Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-20
A VISITOR FROM MARS
A REMARKABLY MASS OF CORRU.
GATED MARIAN IRON FALLS
UPON NEW HAMPSHIRE
AVENUE.
Perplexing Question Whether It Can
Ever Be Removed From That
Street.

Ever Be Removed From That
Street.
About 5 O'Clock am, January 10, the
residents upon New Hampshire avenue be-
tween Riggs and streets were awakened
by thunderous crash and a flash of blind
Ing white light, accompanied by an effusion
of scorching. intolerable heat Rushing to
the doors and windows for an explanation
OF this phenomenon. the people saw an i'm
mense mass of what seemed to be CORFU
gated meteoric iron of bulk that blocked
the street for nearly the whole length Of
the square. On a closer inspection, how
ever. this vast object. though greatly
twisted and partially melted by fits rapid
flight through space. seemed to bear the
outline of sections of a bridge, mounted
| upon a long line Of trucks AS Mars was
the morning star on the night Of the fall
OF this great body, the scientists came to
the conclusion that II was not a meteorite.
but that 1t was projected from that planet
by some violent seismic CONFUSION sympa-
thetic with the similar disturbances going
on lately on the earth. 1t was evidently
elected with such tremendous force that it
was thrown beyond the gravitation attrac-
ton Of Mars and came within that of the
earth; hence its presence here. This theory
Is sustained by the well-established fact
that Mars Is covered by network of
canals These canals must require a great
number Of bridges, and this enormous elon-
gated mass OF corrugated iron shows every
evidence of having been spans of bridge
structure mounted upon trucks and on its
way to its place across Marian canal.
Inconvenience to Residents.
Whatever its history and however it may
interest scientists. its presence on New
Hampshire avenue is a Cause OF great in
convenience to the residents there. They
are shut off from access to the avenue on
their front and are obliged to get out by
the way of rear alleys and side streets.
They have made urgent appeals to the
Commissioners for relief. but are dismayed
by being told that these officials do not
see their way clear to a removal of the OBJ
strGction. 1t seems their powers are great
ly limited, and then there is no appropria-
Uon that could be applied to the removal
or Marian deposits on the streets OF Wash
lnSton And then. again they have no APP
paratus capable Of removing formidable
an obstruction. All they can do in the
usual course of official routine in these
matters is to hold series of hearings,
commencing about the first of February
and continuing long enough to give every
body interested a chance to express an
opinion. Then the Commissioners will con-
suit their legal advisers and after a week
or two of further consideration they think
they will be able to make a report to
Congress.
A Series of Hearings.
What the nature of that report will be
they cannot say until the question has been
considereI exclusively in all its bearings
When that report is made to the proper
congressional committees it may be re-
turned to the Commissioners for another
report, and II not 1t will be turned over to
the various subcommittee of the general
committees, who will give a series of ex-
haustive hearings to everybody who has
anything to say about the matter. The
subcommittee will. after = protracted dis
cussion, report back to the general ON
mittees. The general committees will
thereupon give a series of hearings to any,
body and everybody who had failed to ap-
pear before the subcommittee, or have
some amended opinions to express. Then
the general committees will at some con-
venient season report relief bills. Then
these relief bills will be displaced on Dis
trict day. or turned down by some penuri-
Gus member who objects to having the tax
payers of his deestrict assessed to pay for
the removal of meteorites or any other OBJ
structions from the streets Of Washington
The prospects,. therefore, that the New
Hampshire avenuters will get any .lief
from the Commissioners or from Congress
this winter. are gloomy. Meantime these
dition. The houses Of Mr. J. Maury
Dove, Mr.. T. W. Noyes. Mr.. George
E. Hamilton and the Portsmouth apartment
house are completely blockaded by this gi-
ganuc obstruction; and the Inconvenience
would be felt as far away as the residence
of Mr.. Thomas Nelson Page. at the -ner
of New Hampshire avenue and r street,
only that his house fronts on street and
thus has an outlet on that side
Blistered by the Heat.
The scorching heat from the Marsite de-
post that threa tened the destruction of all
the houses on the square has not been
effective because of the providential con-
tinuous fall Of rain and snow lately. But
the paint on the woodwork Of the houses
has been badly blistered by the heat. and
the glass In the windows cracked and
broken from the same cause And the snow
has been converted by the heat into scald-
ing water that foods the street and makes
1t very unpleasant walking for pedestrians
There has been no loss of life. it Is true.
but many valuable pet dogs of the neigh
borhood that have ventured incautiously
into the scalding water have been terribly
MANNED and the howlings of the injured
animals at night seriously disturb the rest
OF the people in the vicinity
The Commissioners hold out the faint en-
enlargement that the iron mass may shrink
it cools sufficiently to allow the resump-
ton of travel in a somewhat compressed
line. But the prospect is very remote
1t may be for years.
And 1t may be for never.