Omaha daily bee., 1914-07-20

spheric agencies will eventually dlsn-
teRrate the rocks. wear away the noun
tains. level down tho continents and fin
up the sea basins. while at the same
time. the oceans will disappear and title
but subterranean water viii remain
That Is the most logical explanation OF
what has overtaken the ulonet liars.
The moon, too although .he wrecks
OF its gigantic mountains vet remain
appears to have suffered similar fate
Everywhere photography reveals under
meath its vast plains and submerged out
lines. like salf-disiutcrred skeletons of
its former typographical features. II
great tempest should strike the moon,
its face would disappear swallowed up
in clouds OF blowing sand.
A world lives az long a. II possesses
sufficient variety, and dies when uni
forrnity strifles Il under the blanket OF
Suonotonous sameness.
Sand Is the very type Of uniformity
and monotony. This mental impression
which sand makes is emphasized by
some recent experiments OF Dr. Baughan
Cornish. In sitting desert sand he found
that no less than % per cent Of all It's
grains are retained by n sieve Of las
inch mesh, while only per cent are
caught by 1-2i-nch mesh. and not more
than 4 per cent are small enough 10 pass
through i-g6-inch mesh.
The explanation lies in the long and
constant rubbing together OF the grains,
which reduces all 20 one pattern, and
has no mercy for indi ividuality. The moral
world presents striking slmilitude For
centuries mankind has been slowly tend
ing toward uniformity. Conquests, trade
and mechanical invention are the winds
and waves which gradually triturate hu'
manity and reduce II all TO a single meas
ure. In our time this tendency has beer
enormously accelerated by the advance
of scIence Now all the civilized worlc
dresses alike, eats alike. lives alikeeNlooks
alike and thinks alike. II Is becoming q
vast heap OF human sand. Some persons
fhink that II is the manifest destiny o.
man, and rejoice over It, and make 4
gospel Of it
It Is interesting to look little mor'
closely into the effects OF uniformity a
revealed by sand. In doing so we may
perhaps. get a more vivid impression O
what the gospel Of antl-individualisr
means
From time immemorial there hos zee
a mysterious natural phenomenon mani
Tested In all parts OF the world, whic
has excited either abiect superstition q
puzzled wonder according 20 the mentJ
makeup OF various observers II is
phenomenon OF sound. Along the ses
shore It Is called sometimes the "Baris'
guns" sometimes "mstpoeffers," som,
times "brontidi," according 10 the yaryir
languages OF the people on whose ooss
SIS booming Is heard In Egypt and 9th,
sandy regions II is called singing.
vocal sands"
This last term betrays the eXplanatic
of the mystery that science has disco
cred. All these strange sounds, even wh'
they appear to be altogether subterr
mean. as In the case OF the "NloodI
noises" In Connecticut, are believed 20
due 10 vibrating sand, and they could n
exist II the sand were not composed
grains OF uniform size and shape
II is the voice OF a crowd which
powerful only because II is multitudinoy
One OF the clearest accounts OF n
phenomenon with which I am acqualnt
comes from n recent tourist OF ration
mental habits who observed Il In Egy1
While descending slope of sand drift
against a cliff In the Nile valley, his Z,
started little rill OF sand flowing dow
ward. Presently a wierd sound thrill
through the air. Quickly II became ms
nified. although the quantity OF flowi
sand was not greatly augmented, until
swelled into a vertRhe roar that seen
TO issue from the ground Then a cl,
inspection showed that the entire mn