The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1897-09-25
~ "a
THE GRE AT LAX E8 GOING
They Arc Surely Drying Up, But
Not Very Rapidly.

~aH sn ssH IL - = 49, = = sss sssssS
They Arc Surely Drying Up, But
Not Very Rapidly.
81 sa4 II ------= --=z--------- ss
DinAfn1taoa Not So Netaosabass q - Ne
ooseitx&a Eeoanmy n the Uee Of 20
esasgaa Il Waesr-Evidencai IN ~ =
=ssa eae 80 ReaAt. sss
- cd
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 is fast diminishing
in quantity.
The great Wiggins, 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-
ticiency in supply. We sincerely con-
gratulate Prof. Virgins. Thete 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 liesin the fact that Wig
gins has never before advanced the the
ory that the earth is drying up, whereas
it is well-known fact that the great
daily and weekly newspapers have been
sounding the alarm for the past ten or
Is years.
Over 900 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 lie 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 burdened 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 a unique and in
teresting subject for editorial discus
sion. Before Virgins had ever be-
thought himself to gain notoriety by
posing as a weather prophet, the great
dailies of this city, Chicago and New
York contained periodical editorials
under such heads as The Earth Drying
Up" "Our Arid Planet" Better Save
Water" etc. In January, 1882, more
than 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
a. Proctor, the brainy English astro-
nomical lecturer, gave proof that the
waters of the earth are diminishing at
the rate of the thickness of asheet of
writing paper each year. In view OF
the above references to the 'sdryiDg-up
theory" is it not plain that Virgins
should be congratulated and fcompli-
lmented 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: ''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
explanation of this idea that the earth
is losing it's water supply. We will say,
however, that Prof. Proctor, the great
astronomer quoted above, was of the
opinion that as the earth interior fires
d;eout it becomes porous and the waters
sink entirely out of reach OF surface
inhabitants. At the rate it is now dis
Proctor said that it will take
*, ,O00, 900 years to obliterate every trace
Of water from our planet. II the above
figures had the ciphers cut off we should
be little careful about wasting water;
as it is, we shall not use smaller glass
for drinking purposes or forego the
luxury of bath for several years to
come.- st. Louis Republic.
annanity Always seskin1 Equa1lty. !
Perhaps it Is because we know so-
ciety to be merely make-believe in its
equality that SO manyg society people
regard real equality as impossible,
and are content to remain in the make
believe. But even, the pretense of
equality IL precious, and Il has more
honesty in it than the pretense OF in