Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-22

LONDON. October IL, 1906.
=" o get from London to New York
in three hours time Is a posi-
bility according to present-day
science"
That is the statement M. K. Ryan, editor
Of Civil Engineering of London, recently
made. How can it be done?" he was
asked.
Scientists. both of the present and the
past" he answered, tell us that the earth
revolves at the rate of seventeen miles a
minute. If this Is a fact. all a man need
do is to go up in a balloon in London, keep
it stationary in the air and let the earth
revolve for, say. 1S2 minutes, and then
come down-in New York.
Mr.. Ryan has startled the British seen
tific world with a harmless looking little
editorial paragraph in the October number
Of Civil Engineering. 1t reads as follows:
ut is not generally known, even to the
engineering public, the developments which
have taken place during the past few
months in airships of various kinds, and
space does not permit me to enter into de-
tails. Suffice to say that arrangements
have been made to manufacture them in
large quantities during the coming winter,
and next season ballooning trips will be
arrives at the north pole will / expect do
so in some form of airshp, and Will prob
ably discover the foundations of the earth
and dispose once and for all of that ridicu-
lous and absurd theory that the world is
revolving in space
X
Mr.. Ryan was asked on what he based
his theories. He counter-questioned: ION
what proven facts do astronomers and 9TH
er scientists base their present-day the
cries? l have as much right to put forth
a theory as they have. I have studied the
sciences and particularly astronomy for
years. l contend that the world is on a
solid foundation. If 1t Is moving there
must be force to make it move. Then that
force should be the force of gravity and
that would be the force Of gravity outside
the earth. Therefore. the force Of gravity
the force inside.
Astronomers tell point In the
equator is revolving at the rate of seven
teen miles a minute. but that We are going
SO fast that we don't appreciate it or are
not sensible of it. They tell us that we are
kept on the earth by the force Of gravita-
ton. II man is then standing on the
equator. could he be held there by force
of gravitat.on if there was a greater force
of gravity outside the earth? We are also
told the reason we do not feel ourselves
passing through space is because the at
mosphere is carried around with the earth
If you go up a few thousand feet in a bal
loon, where the centrifugal force of the
earth would have no effect on the atmos-
phere, you need only wait there until New
York came around to you and then descend.
X X
"Gving astronomers the advantage Of
their arguments that we are held on this
world by the force of gravity the centrifu-
gal force Of the earth would yet be much
greater and we would be thrown at once
into space.
1.-The foundations Of the earth, 1 contend
are situa ted at the north and south poles
Nature has never allowed finally to ex-
plore these regions. The first person that
comes within range with telescope will
see the solid foundations 1t may, per-
lowed up might lead to the discovery of
other hemispheres. Who knows? We can
merely theorfZe. as we have done for the
ages dead and gone.
MY theory also Is that the movement of
the sun is not an optical delus' on but that
1t revolves around the earth once in TWEEN
ty-four sidereal hours. l also claim that If
we have been moving through space for
thousands of years, we would have ar
rived at some destination or have received
some evidence Of motion. 1t can also easily
be shown that the centrifugal force of the
earth does not carry round the atmosphere
with it, as the wind blows in all direc-
lions.
IF the earth revolves, 1t is absolutely
certain that there is a force which makes
it revolve.,