Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-06
From State and Nation


Pros the Boston Tfsnsair.
The planet Mar. occupies the center Q
, the stage this month, being nearer the earti
and therefore brighter than IL has been q
any time since 1907, No other planet varie
as much In brightness as viewed from tn
earth. This is due, OF course. ~ It's varyinl
distance from us, Mars describes an elliptiea
orbit about the SUM- It's average distance from
that body being iti,5oo.ooo miles. Around thi
path the planet travels In 6s7 days The earti
also describes an elliptcai orbit about the sun
At an average distance of s?,soo,ooo miles il
a period Of 365 IL days, Mars IL thus wha
Is known as superior planet. that Ia. on'
whose orbit is outside OF the earth's orbi,
Superior planets are usually nearest the earti
at opposition. that Ii when opposite the SUI
as seen from the earth. and they are farthes
away at conjunction that Is. when In ths
same direction as the sun. This would always
be tho case for circular orbits In the same
plane. and most OF the planetary orbits are
nearly circular and In approximately the same
plane. Mars, however. has rather eccentric
orbit. that is. one that deviates considerably
nearly circular. so that the two curves are no,
everywhere equidistant. Consequently some
oppositions are more favorable than others,
the closest @ approaeh possible at opposition be-
opposition this distance may be Increased to
$1,000. 600 miles. Moreover. the closest ap.
proach may not occur on the exact date of
opposition. The interval between successive
oppositions Is 7S0 days. the time required for
the earth TO gain one lap on Mars as they
travel around the sun.
10 at 10 a. M, the closest approach on the
eighteenth at p m. at which time Mars will
be only 42.3oo.ooo miles away. nearer than It
has been at any time since 1907. Unfortunate.
" for northern observers, however, Mars is
now In the constellation Sagittarius, over rs
degrees south OF the equator. too far south for
1t will be visible practically all night. rising at
9:0S p. m on the first, and about sunset on
the 10th. after which It will be well up in
the southeast at sunset. rising earlier and
o nj a. ftor nIDh vlIl1 ha thA hrty
est object in that part OF the sky, and easily
identified on account Of its fiery red color.
"Treason" and Reason.
From the New York Evening
The common sense Of twelve West Virginia
1urymen, acquitting William Blizzard OF treason
to the state, confirms the common sense view
that the American public has taken during the
hve weeks Of trial. 1t was natural for the pros.
ecution to bring forward one Of their strong
Nst cases first. Blizzard was regarded the
leader Of the miners who marched into Logan
county. II anyone could be convicted Of treason
he could Some Of the 120 trials still pending
are on different footing-several men are
charged with murder; but the Blizzard verdict
demolishes most Of the cases.
Simply because in Anglo Saxon countries the
government is so firmly established Anglo-Saxon
peoples resent and ridicule any effort to erect
ials. The evidence in the trial just concluded
placed 1t on opera bouffe footing. few
hundred union miners hear that men, women
and children are being maltreated by nonunion
operators In a neighboring county: they see men
emerge injured and bleeding: they remember
that for years union workers there have been
lbused under county government virtually con.
ducted by the operators and their gunmen. They
begin demonstrative march, and readily sur
render when the federal government interferes.
c'f course the march was deplorabe. But most
Americans are good deal less disturbed by
such demonstration than by the fact that
local government should have failed in its duty
the lesson for West Virginia is that indictments
lor treason against masses OF men are an in.
1ictment Of government
The Years Peak.
From the Minneapolis Journal.
>. What is so rare as 4 day in June?" asks
associations memories for most of US than
my month in the year. g:
Nature has made June one of the chosen
months. 1t is the month of thansition from
'pring to summer when all outdoors is at its
'est. The heat Of July, the aridity Of August
1ave not yet paled with age the soft greens nor
And June is the month in which the whole
world graduates" The commencenents have
heir Counterpart in field and wood.
What q season of happiness June brinRs No
Wonder it is the bridal month. Its days are in.
Iced rare. It's tempting sunshine writes happi-
less over everything and even though humdrum
luties detain us from its enjoyment at least It
nvokes happy memories of other June days.
No heman can look June in the face with
ut thinking of fishing. From early youth June
las been the month when schools out and we
ould go swimmin' and fshin'. And even though
ne has moved away from that notion along
lfe's highway, the memories of those other
unes endure.
June is the peak of the year. 1t holds the
ongest day 1t combines the beauty Of the
eights with the restful pause associated with
he summit. 1t is a season Of optimism Once
70 have passed over its peak the year is half
one. What we do with June's rare days may
etermne our feeling toward the last six months.
is so even In life. 1t is youth that determines
he man. And June Is youthful month with
appness as its keynote
Cstapulting the Seaplane.
rom the Washington Post.
few days ago in a workmanlike way and
Without any fanfare flourish of trumpets
here was successfully performed at Yorktown, |
a., an experiment which will be Of first.class
Importance in naval warfare and which, for
he present at least, places the United States
avy in unique position This was nothing |
ess than the launching of service type sea-
lane, carrying q pilot and a passenger, from |
n airplane catapult on the deck of the battle. |
hip Maryland. AS no other navy in the world |
known to possess such an apparatus the |
uperiority. The intention is to place a COM |
lete equipment of catapult and planes on |
very vessel of the battle fleet. |
The project of catapultng planes from a |
hip Is by no means new. The attempt was |
rst made as far back as 1915 and was re- I
1en employed was both extremely cumber-
,me and not powerful enough. The entrance
the United States into the war in 1917
aused q cessation Of these experiments, and
was not until this spring that it was possible
, restart the work The present result has