Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-01-23
"On Board the
Good Ship Earth
By Herbert Quick
The Only Thing Worth Worshiping- Force
By Herbert Quick

created. We may say we are COM
posed Of matter and force. The mat
ter is of the earth, the force is of the
sun.
There are black, dead, cold planets
in the voids of space among the
bright stars of heaven-thousands OF
them-perhaps millions. They do not
shine When they come between US
and a star the light of the star goes
out Some of them are twinned with
shining star, the dead twin and the
live one revolving as though connect
ed like dumbbells by an invisible
rod. Some such stars are variable or
intermittent, the bright one dimming
or disappearing as the dark one
comes between its shining twin and
us.
These dead suns and dead worlds
have lost great deal Of their force
or energy. Perhaps some OF them
still have as much as have we-for
our good airship, Earth does not
shine as a sun, but only glows moon
like. These worlds, though dark, may
be habitabe. We do not know. But
we cannot see how any world can
support life which does not receive
from some sun which is itself too not
with force to be habitable a supply
which the magic slime, protoplasm,
may work UP into living beings.
The force we get hourly from the
sun we may use as a family uses
such an income as life annuity All
we can get out of it belongs to U.S.
and when we die, 50 far as we arc
concerned, it stops. If we don't get
all we can out of it, we are roollsh.
We are passengers on the ship-ana
if we do not use the sunshine, the
wind and the waters that flow ana
surge in tides of force all about u.s.
we have ourselves and our ignorance
and inefficiency to blame.
But in the decking of the shlp-ln
that thin crust of rock planking that
we stand upon, and which separates
US from the molten core within, there
are bunkers in which are stored force
which came to the good ship Earth
while God was preparing it for our
voyage. In these bunkers are the
bodies, brains and blood of the COM
ing race These are like deposits In
bank, which are not replenished by
new deposits when drawn out. God
opened the account and handed us
the book.
Increase, multiply and replenish
the EARTH" said He. 81 will send My
rays upon you as needed, and in
future ages, after knowledge shall
have been increased, you shall dis
cover the oil, the coal, the gas and
the power that comes from falling
water. Use the income Of the planet
freely, and make the most of it; but
the deposits which are in the bunk
ers of the ship l have given exhaust
at your peril. For the bunkers, once
emptied, will never be refilledw
So, while we We're savages weak in
knowledge and knew not of the small
ness or the largeness Of our Zeppelin,
Earth, we were weak also in power
to take from the deposits In the
bunkers We dug little gold, little
lead, little zinc, and some copper,
but no coal, and we knew nothing OF
the oils and gases beneath us.
AS for the forests, we had only
weak ways of cutting them down, or
or saving tne logs, OF OIL caIi ylnS
them when cut. Only a small part of
the deck-dust soil was titled. Sud
deniy-in less than a century-science
smiled on us and we found ourselves
blessed, or cursed, with knowledge
and the power to take out the de-
posits. We have found out how 20
draw checks on the bank God estab-
lished for US, and which the sun filled
in all those ages, but is now filling
no more.
Shall we use the power unrestrained
by the knowledge which comes
with it?
It is the old story of the freedom
of the will, the ethical riddle of the
sphinx. The young world has come
of age, and we present passengers are
the world. Are we drawing checks
|recklessly, wasting the deposits God
gave us and our progeny, or are We
conserving them? Let us see!
See tomorrow's Evening Star for an
nouncement of the next article in this
great series.
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