his eye.
When Mars and the earth are on
the same side of the sun, it may hap
pen, under extremely favorable condi.
tons, that they will approach within
about 80 100000 miles of each other
if when they are in conjunction, the
earth is in aphelion and Mars in
perihelion, they will approach still
nearer each other. Let now q monster
telescope with wide aperture and a
magnifying power of 10000 diameters
he brought into play upon the ford