The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-04
END Of WORLD
Is SURE 70 GONE
Or. Meyer of Germany Tells
How 1t May Occur.
ONE STAR IN AN OCEAN
Would Overflow All the CONT
m5ntS IN a IriCe.
ONE STAR IN AN OCEAN


Imagining or beliefs. The AGyenLists
who. despite many disappoingrnents
which may scarcely be considered I'M
happy, are still waiting expectantly for
the nnal day, find authority for their
convictions in their construction Of GER
tain Bible passages. The AIilerites had
like foundation for their expectations.
The terror which confused the people
OF the old world il the year 1Go0 had 4
similar origin. kindred prophesies by
astroiogers and fortune-telIers have
claimed their devotees in almost every
age and cline.
Here however. is scientist, d high
authority in scientific circles, and espec-
Tally in Germany, who declares that the
end cf the world is liable to come any
day. He does not deal in texts and
dreams or mystic lore. He bases his
conclusions upon facts which, he asserts,
have been absolutely, even mathemati-
cally proved. His remarkable statements,
coming so soon after the terrible con-
vulsio nof Mt Pelee, possess not only i
scientific but strong popular interest.
When that supreme moment shall ap-
proach and the sun become obscured,
and darts OF lightning fash from the
black heavens. and the glowing stars
crash down from their high places; when
the earth itself shall begin TO tremble
and the mountains totter down toward
the valleys while hot, angry waves from
overfiowing seas shall surge up their I'M
certain slopes-even then the wise man
will have hope.
told lend of the worid" which a Ger
man scientist, DR.. NJ. Wilhelm Meyer,
has just offered TO startled Europe. In
deed. he has written an entire volume on
the subject OF the impending cosmic ca
tastrophe and a gruesomeIy interesting
work it is
Il am not afraid of the end Of the
world calls out the ordinary, practical
man. defiantly-
'Ah, but you ought to be-" replies DR..
Meyer, '-as a matter OF calculation it is
due almost any minute. When you are
walking to your Office, or eating your
dinner, or lying asleep-at any time the
day of wrath, the period of universal
confusion, may start in. And it is just
as well for you to know all about the
overtake you. Thus you will not only
avoid baseless scares, but you viii &c
Quire a wholesome humility.
From his notion that he can control
all the forces of nature. man has grown
too arrogant It is as well for him 10
face a few facts and TO contemplate all
the picturesquely terrible ways in which
he may meet death.
Dr. Meyer has made a life study of the
certainty OF death and the uncertainty
OF life Death to our planet" he de-
clares death 10 our entire solar sys-
TEN. are as inevitable as death 70 the in
dividual man III the street. More-lize
the man in the street. the solar universe
or the single planet may not wait for
its gradual extinction. its natural death.
Healthy men are likely TO die violent
deaths So are apparently healthy plan
cts Almost anybody is ready TO admit
that 1T is impossible that the solar sys-
TEN should be infinite But that sudden
violent destruction. universal .unprophe-
sled. may overtake us and our world at
any hour.
Here are some OF the definite forms
which according to Dr. Meyer. the catas-
trophe may take.
First. there is the danger Of food. \
food that would cover the entire surface
of the earth may be caused at any time
Such food would not have TO be so
very great an extension of the occur
renee described in Genesis. II fact all
peoples have historic ilood-traditions
Either this points TO one colossal dis
aster in very early times or else great
floods have been commoner then we have
guessed If the end OF the world should
be brought about by Hood tomorrow
It would probably be occasioned in some
such manner as the krakatoa disaster In
1sS3. when a sudden volcanic eruption
tore up the very bottom of the sea and
for 5000 persons the end of the world
came in speedy and horrible fashion.
Whole islands were hurled into the air.
mountain high. The conflict between the
Gerry violence and the strong waters WAS
Titanic Giant waves. thus set in motion.
Travelled all around the world at an ap-
railing rate of speed-the telegraph could
not have anticipated them
Now suppose that the greatest active
volcano in the world. Mauna Loa. in
Hawaii. should give rise 10 a disaster
n thousand times more terrible than that
OF Krakatoa. Such 4 food would arise
as would II a few hours enguif forever
all the so-caned eternal monuments Of
our earth
Perhaps only a few jewellers on high
mountains vould live TO see the destruc-
ton and. like the ants TO rebuild their
homes and their monuments This may
happen today or tomorrow. We ourselves
may live TO see the duplication of that
Persian legend of the fiery dragon in
the heavens that stretched out his hiss
ing tongue. from. which fen raindreps. OF
a tense heat. as large as a mans head
II a volcanic disturbance did not cause
this catastrophe. there are a variety of
ether agencies. quite competent 10 do il
To consider Europe alone, there is the
Algerian Sahara. as large as Germany.
thirty yards below the sea level and sep
arated from the sea only by a narrow
stretch OF shore. When r1ay the waters
not overflow this frau barrier ana enguf
a hemisphere At leaste Or how NAV we
be sure that ore OF the great rivers viii
not overflow. as did the great Hoang-
no in China in lSs7. forming the famous
yellow noodT
II there is any enc so obstinate as 10
doubt that . volcano could be powerful
enough 10 cause the s2Eling OF oceans
upon continents and thus bring about
the end of the world Dr.. Meyer reminds
him that a food could even more easily
be caused by the sudden precipitation.
In an ocean. OF some disconnected frag-