davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1909-06-06

track One typical double canal is $50
miles long and its to lines are 40 miles
apart. About $50 dark spots which Prof.
Lowell sees at the points where these
canals" cross he calls 'oases
TO c1inch all Of this with Photographic
evidence, Prof. Lowell during Mars near
approach in 1907 sent Prof. David Todd
of Amherst College down into the Andes
mount aims. where the atmosphere offered
greater penetration even than at the
Lowell observatory. Proof Todd took
with him an eikhteen-inch telescope. to
which he attached a special planetary
made some 1000 negatives of Mars. Prof.
Todd IS the man who is alleged 20 be
going up in balloon to make tests for
possible signals from the Martians.
Mars image on these negatives is some
three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter
about the size of the head Of a carpet
tack Yet Prof. Todd and Prof. Lowell
claim to see Canals in them, especially
four diameters. In such prints from these
negatives as have been thus far publish
ed no astronomers outside the Lowell
Todd camps have been able to see any,
Lowell says ones brain must be open
to them, not his eye alone
Is he, like Rileys youngster, "seein'
things at night?
Conservative astronomers make small
bones of intimating that he is. Although
the disk of Mars is. at best. only 1-j62O.
that Of the moon and the breadth of these
canals is said to be but 1-2s6 that of
the disk of Mars. Prof. Lowell says he
sees these streaks as a network Of fine
pencil marks: so fine, however, that they
are visible only on special occasions of
atmospheric clearness and steadiness.
But they are only an indescribable per-
plexity to Prof. E. Z. Barnard. director
of the Yerkes observatory, upon Will
liams bay, Wisconsin. And Prof. A. E.
Douglass of the University of Arizona.
who was Prof Lowells chief assistant
for seven years-until 19O1-has lately
come out with the suggestion that some
of the Martian canals seeming to radiate
from the so-called oases on Mars may be
due to an illusion Of vision similar to
that which makes rays appear to extend
from a star; also that the double canals
are due to the well known halo illusion.
There are fundamental defects in the
human eye producing faint canal illu-
sions," adds this former chief assistant
Evening star., 1909-06-06
The Happiest.

TN the smoke room of the Finland, dis
cussing a June wedding, Andrew Car
negie said:
And thank goodness it wasn't an in
ternational marriage. though the bride
did have eighteen millions.
Not" appended Mr.. Carnegie. that l
object to international marriages wherein
the two parties are good and honorable
and we'll matched. But SO many of these
marriages are like one that Boston
cynic described to me.
WAS it happy marriage?' l asked
this Bostonian.
"'Oh quite said he. The bride was
happy, her mother was overjoyed Lord
Lacland was in ecstasies. and his credi-
tors, l understand, were in a state of abb
soluteIy delirious and uncomfortable
bliss"
Evening star., 1909-06-06
Mans Efforts to Conquer CoudsThe Past and

to accomplish mechanical flight. Dante.
in the fourteenth century. built an. aero
plane. but there are no records TO snow
that he ever succeeded in making flight.
Borelli, in 1870. made various experiments
in aerostatics, and Leonardo da Vinci.
two hundred years before, invented a
mechanical wing with which he expected
to overcome the difficulties of flight.
Soon after the invention Of the hot
air balloon it was found that hydro
gen gas offered a much more practical
means for raising the aerostat. and
since the day when this gas was first
used for initiating balloons they have
been used to great advantage In war
and in peace. Benjamin Franklin was
one of the first to recognize the value
of what was then a new invention. and
he encouraged others to make use of
the balloon. promising for it great
future. In the Franco-Prussian war,
the civil war and in all recent strug-
giles the balloon has proven its effici-
ency as a means for maintaining COM
munication and for observation pur-
poses
of affording amusement for the people
and excitement for the sportsman. but
it has also been found of great serv-
ice to science. Meteorological observa-
tions and Investigations have been car
ried on largely with balloons. and the
weather bureau now has several sta
tions where observation balloons are
sent up daily. In addition, through ex-
periences met in balloon flights. great
knowledge has been acquired regard
ing the vagaries of the air. the various.
wind currents and the conditions which
must be overcome in aerial fight. This
information has been indispensable to
those who have worked in an effort to
solve the problem of artificial fight
Although the French government had
a successful steerable balloon as early
as 1884, 1t was not until the latter part
of the nineties that the dirigible balloon
came to be recognized as an important
factor 1t was the motor-balloon built
by Santos Dumont that first awoke the In
terest of the people at large, and from
that time great strides have been made
in improving the dirigible. From a small
ship which would carry only one operator
in addition to the engine, progress has
been made until today the Zeppelin will
carry forty or fifty men for a distance
of several hundred miles as fast as
railway train.
1t was only with the invention Of the
steam engine that any progress was
made with the heavier-than-air type OF
machine. The Stringfellow aeroplane, a
model machine which made flight in
England in the middle of the last GEN.
tury. was the first that gave any promise
of success, but IL was the experiments OF
Prof. S. P. Langley and the Information
which he gathered which gave the hrst
real impetus to the work that has result
ed in the successful flying machines of to-
day. I.angley's work was ably supple
mented by that of octave Chanute. Sir
Hiram Maxim, Otto Lillienthal and
Evening star., 1909-06-06

planet than ever before. which is saying
much; and this unprecedented interest
will he due to the fact that during the
present summer Mars will come nearer
TO earth than it has ventured since man
commenced to discuss it's oceans"
"oases' and canals" 1t will approach
within about 360O0,h00 miles of the
earths orbit, or nearly 20o0.M0 nearer
than 1t was two years ago. when its then
close proximity caused considerable pop
ular excitement.
That the Martians will introduce them
Evening star., 1909-06-06
Will Astronomers Solve Mystery Of Mars This Summer?
aqother in any wise equal opportunity for
fifteen years to come.

aqother in any wise equal opportunity for
fifteen years to come.
All of this palaver about the Martians
and their canals was unwittingly start
ed a generation ago by Schiaparell dl-
rector of the Milan observatory in Italy.
In 1877. when Mars made one of its near
approaches to the earth, this astronomer
discovered certain hitherto unseen bands
connecting dark portions Of Mars. which
some astronomers had come TO call
oceans" Had chance created Schiapar-
ELI anything else than an Italian we
probably would have never thought OF the
canals of Mars. In naming these bands
this astronomer chanced TO use the word
"canales." which in Italian means chan
nels" AS it was. the news was flashed
through the English-speakng world that
canals had been discovered on Mars.
What had creased the ways upon which
this theory was so easily launched was
stroke of guess work. made by no less
an authority than Sir John Herschel. He
had commenced to lead his fellows astray
by calling the darker parts of Mars sur.
face water and brighter parts land
Later research. however, convinced the
more conservative astronomers that there
was little or no water on Mars ana tnat
what might be there was frozen tight.
Perplexity over the probable function OF
the canals was added by the further
discovery that they crossed the so-called
oceans as we'll as the land"
Theories were all criss-cross until some
fifteen years ago. when our astronomer,
Percival Lowell, after running his eye
over the length and breadth of the land
in search of good seeing" selected a
place in Arizona, a mile and half above
sea level, and here erected apparatus,
with which he proceeded to snatch the
Martians' secrets from the skies. At any
rate, he has seen things on Mars that
few other astronomers have seen or have
thought they have seen. all Of which is
alleged to be due to the fact that the
altitude and peculiar quality of the air
above his observatory render his twenty
four-inch telescope the most powerful in
strunent in existence, although 1t Is not
so large as several others in this country.
BY now a network of some 400 Martian
canals. meeting and crossing at various
angles. has been drawn and catalogued
by Prof. Lowell, and they average 1,50O
miles in length. which means a total
Evening star., 1909-06-06

work OF Chanute and Langley that made
it possible for them to attain success. OF
course. the lightweight gasoline motor
that has been developed in the past twenty
years has given the present-day inventors a
great advantage over those of previous
years, but even the Manley motor used
by Langley was extremely light when
compared to the average motor of today
The Wright brothers machine may be
taken as the most perfect flying machine
today. It Is about forty feet from tip to
tip Of its wings. little larger than some
other flying machines Of the bi-plane
type. The superposed planes are about
six feet apart and are mounted on skids
resembling the runners Of a large sled. In
the center. mounted on the lower plane,
are the motor and the operators seat In
a twin horizontal rudder which regulates
the ascent and descent Of the machine
and is controlled by lever next to the
operators seat.
X :,
In the rear are the two propellers. driven
from the same shaft by chain drive.
About ten or twelve feet in the rear of
the two superposed planes is the vertical
rudder, also tandem affair. similar to
the horizontal rudder. The vertical rud-
der, working in combination with the
warping Of the planes. controls the dlrec-
ton of the flying machine and aids In
overcoming wind gusts.
The aeroplane is mounted on single
rail. and the weight of the cataput
which starts the machine Is attached to
it by a rope. After the motor has been
started and the operator is ready to pc
gin the fight he releases the weight.
which pulls the machine down the track
for distance Of about fifty feet. Having
received sufficient impetus, the operator
turns the horizontal rudder upward and
the machine scars aloft as gracefully
as giant bird in easy undulating waves
Higher and higher it goes. at the will
touch. 1t increases speed and goes
around curve at a slight angle, re-
sembling in some respects an automobile
skidding as it takes a turn in the road.
1t has been a common belief that the
more power developed in a motor for
an aeroplane the greater would be the
speed of the machine. but the Wright
brothers contend that after certain
limit has been reached, the power is
wasted. Their aeroplane makes an aver
age speed of forty miles hour. Will
bur Wright says he believes the day
will come when aeroplanes will be made
to fly through the use OF man-power
solely. but there are others who contend
that a speed of one hundred miles an
hour will be the rate at which future
aviators will travel, through the use of
high-speed motors.
The usual argument made by skeptics
is that there are only few specially
qualified men who are able to handle
aeroplanes. They say that flying ma
chimes will never become popular means
of travel, but ]. A. D. McCurdy. who
was a member Of the Aerial Experiment
Association, and who has made several
hundred fights in the June Bug, Red
Evening star., 1909-06-06

selves to us earthlings during this near
approach or that their tremendous en-
sineering enterprises will at least be posi-
lively revealed to our telescopes and as
tronomic cameras is alleged to be hoped
by some astronomers of once high re-
pute. These believers in Marians with
engineering genius will be up for trial
during the next few months.
Can they make good? Can they prove
their case? At every other trial they have
had hitherto the verdict of their peers
has been against them. But for their
gathering the necessary evidence condi-
tions will be more favorable this year
than ever before since the discussion Of
the subject commenced. And If they
fail again this year they will not have
Evening star., 1909-06-06

of Prof. Lowell. Prof. Simon Newcomb.
one Of the greatest of living astronomers.
admits that some dark streaks exist on
Mars, but adds that 1.-The enormously
complex variety of light and shade which
the best observers see to exist on Mars,
and which is at the very limit of visi-
bflity by the best of eyes. may he inter-
preted by the brain in an unending num-
ber of ways, and the mind of each OBJ
server will after long practice choose
that mode of Interpretation which best
suits Dreconceived ideas
But these workings which he sees or
thinks he sees are proof to Prof Lowell
that life able to fashion them is present
Evening star., 1909-06-06

there at this very moment" He saws
that such straight lines are not natural
products" But how ahout straight cracks
in n volcanic crusto Could they be those
Prof. w. Fl. Pickering. another Of Prof.
Lowell's former assistants hut who is
now assistant professor of astronomy AZ
Harvard. suggests this explanation. Ac-
cordtng 10 this theory Lowers oases'
are really craters from which the straight
cracks have originated and from whirh
they radiate somewhat as streaks radia:e
from the craters of the moon. In these
cracks may grow vegetation. fed by car
ondioxide and water issuing from
within.
Life of only the very lowest order"
exists on Mars, If life exists there at all.
according to Prof. Simon Newcomh.
whose opinion will probably carry greater
weight than that of any living American
astronomer. In the first place, he argues
the atmosphere Of Mars has only one
fourth the density of that of earth and is
thinner than that on the top of the Him
alayas. Furthermore the temperature Of
Mars must be everywhere below freezing
point. except possibly in the torrid zone
under a high sun. But even here. in the
equatorial regions the night temperature
Is GOiueT llldH dHS tNti tApcA oia
our globe.
If any water exists on the planet II not
only must he frozen. but the temperature
Of the ice must be far below freezing
point and wafer I'm this condition is not
very convenient for irrigation enterprises.
as we know them. at least. Life Will
develop more rapidly in warmer than
a colder world than ours. he further be-
lieves, and Venus. therefore. would he
better adapted to life than Mars. Indeed,
some planet revolving between the orbits
of earth and Venus would he better
adapted than even the earth for the de-
velopment of higher forms of life Final
ly, as to Mars IL is unfavorable to any
form of life except that of the very
lowest order
So that of Mars Is another case over
which the doctors widely disagree. May
hap during the coming weeks this brother
planet will approach near enough To whis-
per some answer 70 the great riddle which
it has propounded. 'Tis more likely.
however that ii will venture only within
sufficient distance to spring a fresh mys-
terry that will plague astronomers for
another generation.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.
Evening star., 1909-06-06

length of 6OO.oo0 miles Of such works.
And since nothing narrower than fifteen
miles can be seen on Mars by our most
powerful telescopes, the enormity Of these
works can hardly be ina gined. He be-
lieves that each canal represents not a
single waterway. but a stretch of dark
colored vegetation. caused by collection
of irrigation canals. and that the whole
network is a vast system constructed for
the purpose Of "husbanding' a scanty
water supply. Almost all are perfectly
straight, as if drawn by a ruler. and some
single stretches he estimates to be as long
as from New York to San Francisco
Sometimes they are seen double, in twin
lines, like the parallel rails of a railway
Evening star., 1909-06-06
NnecdOfe8 COncelni
Well-knOWn PEOPLE.

in the fortune that she helped to pile
up That IL seems to me. is more eaui-
table than the northern idea of discarding
the faded wife, when success is attained.
for beautiful chorus girl of eighteen
or nineteen summers"
Senator Tilman frowned.
THE way northern marriages so often
end" he said, you'd think matrimony
was a dreadful thing. You'd be inclined
to look at it as little boy in Belton did.
PA he said, one June day. 1 hear
Uncle Joe is going to be married on the
fifth
Yes said the father; Uncle Joe has
only three days more
1.-THE little boy sighed
1.-The last three days. he said. they
give them everything to eat that they ask
for, don't they, pa""
Evening star., 1909-06-06
Examination Time.

wxIss CLARA EVELYN McHUGH, a
M teacher in one of the Topeka schools.
road at a recent teachers meeting from a
collection Of quaint examination answers
that she had been gathering for some
years.
The gems OF Miss McHugh's collection
were:
"a blizzard Is the inside Of hen"
..The equator is a menagerie lion run
ming round the earth .,o,,
Oxygen is a thing that has eisht
Sides a.,s"
Evening star., 1909-06-06

HE much -moOted
Mars is a seductive
fame in which
m al Y astronomer
moths have scorch-
ed their wings dur
ing the past dec
ade.
During the weeks
now to come we
will hear more and
read more concern
ing this interesting
Evening star., 1909-06-06

M ANY Navigators of the
4v4 Air Differ on Future of
the Flying Machine-Wright
Brothers Say Aeroplane Will
Never Be Used to Garry
Freight-Plans of New Ma
chine Are Drawn After That
Of Octave Chanute, Who
Took Up the Work Many
Years Ago-Man Flight Was
First Thought of by the
Greeks, According to Tradi-
tion-First Hot-air Balloon
Was Invented in 1882.
Evening star., 1909-06-06
Ouuht to Shoot 1t.
xxKx ORE powerful than precise

1SKH ORE powerful than precise.
lvl So Senator Aldrich character
lied the other day an attack on certain
of his tariff ideas.
more powerful than precise" he re-
peated. Like the editorial In the Yutan
Sunbeam. This editorial ran:
1--WE will not enter into a controversy
with the shiny. kissing wolf who tries to
spit venom from his forked tongue on
the editor of the Sunbeam. The way to
treat such crawling vermin is just to let
them below
Evening star., 1909-06-06

TN Coming w e e ks the.
/ Planet Will Be Nearer
Earth Than in Many Years
Its Case One Over Which
Doctors Disagree Canal
Theory Due to Translator's
Error-Are Astronomers
Who Describe It's Complex
Markings Seeing Things"?-
Are the Alleged Canals 1rri-
CATION Works or Only Vol
canic Cracks or Do They
Exist at All?-Opinions Pro
and Con by Well Known
Accommodations of Life
on the Planet-The Problem
as 1t Stands Today.
fTonrricbt 1aOO hr Jobn EIfretb Watkins
Evening star., 1909-06-06

RCHYTAS of Ia
rentum, the fa-
nous Grecian math-
ematician and phi
losopher. invented
the flying pigeon"
400 years before
Christ. In the days
when A r C h y t a S
f1ourished there ex-
listed a tradition
that d a e d a | u s.
who p ers S o nified
the beginning of
Evening star., 1909-06-06
The Wrong View.

9 ENATOR TILLMAN was condemning
- the divorce laws Of the north.
Your southerner has just one girl" he
said, land when he gets rich he sticks
to her He lets her share In her old age
Evening star., 1909-06-06

in the most human and satisfying way.
We like Scott and Burns also and read
them frequently. In his early life Mr..
Gore learned many of the poems of Long
fellow. and he often quotes long pas
Sages.'
Mrs. Gore admits a devotion to history.
She rarely reads fiction. mainly because
she lacks the time Both she and the
senator manage to keep abreast of all the
hes, literature Like her husband. she
has found humanity an engrossing theme.
and the measures which are undertaken
to uplft humanity and the nation are OF
such interest that she rarely bestoWs her
time on the world of fiction. Ihat sne
has time to read at all, other than the
vast amount which she accomplishes
daily for her husband. is matter or sur
prise. for she is one of the most punctiii,
Gus of women in attending TO her soclai
obligations, and every winter she mas
gone through the round of calling con-
scientiously and gladly. She has taken a
sympathetic interest in the Congressional
Club and is one of the most constant AT
tendants. and able allies of the leaders IN
adjusting methods Tor ths neneH. VI az a.,
the members. Senator and Mrs Gore are
members of the Christian Church. ano
take an active interest in It's anairs mere
as we'll as in Lawton. Little Nina 1ore'
the small daughter. is one OF the mus
attractive children in the senatorial set.
She has the dainty ways OF her mother
and already displays the high fntellectuai
qualities of her father.
II can admit that l am charmed with
Washington" concluded Mrs. Gore. with
the social intercourse even in the frank
way everybody has of being interested IN
everybody else especially in the wives OF
public men, But one thing l do not ad-
mtre is the disposition to give me credit
for Mr. Cores success in public life. l
resent the imputation of his being Wife
made man. On the contrary. / must give
him credit for cultivating in me the quail
ties which the wife of public man must
possess to be of genuine usefulness to
him in his career. 1t is the other way
around In every sense"
Copyright, 1909. by Margaret B. Downing.)
Evening star., 1909-06-06

number of others. All of the successful
bi-plane machines of today, including
that of the Wright brothers and the Vol
sin aeroplane. its most successful COM
petitor abroad, are based on the gliding
machine invented by Chanute.
Evening star., 1909-06-06

Copyright, 1909, by John Elfreth watkins.)
The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-11-03

The outcome of the New York City
election in spite of the election of
Gaynor was the most complete defeat
Tammany has experienced in many
years. Tammany has lost the board
of estimate and practically all the
rest of the ticket except the mayor.
This means that the spending of the
city money will be only partially In
the hands of Tammany hall and this
alone is a great victory for the i'm
provement of the city government
The reelection of Mayor Mann at
Troy is another encouraging result of
Tuesdays voting. After years of the
most disgraceful city government in
the country, Mayor Mann was elected
mayor two years ago, and reelected
last year. That he should be again
reelected and by a greatly increased
majority, shows that the voters of
Troy appreciate an honest mayor The
candidate against him this year was
clean, honest man, but the voters
wisely decided not to take chances.
The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-11-03
Subscription Rates.
Entered at the Post-ofice. Bennington,
VT, Dec. II, 1908, as second class
mail matter.
FRANK E. HOWE, Editor and Pub'r

The city papers attribute the great
falling off in Republican majorities in
Massachusetts to dissatisfaction over
the tariff but the labor issue had more
to do with 1t. The vote of the work
ing men is every year more and more
Independent. 1t is not Democratic
any more than it is Republican and
it is not Republican more than it is
Democratic AND it is more Socialistic
than either and it is wise enough to
try to elect candidates. regardless of
party who can be counted on to try to
give the average man a fair show and
prevent his being exploited by greedy
interests