Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-25
Gathered On The Battlefield OF Thought

Life From During the time re-
One Planet oulred To travel from
TO Another. one planet to another IN
our solar system, the
germs Of life certainly might retain
their power az termination IN the
opinion of the lllustrious physicist ana
Nobel pribe-wlnner. Prof. $. Arrhenius
of the University OF stockholm, VINO
writes at length on the topic IN lne
Monlst He does not mean that Ire
could be transmitted from plnnel
outside our solar system TO anotheri but
he incllnes to the belief that Within the
solar system we call our own the pne-
nofnenon has occurred thus eXplalhlnA
what scema mysterious To 80 many
the existence OF life here and now we
know, for Instance. that the suns IN the
universe--there are many-are inoV,ns
relatively to each other so that the dis
lance between them Varies We are
even able to figure out that during the
course OF one million years some star
probably has been about ave times as
close to US as our nearest stellar neigh
Dor is at present. When we estimate
that life has been present on our earth
at least hundred million years WI,
must admit that II Is of little import
ance If planet should have to walt for
the appearance of life "A couple OF mil
lion years after 1t has been ready to
receive II.
In this way we bring the period re-
quired for the journey OF life from on~
planet to another, or rather from on-
planet to the nearest star TO eighteen
hundred years. one nigh doubt
whether spores of bacteria or germs In
general retain their latent life for such
a period. 1t has been claimed that
grains found in Egyptian sepulchres
have shown capability of growth; but
the sober critic has demonstrated THAI
these statements are exceedingly ques'
tionable. Recently French scientist,
Boudin, stated that he had found spores
OF several kinds of bacteria in Ro'
man grave which undoubtedly have re-
tanned their germinative power during
eighteen hundred years. This ASSET
ton, at any rate does not seem I'M
acknowledgement Literature duly.
What Is This is survival Of the
Chiltern time when the people
Hundreds? were very Jealous of the
Crown and were con-
stantly in fear that the Throne would
destroy the Independence of the Com
mons by corrupting members with
offices. use of patronage not entirely
unknown in present-day America. TO
prevent that It was wisely required
that a member must give his consult
uents an opportunity to approve or
disapprove of his course by express
ing their confidence by a reelection
to Parliament or showing their dis
pleasure by defeating him. OF course
nowadays seat in the cabinet is not
at the disposal OF the sovereign, but
Is solely the gift of the prime minister
the party chief, so that no question
of bribery can enter into the accep-
lance of a place under the govern
ment; but the electorate still reserves
to itself the right of approval. and
the new minister, after he has accept
ed Office but before he can take his
seat in the House of Commons as
minister of the Crown, must have the
assent of his constituents. Curiously
enough-and this is interesting as
showing how the English people cling
to tradition-there is no provision
made for the resignation of n mem
Der of Parliament. and the only way
in which he can resign is for him to
accept an office of profit and trust
under the government and decline re-
election. There is a nominal and fic-
titious post known as the Stewardship
of the Chiltern Hundreds, a district
In Buckinghamshire whose steward
some centuries ago was charged with
the duty of suppressing robbers. and
who was of course compensated for
his services. a member who desires
to retire or to seek reelection because
he has entered the government ap-
plies to the prime minister to be APP
pointed steward of the Chiltern Hun
dreds. which vacates his seat. The APP
pointment is duly published in the
OFFICIAL gazette and the vacancy in the
House of Commons is thus created.
There is of course no limit to the
number of persons who may be ap-
pointed Stewards of the Chiltern Hun
dreds, although II is the unwritten law
that the appointment must not be
conferred twice on the same day. II
there were a dozen men who wanted
to resign at the same time they would
have to take their turn.-A. Maurice
Low. in the July Forum.
Human Body OF all the engines cum
A Wonderful ningly devised BY man
Continuance. not one can equal that
masterpiece of con-
struction, the engine of the human
frame. To run that engine, air is the
hrst necessity. Construct 1t how you
Will the greater part of the energy
which feeds power plant Is lost be-
fore IL reaches the applying machine.
The body only has the power of using
energy H4ly economically and ef-
hciently. Its food is It's fuel To be
available, all the constituents of that
rood must be burned, producing heat
and power. For that burning the oxy-
gen OF the air is essential. Equally true
is 1t that nitrogen must be present TO
prevent the rapid combustion which
would take place In oxygen alone. But
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