Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1913-09-19
OF A WORLD
tie Course From Chaos to It's
Hopeless Death Struggle.
THREE ACTS IN THE TRAGEDY

By Mars, While The Noon Shove The
Empty etssS After the Play Is Done.
No stage was wei set for such a
tragedy as the planet Mars presents.
Il n tho last act In the drama Of a
worlds history
The hrst act In such q drama OonGists
o. scenes from chaos. The huge plan.
1t Jupiter offers us q spectacle Of that
kind In its streaming belts Of thick
cloudE and ia whirling vapors, glow
ing IKE steam above a furnace.
The second act II represented By the
earth. with its fertile crust, its cool. In
MIGRATING atmosphere and It's life sns
tanning eas that give birth to the
clouds which. eondensing on the
mountains. furnish the rains and set
the rivers flowing.
The closing act e the role OF Mars.
where the seas have vanished. the at
mosphere has thipned out. the rivers
have disappeared. the continents have
turned into deserts, and life. driven into
a corner, IL battling against hnal ex-
friction.
Tint there Is yet intelligent life on
Mars Il the universal belief Of all the
observers whom Mr.. Lowell has gath
cred about him at his Flagstaff OBJ
Servatory, where the extraordinary phe-
nomena Of that wonderful planet are
studied q nowhere else IN the world.
More than that they tell NJ with
ever Increasing emphasis that the Doo-
pie OF Mars, compelled by necessity.
have Developed Z command over natu-
raj forces which would seem m1rSeu.
Ions Il exhibited UPON the earn.
WIN them Il has become simply q
question Of bEain power against The
tnRnimate pOWsrs Of nature
They have nights. and days Of the
same length as ours. They have Sea-
sons almost precisely corresponding
with OuEu, except that thGy are each
twice - long. But their oceans are
dried up no rains h1 Though there
may b dSwsh and nearly all the ct
m~ogphaEac moisture IL alternately lock
ID 10 IN one o. the other Of the polar
m0weapa.
In such a situation no vegetation can
flourish unless arttAcially stimulated
BIZ q gigantic aystem Of irrigation. And
without VogstAtiou animal existence ID
impossible
But whence can ShS Inhabitants Of
NarS derive the water needed for irrt-
gaionI ThO answer given Is that they
get tt periodically from the melting Of
the polar snowA Being without sea-
and Eivers thsy have no other source
Of supply.
On Mars the reign Of universal peace
must have begun ages ago, introduced
not By moral OF sentimental eonSid'
O~rAtions, but by the necessity OF unit
ISS ali the engineering skill, all the in,
VentHvo powers and all the phySiea'
forces Of the entire population OF ths
planet IN q common battle for life.
The only thought Of their inventors
- Of improved mea for controlling
the slowly ~leasening supplies Of mOis
ture that once In about two Of oul
years may be drawn away from one
Of the poles while the summer sun
shine is dissOlving III thin nOwR.
This universal concentration OF men
tai energy upon a dngle aim e con
eoivod a. having Developed upon Mar
q knowledge Of the hidden forces o
nature such a. has up % the presen
merNly been dreamed Of IN the earth.
We have just begun to learn how b
. use electricity In the mechanic AFts
bat Vhsy may have unlocked the Seere
forces tnciosod IN the atoms Of matte
witch our science has recently assures
uS exist without showing us how ;
utilise them.
Only By such supposidons ~ tn
''eAnals," hundreds OF miles wide an
thousands Of miles hong. be accOunte
eOR. II, ss the Flagstaff Observers ir
aisG thoss objects are really Of art
Seial origin. II should be said. how
ever, that In Mr.. LoweI'S opinion III
. bands called canals are. In fact tT
gated balta
The real canals within them r u
Visible. while the progressive darker
tnS Of these belts, as the polar meltin
Increases, y due 20 the growth OF We
station, stimulated By the water.
AfAGR tho world NE drama close
theSO n left a. empty stage, and thi
h represented by the o o The luna
WORK. has lost all I'm water. It's tral
OGy 10 finished The actors = all deat
NniOns Of years ago there may hav
\ been a battle for life there liks thi
which now appears 10 be raging o
Mars. And millions Of years In q
future the stage Of the earth VIII prOl
ably b so4 for a similar tragedy. 30
20 the 0yOs OF the overlooking gods 4
change a nttis ghaksspearS's hgure):
An the S1yrs q stage.
And 81 TIE worlds anA suns are mere
y aoeorA.
-GArStt P. sSrviss In New York JOu
nal.