The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-02
NEW rnGcar or MANS CANALS.
ne" s.. .'; s.:. . IT.; They

AsIonomer burnnom Ihtpk Ihey
Have Bse Misnse@L Vi
While sherburne Wesley Bushhah. who
is only n Of Chicago's astronomers. bu,
perhaps the most distinguished OF them
all. processes to have no very definite
and un~alterable opinion as to whether the
planet Mars has artificial annals or not
that can be seen from this earth, he yet
does not hesitate to say that S~chiaparelli,
who first thought he saw them. was un-
fortunate In the name he gave them. A
canal on our earth Is a thing made by
human hands. and when canals are de-
clared to be on Mars the idea is perforce
carried that they. too. were constructed
by beings that must have some resem-
blance to man. This was not Schiaparelli's
idea. or IL IL ever once occurred TO his
mind he never insisted on IL. He did see
on Mars lines that suggested canals. and
hence he named them canals. but how
they came to be there. what their use Is.
and all that. he did not say nor pretend
TO know. Mr.. Burnham, while deferring
somewhat to the opinion of other astron-
omers who nav given more attention to
the subject than he has yet been able to
give IT. inclines to the opinion that IL
the name canal had not been applied
to S~chiaparelli's discovery observers that
followed him would nave been a long
time in coming to the conclusion that ar
tificial canals are on Mars that can be
seen from this earth.
Mr.. Burnham admits that great inter-
est attaches to the subject. even In the
minds Of skeptical astronomers. and far
greater interest has IL for unscientific
people. There Is SO strong a probability
that some of the other planets are in
habited by intelligent and working beings
and so taking is the notion that mankind
has a race cousin dwelling on Mars. that
whenever the possibility of this is sug-
R0Stpd men and w0men nf all daDraaS Of
enlightenment eagerly hope hat 1t all
may be true. In the United States. lat
terly. rather more of popular interest Is
taken in the subject than in Europe. by
reason of the recent studies and delight
full writings of Mr.. Lowell. He seems to
require no further or better evidence than
he has already discovered that the Mar
tian canals are artificial. From his tower
of telescope observations at Flagstaff,
Arr. he may vet discover further evidence
which will be sufficient to convince ev-
erybody.
But there are other American writer's
than Mr.. Lowell on the subject. and the
very latest is the author of Astronomy
in the useful Stories Series published
by ID. Appleton & Co. This author ac-
counts i'm a simple manner for the canals
on Mars. In his opinion they were made
in the course of long ages by water from
the melting snow and ice around the
poles distributing itself over the CONT
nents. That is his guess. But in Germany
Is another new guesser-Leo Bremen
who is out with a most interesting theory.
which. IL true, accounts in a quite human
way for the canals.
Leo Brennss feels certain that Mars is
inhabited by beings In some respects re-
sembling ourselves. He recognizes this re-
semblance in what he calls the stupen-
dous irrigation system of Mars. The
amount of work expended on Irrigation
shows. in his view. that the nhao.tant
are very dissimilar to ourselves. since hu-
beings would be incapable of per-
forming such labor-or II not potentially
incapable. conditions are such on this
earth that IL would never need to be per-
only In very limited sections. He
believes that the people OF Mars live in
perpetual fear OF a water famine, and
that the network OF canals wards of the
OF course, then. he believes that
the canals are artificial. and in his publ
cation recently made on the subject he
attempts to explain away some difficult
ties that have been considered by many
as insurmountable. He finds a reason why
the supposed inhabitants of Mars should
have dug canals of such extraordinary
breadth. and why no chains
hindered the straight-lined direction of
almost all the canals. Mars. he says. must
be many hundreds of millions years older
the earth, and IL is also considerably
smaller, so that Its surface must have be-
leveled up in the course of ages.
the debris from the mountains gradually
filling up the valleys until the surface
has become a fiat plain, a state of things |
10 which our earth will ultimately at
tain. CThis process of wearing down
and filling w valleys may be
seen active anywhere between Western
Nebraska and the Pacific ocean, Then he
assumes that the continents upon Mars
resemble the fiat country of Holland, and
isserts that the inhabitants have to pro-
their shores by dams similar to those
,uilt by the Dutch. They have. therefore, |
'uilt dams along their coasts. while at the |
anne time they have tried to lead the sea
water into the interior of the continents
" means of waterways and canals. For
unately for the inhabitants. after the
ANS are built the canals do not have to
~ dug. but let I'm the water and II will /
between the dams up and down the
And he explains the changed
from time to time of the net
4 the larger canals has given UP much
vater to the lesser ones II feeds II must
ecome shallower and consequently faint
r In appearance. and as soon as II gets
nore water from the sea II becomes dark
r and visible again.
Leo Bremen is a man of science and in
God standing among the astronomers.
hAS Asiai- Il
an canals Is attracting a good deal of
II is but a theory. of course,
Or nothing Is absolutely known concern
TX the supposed inhabitants and canals
pom Mars. n IL Is next to certain that
othing ever will be known. Some are
,oking forward to a time when larger
r more powerful telescopes will be made
nd pointed at the heavens. AT such a
me. many are thinking. we shall be
BILE to see important things on the plan
Is that are now invisible. But this Is
OF at all certain to come to pass. Mr..
urnham is of the opinion that the practi-
al limit to the power of telescopes has
cen attained. Not that larger telescopes.
18th higher magnifyfng power. may not
e constructed. but that our atmosphere
resents difficulties.
MIR. Burnham is not, IL should be said,
pecially interested in Mars, and IL might
e better to consult Mr.. Lowell or some
Their man that Is devoted to the subject.
hicago's most noted astronomer is a IA
lous hunter OF double stars. and ne has