The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1920-03-25
Hello, Earth! HelloY
(Continued from page ~

tSS'ss''sss~~~ E~SS
1--WE have actually seen them formed
under our eyes," Professor Lowell said at
the time, and the importance of it can
hardly be overestimated. The phenome-
non transcends any natural law, and is
only applicable SO far as can be seen by
the presence out yonder of animate will"
Professor Lowell had little to say about
the appearance of the beings on Mars.
Edmond Perrier, director of the museum
of the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, con-
structed the first picture of the Martians
as he conceived them. He said in part:
"The men on Mars are tall because the
force of gravity is slight. They have less
powerful limbs. Their large blue eyes,.
their strong noses, their large ears, con-
stitute type of beauty which we doubt
less would not appreciate except as sug-
costing superhuman intelligence"
On the other hand, DR.. c. G. Abbott
holds that if wireless messages are being
received, it is not Mars sending the sig
mails, but most probably Venus. Abbott
is director of the Smithsonian astrophysi-
cal observatory and assistant secretary of
the Smithsonian institution. He says Mars
is eliminated as a possibility because
known conditions on that planet would
not permit the existence of any form of
living creature. 1t is too cold there and
there is practically no water vapor Units
atmosphere.
Assuming that Mars or some other
planet is signaling us, what can we do in
the circumstances? Apparently we can
do much.
DR.. James Harris Rogers of Hyatts-
vile, Md, who has devoted his life to
the study of electric waves and invented
the underground and underseas wireless
used during the war, declares he is going
to undertake to teach the inhabitants of
Mars the rudiments of intelligence of
this planet. Within year wireless COM
munication will be established with Mars,
DR.. Rogers believes.
L. J. Lesh, New York radio engineer,
suggests that one of the methods of con-
structing gigantic station would be to
erect huge antennae suspended by bal
looms like the British dirigible R-34. He
asserts, however, that still better way
would be to use huge and brilliant shafts
of light as antennae for the system. He
l sntc hot he cd
around one spot where a great amount
of electricity could be generated. He sug-
gests Niagara Falls or some other spot
with an enormous amount of water power.
Elmer A. Sperry has searchlight capa-
| bic of producing beam having the illum-
mating intensity of 1,2SO,O0O,0OO candle
power. He would form a group of $50
to 200 of his searchlights and direct their
combined beams in the direction of Mars.
An aggregation of that sort would possess
the luminous equivalent of star of the
seventh magnitude such as our telescopes
are able to pick up readily. Therefore,
assuming that the Martians had glasses
of equal power, they should have nc
troule in catching that dot of light from
distance of 35,oOO,OOO to 10000, 200
miles.
1t would be possible, no doubt, to oper-
ate these lights so that they could give
slow signals which would fill all the re-
, quirements of system of communication
However, an array of lights of this char
acter and the needful energizing plant
would cost pretty sum.
The outlay might be warranted some
day, but certainly not until it is certain
that we are being called by one of ou1
neighbors out in space.