Semi-weekly herald., 1908-08-31
Band concert in North Durango
park at o'clock Sunday afternoon
PEsTiLENCE cALcULAToEs.

An alarmed correspondent has
sought to startle me by saying that
he has been told by IAN authority
that the human race is doubling itseli
three times in every century. Then
he plunges into statistics in this un
settling manner. There will be in
100 years humans to one now
200 years Ga humans to one now
300 years-512 humans to one now
Then. being anxious to rub 1t in, he
goes at it again by saying that. sup
posing there are 1.5O0.OO0.0 900 now,
there will be in a hundred years 49,
900 100000, in two hundred years &c..
000. 100000 and In three hundred years
7S6. .0OO. 100000.
He does not carry his pestilent cal
culations beyond 800 years. but COM
placently remarks. This Is an i'm.
mense theme-think Of it." Why
should think Of It! am never much
moved by the terrible things which
people predict as certain to occur in
the future. Some say that the coal
will be exhausted, and we shall be un.
able to fry our bacon-ignoring the
obvious reply that this will enable us
to save our bacon. contamination
devoutly wished by all true philoso
piers. Others say that the sun will
go out, and they ask, Where shall we
be then? Here, again, the answer is
easy enough. We should be where
Moses was when the light went out
in the dark.
Other troublesome people have re-
Gently said that the earth is being
gradually submerged by the sea, and
that bad time Is coming for all. An
other school Of thought protests that
the sea is disappearing. and we are
all going to be baked alive by the
sun. There are some who hold that
the sea is leaking into the center
OF the earth, and that 1t Is only a mat
ter Of time for steam to be generated
there to blow the lid Of the mundane
kettle off. with distressing results to
people who like to live quiet and we'll
ordered lives.
In these circumstances, why trou
BILE about the congested condition of
the world in 300 years. supposing its
inhabitants to number 76S.000, ,0O0. 900
BY the way, before going any further.
let me say explicitly that / take no re-
sponsibility for the multiplication in
volved In the problem set forth above.
If 1t is right, the correspondent de-
serves all the glory. and II wrong, he,
and not l. ought to be denounced. Let
us assume. however. that there are
5000. 900. .000-what then?
1t seems to me that there will be
great impetus given to trade. Think
of the number OF tall hats, directoire
costumes. toothbrushes. motor cars,
boots. umbrellas. not to mention the
supplies Of bread, beef. beer and all
sorts Of other things that will be re-
quired. My gloomy correspondent
says: "One sure result will be can.
nibalism." This is a dogmatic as.
sertion. and decline to accept It.
But even II It were true. 1t Is evident
that II people are to eat each other
1t IL well that the supply should be
large.
But. as ! have said. I do not agree
that cannibalism would be neces
sity at all. saw the other day tl1ai
some learned man had said that the
water Of the sea contains every life
giving and sustaining and health-pre
serving quality that the human bod,
needs. That being SO. the population
Of the world need only to turn IT.
atteation to drinking up the Atlantic
the Pacific and other oceans-and 1
something like moderation was oh
served the supply would last quite
long time. even though $4,000 900
900 were to indulge In this sort of re
freshment. or course. no time shoul
J be lost IN stopping mp those cracks.