The Washington times., 1919-07-13


bardsd By I46,OoO. 900. 900 nstsors .
ysar. sweeping throush clouds ct eosmis
dass and steadily growing IaFBsr liz .
snowban rolling down ~ hill-"Tks PIE.
turo shows how our slobs winds ysob-
ably appear from tie noon, the messors,
flashing into fire e. tbsy he oar aimee
phsrs, Che eosnie dass skinias h ne sun's
rays, the mysterious zodiaeal light stream
ing behind il.
vhere are no more deserts now tnAn
there ever we're. Geologic records show
areas once arid are now fertile and oncs
fertile areas are now arid
The content OF the atmosphere has
changed but little. If any
"A small proportion Of carbon dloxide
Is essential to plant life, and animal life
while large proportion would be fatal to
air breathing animals" says Professor
Chamberlain. III the three or four hun
dredths OF one per cent now present were
lost all life would 60 with It; If It were
increased to few per cent the higher
life would be suppressed or radically
changed, And yet on the one hand, the
theoretical sources Of supply are abun-
dant; while on the other. the agencies Of
depletion are efficient and active There
is little escape from the conclusion that
ever since the birth Of afr breathing life
some 100000 or 100000 years ago the
interplay Of these agencies Of supply ana
depletion has been Sc balanced that
neither fatal excess nor fatal deficiency
has been permitted 70 cut short the history
Of the higher life. ~
"In even more serious way the habita-
bility OF the earth is conditioned on q mar.
row range Of mean temperatare--a rsdes,
roundly speaking, Of ZOE degrees cent?
grade. This Is scarcely per cent Of the
range Of natural temperatures on the earth
and still smaller per cent Of the range
Of temperatures in the heavens. A few
miles above rs and few miles below a.
fatal temperatures prevail It Is pro.
foundly significant that the thermal states
of the narrow zone Of life on the face q
the earth should have been kept within 20
close variations as to permit the millions
of species forming the great genealogical
lines leading up from the primitive types
to have perpetuated their lineagos In IN.
broken continuity for such ages, while the
prevalent temperatures few miles above
them or a few miles below them, as well
as in space generally. would have been
fatal"
While the forces Of the degree Of main
tenance of human life on earth seem 70
have been fixed for all ages. and viii re-
main fixed for countless other ages, over.
turning the gloomy predictions OF an earth
dying Of cold. it would seem that the great
danger that we do face is this very pres
enee of fragments in the course along
which we race. As Professor Chamberlain
says:
present knowledge points to one tangi.
Bile possibility Of disaster-coIlision with
some celestial body or close approach to
some sun or other great mass. large enough
to bring disaster by It's disturbing or dis
ruDtiye effects.
The motions Of the stars, however, lie
in diverse directions, and collisions and
close approaches between them are theo.
retically possible If not probably. and sven
inevitable. There are also In the heavens
nebulae and other forms Of scattered mat
ter. and doubtless also dark bodies, which
may likewise offer possibilities Of collision.
The appearance Of new stars flashing out
suddenly and then gradually dying away
suggests the actual occurrence Of. such :
events"