| Show BIGGEST ON EARTH A Telescope ThafAIvan G Clark I Constructing FOR MOUNT WILSON CALIFORNIAns f 1f CALIFORNIA-ns Will b Forty Inches In Dame r of The lick ObservatoryOpinions trofessor Ifolilen SfxJcialXoTHE HERALD nxamlncr Dispatch BOSTON Sept 29The Examiner correspondent corres-pondent took a trip yesterday over to the Alvan G Clark lens making establishment in Combridgeport Tho correspondent desired de-sired to learn what preparations are being the for the made there for grinding glass largest mae telescope in the world to be located on Mount Wilson Southern California The lens of the Lick telescope which Clark also made is thirtysix inches that for Mount Wilson to be forty Inches Mr Clarke said that as yet no contract had been made with him by the trustees of tho Spence telescope fund with which tho observatory ob-servatory is t be built but expects a formal for-mal agreement will be entered into soon as the glass from which the lens Is to made has been cast in France and the other disc has been ordered The huge glass is on exhibition ex-hibition at the Paris exposition and may arrive hero next month Mr Clark read a telegram which he re roived from the trustees lately which authorized au-thorized him to pay UOOOd francs for the big glass when received 20000 francs for the disc when it arrives and 40000 francs lore when the work is pronounced satisfactory satis-factory The glass was cast by Mantois a 1 young Frenchman These terms were forwarded for-warded to Mantels but Clark declined to assume the responsibility for their payment pay-ment Mantois replied that he knew Clark I and did not know the trustee and would prefer to have Clarks promise of payment Clark in answer stated that the trustees are responsible men and worth millions but the question of giving Alantois security that would satisfy him is still pending The trustees are F SpencE J P Widney H Sinsabaugh P M Greene 1 M Bouvardand RJti Widney Muntois will probably not cast the disc until the other glass is paid for There is no doubt though said Clark about paying for the glass When I was n California last winter on this business I was sitting in the PalUce hotel when a ireat big towering man came up to me and a5kd how the telescope was getting along Ve had not talked more than a minute when he told me to call on him whenever none ww needed I told him that the making of the glass had better be begun H asked hoiv much it would cost I said about twenty thousand francs He immediately sat down in the bar room and wrote a note to the trustees guaranteeing guarantee-ing the payment of the entire amount That man was Daniel Freeman of Los Angeles At a little private dinner Spence gave when I visited Mount Wilson he said he had determined to put up an observatory no matter how much the cost Five hundred hun-dred thousand dollars at least will be needed Mrs J DeBarth Shorb of Los Angeles will also contribute largely Her I father was ho Wilson after whom the mountain was named and she is willing to spend money t have the largest telescope over constructed put there She is very rich The observatory is tobe nathed after Spence who has already given land worth about one hundred thousand dollars as a trust fund Mr Clark also stne the surprising fact that Mr Widney totdihim ue would put iijjmore than that if theob I scrvatory were named after him My preliminary work on the glass will JP done here but I think Ill do most of it in California The trustees might have got 30000 which Miss Green of Boston recently re-cently gave to Harvard college for astronomical nomical work outside of Massachusetts She was ready t devote that sum to the new observatory but the properassurances from the trustees weN lacking Harvard has an observatory on Mount Wilson and may use her money there The Examiner correspondent further learned that Mr Plum one of the Lick trustees visited Cltrk a few days ago and told him that the pier of the Lick telescope was still so shaky that he s cannot take photographs with the big I instrument The trustees now intend propping it up with brickwork inside the iron pier Clark says he was charged with letting the public know the defects of the mounting I of the Lick telescope soon after i tt StC i ma I it was put in place but that accusation was false It had been supposed that these defects de-fects were corrected the contractors of I the pier having been paid Clark advised the making ot an entriely new pier which would perhaps cost 50000 While talking about tho Lick observatory I observa-tory Mr Clark let out nn incident showing how Prof Holden who is a director of it I is regarded by at least one of the regents of the state university with whom his tenure of office rests Clark was seated at lunch one day at the Palace hotel and Judge Hager was in the chair next to him Clark said Hager how is Holden Hes well said Clark I mean how is he as an astrooiner Well hes a good astronomer was Clarks reply He stands high among astronomers I see you dont want to talk about him I remarked H ijei impetuously but Ill tel you what I think of him I am not very well up in astronomy myself and 1 cant j say whether he is a good astronomer or not hut I do know that if he dees not make a better showing as director of the observa lory than he did as president of the university uni-versity hell be a blanked failure Everybody around the table heard this speech added Clark To show how frank California people I are in expressing their opinions when Clark was puttine in the lens on Mount Hamilton during the winter two j ears gObo gO-bo became very friendl with Captain Fiovcd in charge of the observatory This year he proposed Captain Floyd for membership i I mem-bership in the American Association for I theAdvancement Science and at a late meeting his name was read A member got up and said Captain Floyd was dead and as he asserted with great emphasis he knew elected that t be a fact the captain was not |
