Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-05
Onr Mnrtinn NeiEhbOrs.
From the Philadelphia Press.

From the Philadelphia Press.
BY the Martians we refer to the in
habitants Csupposing there to be inhabit-
antst of the planet Mars, which we venture
to call our neighbor. because. in the course
of their revolutions, that planet and our
own come within 35,00O0O0 miles of each
other. At this slight remove we might al
most expect to hear the Martian sephyrs
blowing through the leaves. and perhaps
Mr.. Bryans oratorical efforts are now
reaching. in a somewhat attenuated form,
the denizens of the war-like planet.
Just now Mars is making one of its peri
odical approaches toward the earth, and is
so far above the horizon that the view is
not obscured by atmospheric impurities.
Astronomers are asking. Has Mars an at
mOSphere? Is there water upon its sur
face? Are there indications of intelligent
action? They have long observed straight
lines upon its surface, and Professor Schia-
parelli bases. on these lines, his belief that
Mars is inhabited by intelligent beings,
since nature never makes perfectly
straight lines. He is also inclined to be-
lieve in the existence of great reservoirs
for storing and distributing water. Other
scientists believe the evidence of intelligent
occupation to be inadequate. But n writer
in the Edinburgh Review says: He may
be called a miraculous observer. Every
thing so far seen by him with conviction
has had only to wait for full ratification.
Ills CandlS nave gradually III
umphed over the incredulity of
those whose eyes or whose instruments
We're incapable of showing Them
Until recently our knowledge of Mars was
limited by the size OF our lenses The diff
ttculties OF making perfect lens increase
very rapidly with its size. Glass is not
strictly homogeneous: the material of one
part of lens may be more dense than that
of another and there may be produced an
imperfect and misleading refraction. But
hopes are entertained of making lenses of
a larger size. in parts, which can after
wards be joined together. And new ma
terials more traCtable than glass may Yet
be discovered from which to construct
lenses. ObservatorieS are also erected on
higher and more remote points of ground
than hitherto, where there is no liability
of vibration. and where the air is abso-
lutely transparent.
Following out the suggestions of science.
Mr.. Francis Galton, in the Fortnightly
Review. anticipates the possibility of COM
munication by means of intelligibe signals
between the earth and Mars. He supposes
the Martfans to produce, by an immense
assemblage of large photographs. scntilla-
tiOnS differing in length which. according
to their length, may be designated as dot.
dash and line. He supposes the terrestrial
astronomers. with almost superhuman
penetration. to interpret these signs. The
early messages express simply arithmetiCal
truths. as plus equals 3, etc. 1t appears
that the Martian system of notation is
based upon SIS rather than upon los. "A
clever little girl" adds the writer who
has helped US much by her quick guesses.
takes the view that the Mars folks are
nothing more than highly developed ants.
who count up to s by their six legs and two
antennae. as our forefathers counted up
TO 10 on their fingers" We will not enter
further into the details of the scheme of
Mr.. Galton. 1t is not difficult to lay out
very plausible plans when you are dealing
with u subject as to which no one can
prove YOU to be in the wrong.
We have doubtless been over-confdent in
taking it for granted that the inhabitants
of the planets exist (where they exist at
alb, under the same conditions as our own.
1t is altogether possible that the people of
other worlds may live in less dense at
mosphere, or more dense, than ourselves.
that the conditions governing vegetation
and evaporation may not be the same as
with us. At all events. there is set before
us conception of problems that may tax
the human mind to the utmost, that will
eXalt our idea of the grandeur of the uni
verse and that may impart Il salutary
humility by reminding us how small a cor
ner in the material universe is held by our
own little planet.