Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1902-08-06
ARP ON ASTRONOMY
Bill Talks About the Wonders of
the Solar System.
SMALLNESS OF THE EARTH.
Arp Then Gives President Roosevelt
Roast for His Conceit and in a
Postscript hurrahs for Capt. How
ell in Ills Race.

Do6 udys. 90 many o. the young peo-
pie write to me about dog days that l
VIII answer briefly that there are no
uoS Gays. 1t is nothing but a supcrsti-
tlon that has come down to us from the
ancients. The Dog star or Sirius has its
time to appear in the heavens and rise
and set like other stars. but it is a very
Irregular time and SO what we call dog
lays may begin the first OF July or
many days later. The rising of Sirius
IN line with tho sun begins now on
the 3rd of July and will continue until
the llth OF August. Those forty days
were believed by the ancients to bring
very hot and sultry weather and many
maligant diseases, but this has been
ulSpEoVed by modern astronomy for
the appearance OF Sirius is very uncer-
laln and in the course OF time 1t will
rise in the winter. Now a little more
about the wonderful star. You know
mat we have eight planets that belong
TO our solar system. They all revoive
around the sun just as the earth does
and the nearer the planet is TO the sun
the faster it travels. Neptune is 16,-
100000 of miles distant and il takes l65
years to get around.
But Sirius is away outside of our So
lar system and is 10000. 600 900 OF
miles from us and gives 400 times more
light than our sun. 1t is the largest and
brightest star in the heavens. 1t is call
ed the Dog star because il appears TO
be in the tail OF the constellation that
the ancients named Major CAMS or the
Big Dog. They were Il smart people and
we still keep their map OF .he heavens
and their names Of the stars. but they
had no telescopes and did not know
sept those wo see with the naked eve.
But now young people listen. 1t is
now established and proven that there
are millions OF stars and solar sys-
~ksfAS afar 6T in space and that ours 10
The smallest and the most insignificant
Of them all. We are nothing and less
than nothing in the scale of existence.
1t mas always been q mystery 10 me
Way the Creator of The boundloss uni
Vora, that has no limit, should have
chosen this little world of ours Tor His
greatest work, the Creation of man in
ttlS own image. little lower than the
angels, man who siancd and fell and
was redeemed by the sacrifice of the
Son OF God. | don't understand il.
cannot comprehend it. This little world
Us not bigger than cannon ball COM
pared with some OF the planets and
stars afar out in space 1t has but one
little moon that does not condecend TO
show Us but one side OF it's anatomy.
The other night we went out to MIR.
Granger's beautiful home to look at
the full moon through his great tele-
scope that cost $5,oG0-and is mounted
IN high observatory with a dome
that reyolves as the earth revoives. II
was magnificent spectacle but the
view of Jupiter with four moons and
saturn with his rainbow ring and seven
moons was much more beautiful and
impressive. OF course these planets
must be inhabited, for the Creator
would not have surrounded a dead
world with such luminous and beautiful
sateilites. We don't know anything
hardly and it fills me with disgust TO
see young men strutting around like
peacocks-acting like they made them
selves and knew everything and ex-
pected to live always-when the truth
is they don't know where they came
from nor where they are going and
can't add an hour or a day to their ex-
istence. have but little hope for ya;.
or a conceited man and vain woman
is no better. A conceited man is close
KIN to an idiot and a woman vain of
her beauty should sometimes remem-
ber that she had no hand in creating
Il II FOR 1t WIS God given or inherited.
oh! why should the spirit OF mortal
be proud?" or all the faults of which
humanity Is guilty that of self conceit
Is the last to be forgiven and the hard
est to reform.
Il ruminated on this yesterday whom
1 read what Roosevelt said in bIs
speech at West Point. The editor who
publishes 1t speaks OF him as our we'll
meaning but impulsiye president. Re
should have said our "conceited and err
ratio president" In speaking OF the
great men whom West Point had grad
dated. he said, IL claim to be a histo.
rian and | speak what | know to be
true that W est Point has turned OF.
more great men and more sta tesmeu
than any othor institution in the United
States" II was self-conceit and iSnor-
ance that provoked such a mons;-ous
absurdity, for Colonel Sprague. of Yale
college, has recently challenged him TO
the proof and has shown beyond all
cavial that Yale can number 10 times
the great men that West Point can
numebr. Among them 1888 ministers
or the gospel-7S justices of suprmee
courts, II chief justices, SAC doctors. SO
governors OF states and 3S United
States senators-besides these Yale has
sent forth an army of educators. estab-
lished 4S0 colleges. 160 for women and
S,OOO high schools while West Point
he's sent out none but soldiers.
Teddy ought to be ashamed OF him.
self. but he will not be- He is not vet
ashamed that in his so-called history he
called Mr.. Davis an arch traitor and
repudiator and told what he did when