The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-05-15
DR.. WALLACE DISPUTED
M. Flammarion Argues Against
British Astronomers Theory.
POSITION OF THE EARTH IN DOUBT

Our Planet II Center of the Uni
verse IL Fanciful-Berthelot and
Loewy Both Hold That Number OF
tar II InAnfte.
The New York Herald's European
edition publishes the following from its
Paris correspondent:
The thesis ~expounded by DIR. Albert
Russell Wallace that the earth is the
only planet in the stellar universe
where development of organized intel
ligent life exists is not accepted by M.
Camille FlamMarion. The a%uthOr-as-
tronomer said the other day that he
was I'M absolute disagreement on the
subject in question with his British
confrere.
First Of ALL" said M. Flammarton.
4'let me say DR.. Wallace al a great nat
uralist and an eminent savant has my
very highest esteem and sincere rever-
ence
From my scrutiny of his arguments
It would appear that his fundamental
proposition is that our planet IL at the
center of the universe and that the end
and purpose of creation is our human
ity. To establish this proposition DIR.
Wallace declares that our sun is the
center of a globular star cluster and
that this star cluster occupies nearly
the central position in the plane OF the
milky way. / regret to say in this he
has doubly erred.
I'm the first place, u sun does not
constitute part of a globular star clus-
ter; secondly, it is not at the center OF
the plane Of the milky way. The dis
lance Of thirty stars is known to us.
Yhe nearest, for example, is Alpha Cen
tauri, which is 4 1000, O0O, 1000 kilo-
meters away. The farthest is 1880
Groombridge, which is less than 6OO,'
OOO, OOO, 900, 900 kilometers distant.
"Now, it would be scarcely permissi-
BILE for one to say that these thirty
stars, scattered around at intervening
distances, form a cluster. Then, be-
sides. these stars themselves cannot
be considered as so many masses. they
being formed of many. many thou
sands Of other stars. such as the con-
stellation of Hercules, which you may
see any ine evening with a simple eye
glass.
"On the second point. we are not at
the center of the milky way. as to the
exact form Of which we are still in
doubt. We are in it's middle plane, it
Is true, but apparently distant from the
center. An inhabitant of the nearest
star, such as Alpha Centauri or 81
Cygni, would have the same right as
you or 1 to imagine himself at the cen
ter of the milky way.
Moreover. to suppose that the pres
ent limits of science correspond to the
limits Of the universe, it strikes me, is
somewhat fanciful, for as the tele-
scope becomes stronger and the photo
graphic plate more sensitive man can
penetrate farther and still farther into
the abyss Of space.
"Dr. Wallace reasons here much as
astrologers Of the fourteenth century
did, believing they had attained the
limit of astronomical discovery. AS a
matter of fact our conquests in this
respect are as nothing compared with
the immensely of nature.
"As for the deduction that why we
tive so well on earth, our planet is the
only habitable one and that life is pos
sible on this the terrestrial globe alone,
/ can only say that it is not good sci
ence. 1t is rather the reasoning Of a
fish convinced that nothing can live ex-
cept in water. l am inclined to be-
iieve the illustrious British naturalist.
therefore. has some greater reasons
than those we have as yet been permit
ted to study on which to base his con-
clusiOns."
M. Berthelot and nj. Maurice Loewy.
director of the Observatory of Paris,
both scout DR.. Wallace's theory.
M. Berthelot says: This theory is
puerile, and no man of science will take
1t seriously. 1t reminds me Of an an
'ecdote about Charles ". who, on being
asked where the center of the earth
o}was, planted his sword in the ground
and said: The center is here. 1t is
where ! am
"The universe being infinite, compOs-
ed Of a multitude of stars, suns and
planets, it's center is nowhere. Our
mind is so formed that we cannot con-
-ceive of the universe otherwise than
a infinite. The theory In question is
the reawakening of an old Biblical the
DRY, according to which God, having
created man in his own image and like
ness, manufactured a world to suit
him. The Greeks had analogous ideas.
They said that man is the measure of
things The aphorism is pretty. but it
is false if taken from an absolute point
of view"
NJ. Loewy said: "Dr. Wallace's as
sertion that the latest discoveries in as
tronomy and accepted theories regard
ing the proportion Of light tend to