The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-01-27

sx9 mean to stand in til
86aesaEx places where the world
history has been made. to see TO
yourself the grandeur and beauty. tn
stupendous energy and the endlessl,
varied life not only in our own lant
but also in the distant countries Of til,
world?
The progress Of scientific invention
now makes it possible for hundred:
Of thousands to realize this dream fol
themselves and for their children
Travel Of the truest kind is within
your reach, and yet without using
either ship or railway or any Of the
ordinary bodily conveyances.
This statement is so extraordinary
in its claims that probably no reader
Of these lines will believe it at first
Indeed no one could have been more
sceptical about it than the writer was
until he visited the New York estab-
lishment of Underwood & Underwood,
the business organization which is re-
sponsible for this truly remarkable de-
yeiOpment of a great scientific inven-
tomas wonderful in its way as the
telephone.
The first few minutes of my visit
were devoted to some interesting opti-
cal experiments. l was gwen a couple
OF cards about three by seven inches
in dimensions. On each card were
drawn a pair Of rather complex geo.
metrical figures consisting Of many
curved lines crossing and re-crossing
each other in numerous ways. One
card was marked A and the other
3. but all four Of the patterns seemed
to be precisely alike
An ordinary stereoscope was handed
me with instructions to examine the
A card through its lenses. The effect
was to enlarge the diagram slightly.
Then l was asked to examine the B
card in the same way.
Right before my astonished eyes that
circular pattern" of black lines on
light card transformed itself into
sphere of slender wires. It was a.
most incredible. I did not ina CINE it.
My eyes actually did see a wire globe
standing out in the open space as
plainly as they ever saw a solid ball
of wood or of metal. It seemed as
If l might reach out my hand and
prove its roundness by grasping it.
Naturally. l asked for an explanation
The cards \ and B had apparently
been just alike. yet only the latter
gave this marvellous effect of the third
dimension. But l was asked to wait
a little for the explanation, with the
promise that it would shortly be given.
Next l was handed a neutral tinted
card Of the same size as before on
which stereoscopic photographs of
one scene were mounted in the manner
with which many people are familiar. |
two prints on one card. side by side |
They looked like duplicate prints from
q single well-made negative.
In the photographs l saw represent
ed field with cluster Of houses |
beyond, and breaking surf on a distant !
sea beach; it was down in Martinique.
A couple Of men stood talking in the |
field close by, and could see some of |
the village houses in the space be-
tween their standing figures.
| was asked to examine this also
through thA stereoscope. 1t seemed
to me hardy necessary, after the in
spection had already given the twin
however. l put the card
in the rack and placed my head
against the hood of the instrument.
Here was astonished again. l was
no longer looking at Photographic
was seeing out into actual space, into
an actual place. and, moreover, this
place was startlingly different from
what l had supposed when l looked |
at the fiat photograph without any
instrument! Instead of looking from
the side Of field. 1 found l was on
1igh bluff, dropping abruptly perhaps
i've hundred feet just beyond the two
men. Tie houses that had supposed
% stand at the farther side Of the
leld showed up as they really were,
It least half mile distant over at t. a.,
'ther side Of ravine. l couldn't be-
leve my eyes at first. Then l asked:
What causes this effect Of being I
light there with open space all {
round?'
In the few minutes we have. there t
.ould not be time to explain fully" t
as the answer, but the possibility of !
hese effects Of reality depends first q
all on the principle of two-eye see '
lg as distinguished from one-eye see t
lg. You must le-in with this nrin- t
ple if you are 30 understand this i
avel system. M,st people never stoo | t
} think why they tave two eyes. If .
lie question occurs to them at all, Q
ley probably fancy tie second eye E