The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-12-07
THE GREAT LAKES GOING
They Arc surely D1y1ne Up hut
Not Vsey Rapidly.

Dinainntloa Not - No<sesaAls - - No
ee1slta1e Eeaaemy u the Use e
Wassr-Ev1dsaes n
eotnt.
The professors Of natural sciences
and the editors Of the various technical
journals, true to the axiom which says
that such persons are the last to grasp
an important idea or TO let slip an ex-
ploded theory, are just awakening to
the fact that the amount of water on
the earth's surface il fast Eliminating
in quantity.
The great Virgins. he Of the advanced
school Of astronomical weather proph-
est, has made the very surprising dis
covery (?)- that the region adjacent to
the great lakes is becoming as arid as
the plains of western Kansas and Ne
braska, and that the water surface Of
the lakes themselves is lowering very
rapidly, owing to evaporation and de-
ficiency In supply. We sincerely con-
graduate Prof. Virgins. These con-
gratulations are not extended on ac-
count of his revelations concerning the
arid conditions of the lake regions and
our planet in general NOR of his being an
advanced astronomical meteorologist.
We bestow our compliments solely be-
cause his drying-up-of-the-lakes an
nouncement bears evidence of the fact
that the professor has been spending
the early days of the '.sere and yellow
leaf in looking over the back files of
the secular newspapers. Our only proof
of the foregoing lies in the fact that Wig
gins has never before advanced the the
ory that the earth is drying up. whereas
it is a well-known fact that the great
daily and weekly newspapers have been
sounding the alarm for the past ten OF
Is years.
Over 200 years ago the great Sir Isaac
Newton first set forth the theory that
the earth would eventually become as
dry and lifeless as the moon is now sup
posed to be. In 1920 Laplace read an
article before the Paris Academy OF
Science in which he gave many proofs in
support of the opinion that the old age
of the earth would be spent in cycles of
extreme aridity. Newton's ideas on
that score were so far in advance of the
scientific knowledge of the time in
which he lived that he never attempted
to give reasons for his opinoin on that
subject Laplace's proofs and explana-
tions are so burdcned with technicali-
ties that they are bewildering to the
average intellect.
Years ago, perhaps even further in
the past than the date set above, the
wide-awake daily press seized upon the
drying-up theory as q unique and in
teresting subject for editorial discus
sion. Before Wiggins had ever be-
thought himself to gain notoriety by
posing as weather prophet, the great
dailies of this city, Chicago and New
York contained periodical editorials
under such heads as 1.-The Earth Drying
Up" "Our Arid Planet" Better Save
Water" etc. In January, 1882, more
than a year before prof. E. Stone Wig
gins" first made himself prominent by
predicting cyclone of sufficient
breadth and power as to smooth all the
wrinkles out of the topography OF the
North American continent. Richard
4. Proctor, the brainy English astro-
nomical lecturer. gave proof that the
waters of the earth are diminishing at
the rate of the thickness of sheet OF
writing paper each year. In view OF
the above references to the "drying-uP
theory" is it not plain that Wiggins
should be congratulated and compli-
mented because of his late discoveries
in that line?
Fourteen years ago the Republic,
then the Missouri Republican, used the
following language in an editorial on
this subject: 1.-The geologists tell us
that the water surface on the whole
earth is being rapidly lowered.
This diminution in the water supply is
fast becoming appreciable.
The level Of the great lakes is falling
year by year." We quote the passage
in order to draw the attention OF the
scientists of the present decade to the
fact that years ago somebody knew that
the great lakes were slowly drying up.
We advance no theory OF our own in
of this idea that the earth
is losing it's water supply. Wewill say,
however, that Prof. Proctor. the great
astronomer quoted above, was OF the
opinion that as the earth's interior fires
die out it becomes porous and the waters
sink entirely out of reach OF surface
;rhahitants At the rate II ia now dis