Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-04-30
EARTH Is FLAT.
Astronomers Challenged by a Canadian
Official.

st. GATHERINGS, Ontario, April 2S.-It
Is asserted that on the Niagara penin-
sula. the fruit belt of Canada, of which
this city is the center, five out Of six
persons believe that the earth we live
on is fiat and not globular. The chief
exponent of this theory is John S. Me
Cle!land. formerly editor Of a daily
newspaper here.
Mr.. McClelland is we'll educated and
has made an extensive study OF astorn-
omy. After much investigation ne
concluded that the earth is fiat, and
| rests on water instead of air: that the
sun is no bigger than it looks to the
naked eye. and is only few thousand
miles above the earth.
The earth, Mr.. McClelland thinks. is
stationary. while the sun travels back
and forth above it. The suns intensity
IS not sufficient TO light the whole
world at once, and thus when it is At
one end of the world the other end Is
III darkness and night is accounted for
Mr.. McClelland points to the fact
| that the sun and moon are both seen
shining at the same time. as unas-
sailable evidence that the earth is not
| ball-like In shape. He scouts the CRAWL
| tation theory. There is no such thing
as graVitatiCn, he contends, and he as
SertS thai the theory is merely an in
Vention astronomers to bolster I'D the
superstition, as he calls it, that the
| earth is globe. How could there be
sufficient gravitatiOn or attraction, he
asks scOrnfully, to hold on all the water
there is in the world with it revolving
Mt the r1tn thew saw If 6oaco
AS for the moon, Mr.. Mcclellan is
confident that it is not more than 500
miles awya The theory that the stars
are as big as the earth is pronounced
altogether ridiculous The moons light
he points out. is of a phosphoric char
acter, not at all like that of the sun.
The fiat earth theory has gained
strength about here in view of the fact
that recently Mr.. McClelland issued q
challenge to members of the Royal
Astronomical society, living in Toronto
and Hamilton, to meet him on the pub
lie platform and publicly discuss with
him the question whether the earth is
round or fiat. and not one of the as
tronomers has seen fit to respond.
Then Mr.. McClelland posted an offer,
and it stands, today to pay 800 for 4
single proof that the earth is round like
ball. No one has vet come forward
with the proof. Believers in Mr.. McClel-
lands theory can't understand why the
astronomers don't come forward If they
have any evidence that the earth is a
globe.
Failing in his attempts to get up n de-
hate with astronomers, Mr.. McClelland
is going to give lecture in Hamilton on
astronomy. and he has invited Toronto
and Hamilton astronomers to take seats
on the platform. If any of them accept
the invitation he hopes to get them to
discuss the question publicly.
A week or so ago the Rev. DR.. Marsh.
q Hamilton astronomer of some rcpute,
was advertised to give a lecture there on
the planetary system. Hoping to be able
to get a word in somewhere, Mr. McC1el-
land JOurneyed to Hamilton and attended
the lecture.
When DR.. Marsh and his friends heard
that he was in the hall they fooled his
plans by taking up all the time them
selves. and MIR. McClelland didn't get q
chance to say a word.