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Show RELATION 0F: SCIENCE TO RELIGION THEME OF DISCOURSE AT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. j Rev. Carver Discusses Scientific Aspect As-pect of Recent World Startling Catastrophe and Draws Moral. Speaking from tho themo of "Tho Relation of Sclenco to Religion, in It?, bearing Upon Prayer," Rev. Carver said. In part: "Tho scientific world was startled this past week by a lengthy statement made by Camllle Flammarion, tho well known French astronomer and geologist, In which he advanced the-theory the-theory that the great Italian earthquake earth-quake might have radium as Its real swer to his prayer was not In the earthquake or the fire, but in the still small voice. God does not usually speak to his children through great physical phenomeuae. There i d world of spirit and a world of nature, and while tho world of naturo has many a message concerning the power anJ wlsdon of God, It Is to the world cf the spirit that we go for our communion com-munion with Him. Jesus Christ soemed to clearly Imply that naturo had Its fixed laws when he spoke ot those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell. They died because, of tho workings work-ings of great laws which almost always al-ways work for man's great benefit. When we think of the magnitude ot our solar system and tho power ol our many natural laws.- all essential to our world's regulation and perfect-ness. perfect-ness. It is simply marvelous that so j-eldom does it all work to tho harm' I of man. Tho number of deaths caused by machinery and mechanisms mechan-isms Is far In excess of that caused through the-workings of the laws of nature. In one of our Btore windows there was this week a strange combination of pictures. One was a beautiful scene of tho coast country now devastated devas-tated by this disaster, and the other the life-size portrait of .Evelyn Thaw so tinted as to idiow her real beauty X- . f . . 1 t si n n.ii Ti . . r. S rsow, nere was ioou ior our inougni. Groat forces of nature have devastated devas-tated the scene of the one. Great powers of sin ruined tho other. Thu world Is amazed at the national ruin, but sees fair girls and strong men and children and homes ruined in numbers far beyond that ot this earthquake, earth-quake, and having the power to check it, simply does nothing. We say It is awful to think of this Sicilian tragedy, and it is; but we are so ac-cuFtomed ac-cuFtomed to the deadly harvest and blight of sin and all its cursed allies that tho youth of our laild and tho men of our street can be ruined In living death and shame In great numbers num-bers without our nation becoming either aroused or alarmed. Let us never condemn God for the one while e are Indifferent to the other." ource. and that it was chemical In Its origin rather than physical. Let us examine the scientist's grounds for his statement "We have always been told that, lr. the formative process of our globe's development, the portions near lhv2 roles would become stable or cold first, and In accordance with this hy-I hy-I otb'.'sls the volcanoes would die near the poles earliest and be active long-esl long-esl near the equator, and, furthermore, further-more, the gases and matter near the equator would be readjusted last, for there the heat would bo nearer th3 surface. Facts bear out this well known theory. Alaska has a greac dead volcanic region where ages ago there must have been terrific shocks. The same is true of Iceland and our Yellowstone Park, Snake river, and Copper mountain regions. Now, the cooling would be retarded most near the water, therefore, we havo great earthquake centers of Japan, Sicily and even San Francisco. This Is not absolutely true, however, fcr in 1SU the lower Mississippi river region suffered what was probably the most violent earthquake of recent years, but as there were but very few people peo-ple there then the fatality was very slight. "The world's greatest earthquake ' region is at the scene of the recent disaster. Mount Aetna is today one great solid lava cone. 10,937 feet hh. and as much of the upper part has been worn away, It was once probably Ju.UOU leet oi pure iava. i nis was thrown up so long ago that the lower 0,000 feet has so far disintegrated that It is very fertile. Therefore It la much older than our Snake river lava country. The ancient hlstor'an Thucydides," writing In 425 B. C. tells us of its great eruptions and lava streams in his day. Later there were four violent eruptions 'between 110 and 121 B. C, and from 79 to 1508 there were twenty-seven earthquakes near it and four most severe ones. The last very severe one was in 1603. These very severe ones seem to occur oc-cur about every 250 years. There are three of our greatest volcanoes in thia region: Aetna, Vesuvius and Strom-boll, Strom-boll, and yet these three can not furnish fur-nish an outlet for the powers beneath. Now, the peculiar thing is that all the earthquakes of this particular region occur so near the earth's surface. We know this because they are of such limited area In effect. An eruption does not affect a wide region. This shock was not noticed even as faivas Naples. The Charleston earthquake was, In 1886, felt within a radius of 1,500 miles. The Lisbon earthquako was felt over a region three times the area of all Europe, so Humbolt tells um. The San Francisco earthquako was felt by the Instruments almost around the globe. These, therefore, were far deeper In the earth; but the lecent one was near the surface How, could It be so violent? Now, we know that normally temperature increases one degree centigrade to every ev-ery thirty-five meters of depth; but in Sicily it increases far more rap-Idly rap-Idly than elsewhere. The tension of steam vapor Increases more rapidly than atmosphere. Steam vapor attains at-tains 5,000 atmospheres at 1.000 degrees de-grees centigrade, but at 1.300 degrot s centigrade steam vapor is at a tension of 1,000 atmospheres. Now we know that the temperature at the bottom of Aetna Is at least 1,500 degrees centigrade, centi-grade, therefore, the steam vapor at that level, by the Infiltration of wa- icr, must u in euu.- m ble equilibrium and would be powerfully power-fully released by the slightest circumstance. cir-cumstance. Usually the three volcanoes volca-noes can furnish a vent for this, but once about every 250 years it has gathered in greater power and a terrific ter-rific displacement occurs. "Now, note the two peculiar farts relative to. this Sicilian region. First, it Is a permanent volcanic region; it does not die a3 other regions have done; and, secondly, it Is a region where tbe steam vapor Is rear to the surface, as shown by the limited area of the effect of the shock; but, beins near the surface, It should. If it is ci-used by physical reasons, die sooner than regions like Iceland and Snake liver and India. This, however, It has not done. and. therefore, says Flammarion, it probably is not of a physical origin. But if not physical, heat, then what? Probably, and i-;o6t likely, chemical heat. Do -,ve know of any chemlCAl rower that could keop such tremendous heat so long? Yes, says Flammarion, there could be a chemical chemi-cal origin, to which radium or some unknown kindred substance would be the source. .Now, I give you this argument ar-gument for your consideration. If it he worthy, says Flammarion, of tha world's thought, then why not com nience a thorough scientific examine 1 Hon in this Sicilian region by a means of a gigantic well to ascertain If posslblo the conditions of th ean'i J I,, this most interesting region. Sl? : m undertaking would be entire within the limits of the rcseut dny engineering skill, as the h.a.t la W near the surface in tY. , ltrr.red ' i-clnlty. i-clnlty. History tf.U j: Wul earthquake In Sicily lr K9J. hcn rifty-four cities and ton hu'-'.red villages vil-lages were entirely w!; cd o.i-. and the entire island I'd 11 as densely yopuU tiu-n as now the iv?s of Ufa wo;)J hfl'O been enormous. enor-mous. "No-, m'i.y e ago. a devout man e.'uV.. mirta.e from God.. .!' r ril'L'f i, ng ' ot Pra'cr thorc v : a 'curil.Muafc and fire, Imt the au- |