Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-12-13


to incline TO the opinion that, II there
are inhabitants, they are In all proba-
billty so different from us, as to exclude
all comparison.
The reasons advanced against the
Idea that Mars contains inhabitants
similar to US. are many. The moisture on
Mars. II Is believed, 10 insufficient.
There are no large bodies OF water
and practically no clouds. The tenn
perature IL extremely rarlfed These
are certainly great obstacles, and they
justify the conclusion that life on Mars,
II existent. must be radically different
from that on earth.
The canal" theory is also about to
be exploded, II seems. Schlaparelli In
1877 thought he discovered lighter areas
on the planet covered with a network
OF fine lines joining the darker areas.
supposedly land and water respectively
1t was natural to suggest that these
lines were nothing else than artificial
waterways joining nayigable seas and
built by @ race Of beings far more adj
yanced In the mechanic arts than ours,
Other astronomers have corroborated
his discovery.
But now comes an English scientist,
Mr.. b. w. Lane. and claims that the
so-called canals are optical delusions.
due to vibrations In the atmosphere OF
the earth. The dark areas on the plan
ct are bordered by prolongations called
CULTS. These CULTS, Mr.. Lane thinks,
might easily be heightened into straight
lines under certain optical conditions.
In order to test the truth Of this ny
pothesis. he conducted series of ex-
perimenta highly interesting Making
a drawing Of the planet, with the mark
Inys thereon, but with no suggestion
OF the canals. he placed II at a distance
OF ten feet from a woman friend, and
asked her to copy It, putting In every
thing she could see. She was totally
unaware OF the object of the expert
ment. The lady made drawing how
ing the seas, and then said she ,ouid
see nothing more. BY looking 1T
tie longer, however she added two
lines resembling In general way the
markings seen by Schiaparelli. Mr.
Lane then made another with more
care, and then submitted Il to another
lady. This time he copied in the seas
for her, and simply told her to I'LL In
anything else she could see. He was
careful not to suggest lines, mentioning
instead spots and shadings as the
things she could look for. In spite OF
this, after ten minutes work, she pro-
duced a drawing Of Mars, we are told.
precisely similar to that OF Schiaparelli
for the same region except IN the
amount Of detail.
Mr.. Lane next experimental with two
hoys. both aged eleven years, neither OF
whom had ever heard Of Mars or his ca
sails. Their attempts are startingly like
the results OF SchiaparelL One OF the
boys refused to believe that the draw
Ing shown to him by Mr.. Lane was the
same as that from which he had copied,
80 certain was he that the lines he had
put In were realities. The conclusion
drawn by Mr. Lane Is that the mere
shape OF the oceans Of Mars is sufficient
to give rise to the appearance Of the
complicated system discovered by
Sclliapareli.
Mr. Lane has also tried the expert
ment on himself, and he maintains
that not only has he seen the canals on
drawings destitute OF them, but he has
seen them doubled. and even three, four
and FIVE at time. Here is what he
says on this point;
!" 1 have frequently seen these pseudo.
canals doubled. and when my eyes
have been In the best condition, have
seen not two canals only. but four or
Ave at a time, and have sometimes
seen one or more canals so firmly
marked that have had to go up to the
drawing 70 make sure in my own mind
that 1 had not put line there by mis-
take. !"
II Is evident that the question Of
Mars inhabitants IL far from settled.
M. d. .. Parker In Popular Astron-
omy, suggests that Mars in all proba-
bility is long since past the epoch Of its
HE since mans history has been written
ton for beings like US. His reasoning
Is interesting. He assumes that human
life upon the earth dates back from ten
to fifty thousand years. But the effem-
nation Of the race and shortening OF
lifes ince mans history has been written
warrant the conclusion that his contin-
ued existence cannot exceed another
10000 altogether, say. $4,000 years: a
brief span In the life Of a planet. APP
plying this reasoning TO Mars. and
keeping In mind the nebula theory that
planet must have passed the condition
OF mans existence long before earth
entered upon 1t. This line OF argu-
ment assumes that the planet might
have once been inhabited. but that age
with departing heat and atmosphere
have carried II beyond that period
though even this assumption must be
modified by expression of doubt as. to
whether there ever was time when
conditions favored race similar to
ourselves
The subject Is one that fascinates the
speculative mind. II seems rational to
conclude that the earth Is not the only
room In the Fathers mansion, in which
HIS children may live. stlll, the sub.
Ject Is one on which revelation alone
can throw full light. II is one of which
we know but 'in part" or which we
see only es through dim glass. In