Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-10-11
OLYMPIA WASHINGTON FRIDAY MORNING. O(T H. 1907.


farther north and farther south in
the United States and Russia than it
can in Africa or South America or
Australia. True, wheat can he raised
in these southern lands. but not over
nearly so wide Il belt of country.
measured north and south, around
the earth. And all this is because
the earth is near the sun during a
United States winter. but far from
the sun during a South American
winter; and that the earth is farther
from the sun during a cool European
summer than it is during the hot
Australian summer
In about 800 years all this will
be reversed. The reason is that the
earth-top in spinning wobbles little;
SO much SO, in fact, that it makes q
complete (what We might calD circle
Of-leaning about every II, 900 years.
Spin top on the floor and when it
begins to fall it will begin to wobble
just as the earth does, but the wob-
bles of the top are perhaps every sec
ond or So, while those of the earth
are about every u 900 years.
This means that in spite of all men
can do that the chief ccntcrs of civil
izatlon must shift from north to
south of the equator every 10000
years or SO. Man lives where he can
get the most to eat with the least
work, and at present this means
north of the equator
Human history. so far as we now
know, runs back about 5000 years.
At that early day certain animals
lived in Europe that are not to be
found there today. Hairy elephants,
the Irish elk. the cave bear, the
sabcr-toothcd tiger. and other ami
mails were chased, killed and eaten
by man in Europe within the last TO-
900 years We know this from find
ing the remains. To-day Europe is
far warmer than it was at that time.
This is due to the march of the
equinOXeS. "
At one time almost within recorded
history, such lands as Persia and
Egypt were the garden spot of the
earth; to-day they are too hot, COM
pared with the United States, for
instance. We See evidence of ice on
every mountain side in Oregon. To-
day Oregon is a garden. All this is
due to the changes in direction of the
leaning from or toward the sun of the
spinning, but slowly wobbling, earth.
Let the earth but tip bit farther
over and the Gulf Stream would no
longer flow north, but would be all
turned down the coast of Brazil; and
England and most of Europe would
become like Greenland; or as it was,
say, 5000 years agO-and will be
again in about 6, 900 to 8, 900 years.
And what the Gulf Stream is to
Western Europe the Japanese warm
currents are to California, Washing
ton and Oregon. When the earth in
one to two, or perhaps three to four,
thousand wObbles around in the right
direction, then this coast will be like
Alberta, or the HudsOn'S Bay cOun-
try. SO to every man, woman and
child in Oregon in the long run the
most important days of the year are
September 2l-22 and March 2l-22,
the equinOxes, the times of equal
nights and days"
Napoleon with cold penetration
said. " History is u lie agreed upon
but what concerns tho cquinoXcs is
beyond all agreement of mankind,
for it is based on the eternal move
ment Of the stars. 1t is rs sure in
it's results as the rising and the set
ting of the sun. Christmas, the SOL
stice, the return of the sum-" is
just half way between the equinoxes,
and is festival older than history,
as old as man himself. And rs we
celebrate the return of the sun, q
pagan feast day. under tho title of
Christmas, so do we celebrate in
some countries tho equinoxes under
the modern name of the Harvest
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