Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1921-10-19
l|ON|STS TEACH
THAT THE EARTH
IS 4 FLAT LAND
(By Associated Press)

eNDS~AANN
tation and the 1000 grade and high
school pupils believe them implicitly
according to their teachers.
The public school maintained by
the state board of education and at
tended by the children of non-mem-
bers of Voliva's Christian-Catholic
Apostolic church still teaches, how
ever, that the world is a globe NOV
ing through limitless space and that
it was the attraction of gravity
which caused the apple to fall on
Issac Newton's head.
At the Zion schools the new course
of study teaches that:
The earth is a fiat circular world,
with a north pole in the exact cen
ter, no south pole, and surrounded
by wall of ice which keeps venture
some mariners from falling off the
rim.
That the earth has no motion, but
remains stationary in space.
That the sun is not millions OF
miles in diameter and 91,OOO,00O
miles away, but is really little ORB
50 miles across and only 5000 miles
from the earth.
That the law of gravitation is
fallacy and when objects are thrown
into the air they continue to rise I'M
til the force which propelled them
is expended, and then fall back to
earth because they are heavier than
air.
A standard map Of the world, on
Christopher's projection, is used IN
the schools to demonstrate the fiat
world theory. This map, which IS
+Ased by navigators and scientists in
;making time and longitude calcula-
hons, differs from the usual Merca-
iAor's projection familiar in other
schools, in that it shows the earth
as it would look to an observer dl'
rectly above the north pole, with
the continents and seas projected OF
a fiat plane. AS a result the NORTH
pole is in the center, and instead Of
a south pole the Antarctic regions
are indicated by a white ring abou
the outer circumference of the cir
Gle. This ring, according to Vollva
is the ice barrier which keeps mari
ners from falling off the edge of hi
flat. world.
The Christopher projection was
made 80 years ago, prior to the dis
coverv of the south pole and before
much was known about the Antarc
tic regions, SO only a bare outline
of portions of the southern ice lane
is shown.
Miss Mary Thompson, principal o
the Zion school system, and an ar
dent believer in the Voliva theories
has propounded a question which sh
believes will trip scientists and nav
igators. Showing on her flat ma
D that the tropic Of Cancer, 43 degree
from the north pole, was a niue
smaller circle than the tropic o
Capricorn, d degrees farther away
Miss Thompson says:
"Navigators on a globular cart
would find if they were to sail con
nletely around either of these troplc
that they would be identically tn
same length On a flat earth, nov
ever, the tropic of Capricorn wou
be much larger than the troplc
Cancer, and would take much long
to sail around, because on a II
earth Cancer would be nearer t.
center, or north pole. Why dol
some of the globular earth believe
try sailing around the two trOpl
and find out whether they or we a
correct. The globular people &C
tainly can't prove curveture of t
earth"
Miss Eva Baker, teacher of g.
graphy, demonstrates to her class
that the sun is only tiny orb I
thousand miles away, Unsteady OF
orb millions of miles in diame'
and 100000 miles from the ear
If the sun was so large, she sa
it would light up all the world,
stead of combining its hottest RI
to 5000 mile wide belt between
two tropics. Voliva HIMSELF in
recent sermon at Shiloh Taberna'
sad God certainly would not hi
made a sun to light the world
then placed it so far away.
"a man would be fool" the
erseer added, ito build house
Zion and place. his parolr light
;Kenosha, Wis"
Miss Thompson, principal OF
schools, says the children pre-
their new fiat world to the old ia
toned round one in which Column
believed.
''The students in Zion schoo
e., she says, grasp the theory of
fiat earth readily because tt
minds are not full of glObular ca
teaching such as older folks h