The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-01-26

been asked, How is man
f. ."s.r 81 i. +. to know when he has reached
the north poie:. How is he to find his
way back home? is another. It would
take a scientific man and considerable
space to answer -.
But here is an odder proposition. Sup
pose an explorer actually makes his way
TO Where the north pole ought to be, and
when he gets, there finds that it has
moved. Yet this is precisely what science
says will happen him. Then, too, the pole
moves IN a most mysterious way There
are no wagon tracks to show the direc-
tlon 1T took; no trail to follow. And in
order to catch up with it the man on the
scene must know exactly where the pole
was on such and such a date, and where
IL ought to be on that particular day that
ne hopes to overtake it. In other words.
the pole is not a fixed but constantly
varying point on the earth's surface.
Prof. S. c. Chandler of New Haven.
Conn.,, is the man to whom the credit is
due for having demonstrated not only
that the poles are in motion but for de-
termining after a long series of mathemat-
ical calculations the direction of the
movement and the law by which it could
derful study Of all available observa tons
Prof. Chandler was awarded the gold
medal by the Royal Astronomical society,"
columbus university observatory IL at
VI eeS-4- eLgae-u IN important cunt1rmt.-
tory observations, which were to have
been completed May l this year The
work has been extending over six and
one-half years. The observers are Pro-
fessors Rees and Jacoby and DR.. H. s.
Davis OF New York city. The zenith tel
escope used throughout this work was
made by Waunscaff of Berlin for, this spe-
cial purpose. Up to the present time
measurements have been made upon 6,51S
pairs of stars, and the observed epochs
correspond to- the computed time very
closely.
R. H. Tucker of the Lick Observable
on Mount Hamilton has made a provis-
1onal determination of the amount of lat
itude change at the location of that OBJ
servatory, and fixes it at one-tenth of a
second latitude yearly.
The International Geodetic association
is undertaking. systematic study and
accurate determination of the movements
OF the poles at six specially selected OBJ
servatories st4ung along the thirty ninth
parallel of north latitude around the
world. Important results may be expect
ed from their hearty cooperation in the
inVestiga ton.
Prof. Charles Doolittle of the Folwer
observatory at the University of Penn
sylvania, as the result Of his most care.
full research in this direction, concludes
that at Philadelphia the movement of lat.
ltude amounts to at least forty feet an
nually. The strange aspect OF the mat
| ter, however, says the Chicago Times.
Herald, is that it is varying in rate OF
movement, due 10 causes which have not
been yet discovered. Furthermore, the
motion may increase it's speed at any
time.
>The consequences Of this discovery are
lar-reaching. The sea level is changing
and even the motion Of the moon is at
fected by the displacement of the earth's
axis and the resulting uneven rotation.
The longitude and latitude OF all points
are fiuctuating. and this method Of fixing
| position on the earth's surface may have
to be superseded or much modified. The
| instability of the pole and the shifting of
latitude will discomfort the geodetic slr-
veyors, raise legal complications and con-
| troversies over deeds and descriptions of
land, and may upset state and national
boundaries to some extent, and REQUIRE
many adjustments not now foreseen. The
northern boundaries of the states Of orr.
Union are given in terms Of latitude. and
| the discovered vacillation of latitude will
unsettle the exact boundaries and yirtu
ally alter their legally established posi-
tons. This will throw into confusion
nearly 1900 miles CT state boundaries. A
man living this year in the dominion Of
Canada may find himself in the United
States next year, or vice versa
Congress may be obliged to take action
regarding the boundary between the
United States and Canada. for assuming
the maximum annual movement to he
forty 1eet; strip Of land on the north
ern boundary of the United States be-
tween these two countries containing
| many thousands of acres may become dis
Duted territory. The boundary between
British America and Alaska will also he
aHected. The exact boundaries will have
TO be predetermined and fixed by natural
landmarks, as latitude and longitude are
no longer accurate methods of boundary
definition
Determination of longitude will GER
,tainly be exceedingly awkward to make.
1nasnuch as the basis of the world S
longitude the meridian Of Greenwich. is
not spared the uncertainty, as It's position
Is oscillating around the observatory Of
Greenwich. England, which is by defni-
ton the zero longitude Of the world Rnt
: the odd circumstance is that points on the
earth's surface may at times bt east and
at other times west Of the town Of Green
wich. j. l-< ~ sZ
Another difficulty which has arisen is
that astronomers must revise their tables
as the inaccuracies thus discovered per
meate all previous catalogues of stars,
nebulae and consultations. Further
more. the variations of the axis of the
earth's rotation unquestionably affect the
moons motion. introducing irregularities
which must not be lost, sight of In ac-
curate determinations go
Another consequence is the change in
the sea level due to the same causes as
the polar instability. Following an in
genious suggestion Of Prof Newcomb of
Washington. that changes would be found
s. In the height of the mean sea level due
to these causes, DR.. A. S. Christie OF the
tidal division of the coast survey ex-
aminedthe records of this department for
5thirty-five years back, and a steady
change In the mean sea level was dis
covered such as would be expected if the
variations OF latitude actually took place.
Not Withsta nding the natural distrust of
measurements as fine as this, the har-
mony between tidal and astronomical OBJ
seTyauons can hardly be due to chance.
Ihts change in sea level affects the entire
coast line of the world, and while amount
Ing to but couple Of inches in decade,
IS still sufficient to be taken account of
for accurate computations
y to the cause of the motions OF the
sarsh's axis, the alteration Of the poles,
end canseniienf variation in latitude, the