Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-08
NEWS FROM MARS.

The news from Mars are conflicting.
Some time ago 1t was announced that
an astronomer had observed an erup-
tion on tho planet by which. In all
| probability. the greater part of life, II
there is any. had become extinct No
further confirmation. however, was
| given OF this story OF n Iartian cat
ostrophe. Now comes Dr. Lowell the
| famous astronomer OF Flagstaff, Ari-
zona. and tells the world that the Mar
| tlans are peacefully digging canals and
| making improvements, compared TO
| which our own Panama canal Is but an
| Insignificant. LIlliputian ditch.
| DR. Lowell made a statement TO that
| effect n few days ago, at Huntington
hall. Boston. at o special session of one
section of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. As
reported by the Boston Herald, he
claimed that on Sept 30. last year, two
canals were visible IN a region whore
there were none before. These new
bitches ran from the bottom of the
Syrtis Major and from a point on It's
eastern side south, converging to an
oasis, itself new, on the Cocytus about
two thirds of the distance to where
that canal meets the Amenities The
Amenities Itself was not visible ex-
cept possibly as a suspicion Tho
new canals were recorded In indcpen-
dent drawings by Assistant e C. Sliph-
er and the director. and shortly after
wards were photographed as the most
conspicuous canals in the images
DIR Lowell Is positive that these
markings on the surface of Mars are
new enterprises. I'm FORM he says,
they are like all the other canals
narrow, regular lines of even width
throughout, running with geometrlcal
precision from definite points to anoth-
er point where an oasis is located.
The oasis resembles all other oases.
They partake. therefore. of all the
peculiar features of the canal system.
features which l have elsewhere shown
make 1t impossible OF natural creation,
that Is of being the result of any
purely physical forces of which we
have cognizancc on the other hand,
the system exactly resembles wha,
life there would evolve under the
conditions we know to exist The
canals are still in process of creation,
that We have actually seen some form
ed under our very eyes The i'm
portance of this to our understanding
OF the canal system of Mars can hard
ly be over-estlmated. The phenomeni,
transcend any natural law and arc
only explicable so far as can be seen
by the presence out yonder of anil
mate VIII
This is an interesting contribution TO
the discussion of the question whether
Mars Is inhabited Those who take
the negative generally urge that n very
small change In earthly conditions
would cause life on earth to become
extinct A change In temperature or
atmospheric conditions would mean
universal death on earth, II the moon |
were larger we should be drowned in |
tidal waves. IL the earth were smaller |
we should loose our atmosphere; II II /
were larger we should not be able to
stand upright. or to mount hill How
then, they ask can it be maintained |
that Mars planet only half as large |
as the earth and 35,OOo.OO0 miles fur
ther from the sun. is inhabitedY
Well. It may be perfectly true. that
human beings organized to live on
earth. would perish on Mars. but does
that prove that there cannot be liv-
Ing beings on Mars. organized to meet
the conditions existing there? Dr.
lowell seems to be confident that his
theory has been confirmed by recent
observations