Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-12-03
DooMsDAY sPEcULATIoNs.
Discussions a. to the Pate of Humanity
the Last Great Dag.


the Last Great Dag.
The probable fate Of the last man
has often been discussed, and dozens
OF theories have been advanced By
persons who honestly believe that
they have solved the problem. That
there will be time when this little
world Of ours Will no longer exist
there is not the least shadow Of a
doubt, but exactly how the human
race will perish and disappear from
the face Of the globe Is the question
that has interested the philosophers
OF al ages.
Some profess to believe that the
oceans are gradually eDcroaching on
the land surface, and that eventual
u the last man will be drowned.
Opposite TO this is the much talk
I'd Of theory that the water on the
earth s surface is slowly drying up,
the amount being appreciably less
now than it was at the opening Of
the century. TIE apostles Of this
unique theory say that if the drying
Up process continues for few thou
sand years longer the earth will be-
come as arid as the moon, and the
last man will perish for want Of va
ter
Some believe that the earth VIII
fall to pieces; others that monster
planet will plunge into the sun,
causing that great luminary TO blaze
up and burn 70 cinders the earth
and the other planets in its train.
There have been dozens Of other
theories, some Of them equally curl
GUS, advanced by men who have
been making the subject study. But
the most remarkable solution Of the
question is the opinion lately ex-
pressed by leading German mete-
orologist and astronomer. He says
that the internal fires OF the earth
are rapidly dying out, and that the
sun is sure to burn out and become
cold and dark
This, he says, is proved by the fact
that ice is rapidly accumulating at
the poles OF the earth and slowly
creeping down toward the temperate
zones. Places visited By Kotzebue,
Franklin, Ross, Parry, Lyon and
others during the first quarter Of
the present century and pronounced
b. them a. being free from ICE dur
irg June, July and august are now
covered Nth several feet .. tne
crystal depo=:t, which IS capped with
snow throughout the year. This
ccrta!nlY proves that the earth :
GLACIAL zores are rapidly and perma-
neqitly charging and that The Old
German apostle Of the freeze out
theory has basis for his calcutta
tons, to say the least.
That Europe IL on the borderland
of another glacial epoch has been
shown by Flammariop, the great
French speculative astronomer. Dur
ing the last 30 years every kingdom,
empire, republic and principally in
that country as well as those of
Asia has lost from to II degrees in
its mean annual temperature. In
France, Germany and Italy the
northern limit Of the growth of the
vine is being steadily forced south
ward. In South America and South
Africa similar conditions are noted.
At Rio de Janeiro the annual tenn
peraturc has been steadily going
down since the date when meteoro-
logical records were first kept in
that city. The German authority
Just cited declares that this Will go
steadily on, with the effect Of mar
rowing down the habitablc area Of
the globe. At last shivering human
ity will all collect along the equator.
Finally that, too, will become a
region of ic;, and snow. Then the
time will come when the overcrowd-
cd human beings will all be starved
or be frozen in heap. Louis
Republic.