Daily inter mountain. [volume], November 11, 1899, Page 14, Image 14

About Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
PROFESSOR RUDOLPH FALR. THE GREAT SCIENTIST OF VIENNA. TUB
MAN WHO PREDICTED THE BIG EARTHQUAKES AND STORMS,
SAYS THE COMET OF 1866 WILL STRIKE US MONDAY.
Professor Rudplpb Fajh, one çf the staff
of instructors at the Vienna university
and an astronomer whose name ;s luj£wn
from one end of the scientific world to
the other, has settled upon November 13.
as the day that the world shall end. If
his prediction is true this is not only the
last year in the existence of our globe,
but Ihe last day of the world has actually
ai rived.
Early in 1898 Professor Falb commenc
ed to predict all manner of unpleasant
things for the world and when it was
found that he had accurately predicted
m weathep conditions of January a
ruary attention \Vas drafni to 1
warning. That the other dire occur
rences h ive failed to occur will probably
have a tendency to give timid persons
confidence that the Vienna professional
Is nothing more than another false pro
phet.
"In January and February," he said,
"we shall have unprecedented cold waves,
cyclones and hurricanes at sea. with
great loss to shipping, especially on the
American coast and continent.
"Towards the end of March we shall
have earthquakes and destroying hail
storms.
"In July and August the earth will be
subjected to a tidal wave that will de
stroy the eastern coast of America. The
effect of a submarine earthquake will so
change the form of Florida and Califor
nia that they will become islands.
"On November 13. our planet is to
«me inTti contact wait the comet that is
known to astronomers :.s the comet of
1866 with the result that our planet will
be partially if not entirely destroyed."
Puch was the prediction that has made
many timid persons shudder with dread
for they have remembered that Profes
sor Falb had mad- predictions that had
been fulfilled. For instance several days
before the great earthquake at Zante in
March. 1893. he sent warnings to the
press in all parts of Europe and even
went so far as to postpone an engage
ment to lecture in that vicinity, saying
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F< TKNTISTS PREDIGT THAT THE COMET OF 1866 WILL STRIKE THE EARTH MONDAY AND THIS IS WHAT
! WILL HAPPEN.
that lie preferred to speak of the results^:
of the earthquake after it had occurred j
lather than be subjected to its unpleas-j
ant features. j
The earthquake came as Professor [
Falb predicted and when January and
February were conspicuous for tlnir
cold and the papers of Man h contained |
details of earthquakes more than one
prison began to believe that the end of i
tliis globe as an inhabitable planet was;
actually in prospect. Up to the present
time, however, tills lias been the limit of
the professor's prediction. There were
no tidal waves in Julv and August, the |
coast of America is still intact and nei
their Florida nor California have yet be
come islands.
As the result one has some reason to I
hope that the most uncomfortable part '
of Piofessor Fa lb's prediction will be'
carried out in the same manner for one
does not like to flunk of the end of the
old earth going to smash and in ilie man
ner that the Austrian astronomer lias
piedictod. He is of the opinion that the
meteoric display that is to occur on No- J
v* mber 13 and 14. is nothing mort- than:
the appearance of the army of meteors \
that accompany the Biela's comet. In
stead of passing by us in grand array the
comet itself will cullitde with the earth
and on this occasion, by a mixture of the
gases of the comet and the earth, a li
quid will result that will be similar to
benzine or petroleum and it will be the
province of this liquid to first soak and
then burn the earth and everything upon
it.
Unpleasant as such a prophecy may
seem there is some comfort in the thought
that this is not ilie first time that this
comet has been expected to bring tlie
earth to an untimely end. Years ago
it was predicted that It was to come into
collision with the earth and there were
those who were so foolish as to prepare
for' the general destruction.
So far as we are concerned tie history
of this comet dates back to February 27.
1826, when M. Biela. an astronomer
working in Bohemia, discovered a Ca nt
comet whose orbit, or path around the
sun was calculated to take about six and
three-quarters years. Early in 1828 at
tention was called to the fact that this
comet was soon to pass within 20,000
■nllec of the earth's orbit, but that as j
the earth did not meet that particular
spot until one month after the comet
had passed its inhabitants of this globe
! had gassed its inbabitapts of this g
nee(3 feed no apprehension.
At this time there were no prophets of
evil among the learned men. Astrono
mers and scientists generally were per
fectly satisfied that there was no cause
I for alarm, but. in spite of all this, a gen
eral panic ensued.
Of course It was shown that the as
tronomers were correct and nothing more
was heard of the comet until July, 1S39,
when it was billled to return again. This
me. howgver. it passed so near to the
m "that it was not observed. Its next
passage was fixed for February 11, 1846,
and by this time it was seen to have split
up into two separate and distinct parts
which were constantly going further from
each other. In March, 1846, the dis
tance between those two parts had be
come 157,240 miles and when the comet
returned in 1852 the distance had been
increased to 1,250,000 miles.
In 1859 the return of the comet was
again unobseived and in 1S66 astrono
mers watched for its coming with great
anxiety as they desired to see if it
! would appear as two distinct comets or
1 as one comet divided into two pieces. In
J spite of all the care that was exercised,
j however, the comet was not seen and it
was supposed that it had at last disap
peared from human vision. On Novem
ber 30. 1872. however, M. Klinkerfues, of
Gottingen, discovered the comet in the
■ form of a circular mass, but without any
tail. Before lie had time to observe it
closely it was lost in the sun's rays and
never since that time has it been seen.
In all probability the fate of this comet
has been that of all comets that ap
proach the sun too closely, in which case
they either fall into the vast mass of heat
and are consumed like moths in the flame
i of a lamp, or their substance is dissipated
in forming' tails of such extreme lengths
that they become so attenuated as to be
no longer visible. In other words all that
I now remains of Biela's comet is probably
stream of meteors or shooting !
:ely to hap- |
again cross j
-hall have a good i
brilliant me- 1
st<
irs and tin
■ worst that
pe
n to this e
arth, should
it. c
pathway.
is that we s
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porJunity
to witness
U'<
trie display
, a display t
an
y tiling tha
i '.lie world
Such is tiir
• history of
in
the opinion of I'rofe:
FID
• li to pu/
the quietus
f the comet, that j
sor Falb, is so ,
upon our toils i
and pleasures. In proof of his theory j
he advances many arguments and cites j
many insiancfs in which comets have |
been known to have come in contact with j
thu eaitli. In addition lie insists that |
he is ne. t a prophet but that tiis theories j
are nothing more than scientific investi-)
gâtions made public.
"The reason why I was able to predict
the appearance of the earthquake," he'
siijs, "was that I have made a close study I
of mundane anatomy. The interior of,
the earth is tilled with a molten mass, j
subject to ebb and How just like the wa- i
tors of the ocean. Between the surface i
of the earth and this molten mass, which
is slowly coding, there is nothing more!
than a shell that does not average more'
than eighteen miles in thickness. In ;
some places it is thinner than in others :
and fiam these places the confined forces)
escape in the form cd' gas. If no such)
outlet is found the Influence of the moon
is such that a tidal wave sweeps round
the inner crust of the earth and it is this '
that produces the terrible phenomena
that is popularly known as the earth- j
quake."
Suc h scientific argumentes are Impres-I
sive and alien nun of the standing of
Professor Falb commence to predict the
end of the world it is not strange that,
timid people tremble. In spite of this,
however, there sc ms to be no reason why
ids propht : y should c ause alarm and
Piofessor Falb will probably go down '
into history us a in thcr one of the many j
prophets of c e il wlic.sc. predictions have
« me to naught.
SMALL TEMl 'TATIONS.
"A small temptation, coming in the
midst of great need, is a severe strain on
anybody's honesty," said a young man
who recently found a job, after looking
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©J\ M» id£r\, fair, with, scornful air
And Up that laugï\p mocking glaa
VWtt\ flippant torie and ï\eart of stor\p
eye tl\at flaeiyes scornfully,
WK!\, haughty brow ai\d distant bow
And words t!\at npid a Ridden dart
Of bitter wit that's sure to rçit
Ai\d leave a wound within. Uye heart,
'ware what you do, for you ny^y rue
That you were npt nyore kirçi to ng
When. Tin\3 is flown, and you are jrown,
a maid forlorn. — and fifty-thrae!
for it all summer, to a reporter for the
New Orleans Tiines-Demoerat. "We
know, of course, that you wouldn't pick a
pocket or crack a safe, but suppose you
discovered that the restaurant man gave*
you a dime too much change, when you
were down to your last quarter—would
you go back and return it? Don't answer
that too hastily. I used to think I was
bullet proof myself, but I had a little
revelation on the subject one day last
month. It was just before 1 got my job,
and the only thing that kept me from
being stone broke was a nickel I was
hanging on to for luck. You may well be
lieve that I was feeling pretty blue, and
I was debating whether I had be tter
jump into a box car and beat my way to
Baton Rouge or jump into the river and
beat my way to the morgue, when l hap
pened to wander into a cigar store and
noticed a couple of slot machine s stand
ing on the end of the counter. 'Here goes
for a last chance,' I said to myself on the
impulse of the moment, and dropped my
lone nickel into one of the boxes. I gave
the lever a jab and stood there, with my
•heart in my mouth, waiting for the
wheels to stop spinning. They showed a
pair of fours, about the meanest, measli
est hand in the whole combination, and
silly as It may seem, the incident de
pressed me more than anything that had
happened since I got out of work. It
seemed to set the seal on my bad luck,
and I was standing there glowering at
the cards when the proprietor, who had
been in the rear, wlked forward, glanced
over my shoulder and threw down a cou
ple of dollars on the counter. For a mo
ment I was dumfounded, and then I un
derstood. You see, the other box was
showing a king full, which somebody had
evidently left standing, and he naturally
supposed I had played that machine. Did
I hesitate? Not for the thousandth part
of a second! I gathered the two dollars
and walked out, feeding my conscience
with the sophistry that all gambling de
vices were fair prey, and although I had
been guilty of an act that was more or
less on a moral par with stealing a watch
or tapping a till, it never occurred to me
that there was anything irregular in my
conduct until I was out of trouble and
drawing a good salary. Then I realized
suddenly that I had no right to the man's
two dollars; so I sauntered in and made
restitution. My victim laughed heartily
and said that I was a chump—or words
to that effect."
Special rates at the McDermott hotel
for the winter nionthB. *
JUMPING AT CONCLUSIONS.
c*r
"How is your nephew getting along in Chicago?"
"Firs* rate. 1 hear he carries everything before him.
"What restaurant does lie- work in?"
WIIKRK IGNORANCE IS It 1.0
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Drug Clerk—Well, madam, what is it you wish?
Mrs. Fairweather's Nurse (handing him a prescription)— -Faix, an' thot's
more thin I can tell yez. Latin is Greek to me!
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COFFEE DRINKERS.
The question of coffee drinking being
injurious is agitated for every now and
again; then the agitation subsides, and
people go on drinking it.
According to tile besi authorities, coffee
taken in moderation is not only harm
less, but highly In neficial. its value as a
stimulant Ims always been recognized,
and the fact that it is so highly prized as
■a beverage, if there were no other reason,
would go far to prove that it has a power
ful influence on the nervous system.
The action imparted to the nerves,
however, is natural and healthy, and
habitual coffee dt inkers generally enjoy
good health and live to a good old age.
For brain workers Us value cannot be
overestimated. It li :s been called the
"menial beverage." and, unlike alcohol,
the gentle ex id la i a t ion it produces is not
followed by any harmful reaction. Jt
causes conteiuini at of mind, allays bun
g'd' and bodily weakn-ss, and increases
the capacity for work.
I The mental exhilaration and physical
'•activity it causes explains the fondness
! for it which has been shown by so many
scientists, poets, scholars and others de
voted to thought. Its effect on the imag
ination. is remarkable, without causing
any subsequent depression, as in the ease
of narcotics. Raizae, the great French
novelist, declared that he could not have
"ritten the '('nmrdie Humaine" without
its aid.
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GRUMBLING. i - .
A not- d divine has declared that a. hus
band's grumbling and s aiding w..s often
only his n ay of beginning a conversation,
and lie maintained that if a man were
sulky the woise ho was the more cheerful
his wife should he. Certainly husband
and wife should hear and forbear, he
says, and the soft answer lurnelh away
wrath more effectively by the domestic
hearth than elsewhere. Then business is
olu ii wonying, and th husband coming
home needs and usualiy deserves to find
there all soothing and calming influences.
But surely R should be mutual kindness;
at times Urn man must take his turn in
meeting irritability or low spirits with
cheerfulness and kind, gentle considera
tion! As to the theory that the wisest
and hist com se is for tlie* wife of a sulky,
tyrannical man always just to give in
and crouch before the storm, he does not
think that is either good policy or real
kindness ultimately to the man himself,
MODEST BRAVE MEN.
Youth's Companion: The really bra* -
man's story about his own demis is al
ways modest. Not unfrequent l.v he is
unable to give any account of them
which is satisfactory to his hearers. The
reporters who ".interviewed" soldiers
wounded on San Juan bill had a hard!
time in getting "stories" from them. Ono
soldier said:
"There isn't a thing to tell. I only
went tu» there, with a lot of other
chumps, and got shot. 1 didn't even!
have sense enough to know it when X
was shot."
Not long ago a French chroniquer—
MoivtmiraiJ of the Paris Gaulois— encoun
tered in a little village in the south of
France a gardener who wore pinned on
his clean Sunday blouse the ribbon of
the Legion of Honor. Naturally, the
newspaper man desired to know how ha
got it.
The gardener, who, like many of hia
trade, seemed to be a silent man. was
averse to meeting an old and wearisome
demand, but finally he began:
"Oli, I don't know how l did get it. X
was at B izeilles with the rest of the bat
tery. All the officers were killed; then
down went all the non-commissioned
officers. Rang! bang! bang! By and byf
all the soldiers were down but me. 1 had
fired the last shot, and naturally was
doing what I could to stand off the
Bavarians.
"Well, a general came, and says
'Where's your officers'"
" 'All down,' says 1.
" 'Where's your gunners?' says lie.
" 'All down but me,' says I.
" 'And you've been fighting here all
alone?' says he.
•• 'I couldn't let 'em come and get tha
guns, could I?' I says. And then lie up
and pift tliis ribbon on me, probably be
cause there waa nobody else there ta
put it on." !
ELBOW GREASE ELECTRICITY.
If all the electricity made by cleaning
windows in the country, by rubbing tha
glass with a cloth, could be collected and
stored, it would at once solve the smoke
difficulty of all the railways by allowing
the trains to be run by electric motors. é
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