The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-06-13
'' WE CAN TALK WITH MARS 5,

son the nigh priesthood of nature IN
hcr electrical manifestations, has made
a new revelation in the June number
OF the Century Magazine, which de-
votes 80 pages and number of slurt
ling Illustrations to the su icct. If all
blS ideas therein disclosed were capable
oil beng put INTO practical use, the re-
suit OF his discoveries might he reyol- |
uuonary, but when he talks of chmiuat- |
ing men from warfare and doing the |
fighting with machines without blood |
shed, the Imagination refuses TO follow |
hlm.
One OF the propositions is the old !
Jest oi "scttin@ the river on fire" |
seriously stated as practical PROPOSE.
tlon. By the use of an electric current
he claims to have deComposcd water,
separating the hydrogen III order that
he may use it as fuel to smclt non. In
ihls way he calculates that one horse
power will produce 20 tons of iron Il
year.
Another proposition is to chcapcn
the food supply of the world by cheap
ing the principal fertilizer. Nitrogen
IL the most expensive and most largely
rsch fertilizer and Tesla proposes to
get it from the AIR by burning 1t out
with electricity. In the process of
combustion, the nitrogen forms new
combinations from which ii can be cX-
tractcd and applied TO the soil rs plant
! food.
Practical farmers will probably call
! Mr.. TCSla's attention to the fact that
nature has provided Inexpensive APP
paratus FOR extracting nitrogen from
the air and putting it into the soil
Lcguminous plants do that with an cX
pcnse so small that it can hardly hc
counted They attract bacteria, which
attach themselves to The roots, accumu-
latiug nitrogen there The plants that
do this have tops, which are valuable as
food, and the Southern field pea is Il
familiar example. After the pea vine
has done ITS work for the soil, through
the accumulation of nitrogen on its
roots, the tcp Of the plant is cut and
cured, and sells readily at Sl5 yer ton.
There is profit in this hay without
taking Il C ant of the deposit OF nit
rogen which ,S left in the soil.
1t may reasonably be doubted whcth-
cr Mr.. Tesla,s apparatus, using an
electrical oscillator giving twelve mil
lion volts with 100 900 oscillations per
second, can cNtrac, nitrogen from the
ali rs chcaply as natures apparatus
the lCgumnOus plat ts He will lave
TO try again for method of chcapcning
the food supply Of the world.
Mr. Tesla might employ his talents
for this purpose to good advantage hy
turning his attention to natures ap.
parntus and doing what he can 10
| hn # ,i,,,
plants by stimulating the activity Of the
bacteria which collect the nitrogen on
their roots. Scientists have so imcrcas-
cd the sugar in the beet that it has be-
come formidable rival of cane in the
!, commerce of the worlI, largely i'll
crcasiug the food supply.
The article is entitled, "rhc pro-
, b!cm of increasing human energy :"
The author considers humanity Ell
massc as physical body, whose
effectiveness or total energy may be
computed by the physical formula at
> al onc-half the product Of The mass by
The square of the velocity.
Mr.. Tesla says there are three ways
of increasing the sum of human energy.
The first is TO increase its "massn the
. second is TO reduce The .rtarding force
. or friction. and ,hc third is 10 increase
the impullng force.
Taking up the first Of these heads
he says
"Thcle are two ways Of increasing
the mass OF mankind; iiiSt by aiding
and maintaining those forces and con
dlliOnS which tends 20 increase ii and
reducing those which tcni to diminish
il. The mass will be increased by
careful attention TO health, by sub.
stantial food, BY moderation, by Ic.
gularity of habits: by the promotion OF
marriage, by conscientious attention to
, the chi,llcn, ard generally stated b}
the observance of all the many pre-
c.pts of religion and hygiene.
"Evcrythmg against the teachings
; Of religion and hygiene tends to de-
crease the mass. Whisky, wine, tea,
coffee, tobacco, and such stmuantS
, are responsible for shortening the
, lives of many and ought 10 be used
, with moderation. But do not think
that rigorous measures Of suppression
. of habits followed through many gen.
cratiOns are commcndablc. 1t is wisul
to preach moderation than abstinence
! we have become accustomed TO these
J stimulants, and if such reforms are tu
be effected, they must be slow and
gradual. Those who are dcvotiuu
their energies to such ends could make
themselves far more useful by turning
their efforts toward providing pure
, water.
"For every person who pcrishcs
I from the use OF stimulant, at least
a thousand die from the consequences
OF drinking impure water. The germs
+ OF destruction IT conveys are all the
: more terrible as they perform their
fatal work uEpclceiycd. Thcy seal
, our doom while wo live and cniov.
| The ma aolity of people are so careless
in drinking water and the consequences
arc so disastrous, that philanthrorist
? can scarcely use his efforts better than
by cndcavoring TO enlightcn those who
are thus injurns themselves"
The rctardmg forces are war, ignor-
ancc, insanity and imbccility TO re.
ducc these is to increase the sum of
human energy. Enlightenment is
velocity, and if the children born into
the world are "of higher velocity"
Than their parents, the energy of the
race is increased, etc.
There should be qualification lust
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