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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the subject. It is clear that yery many 

 volunteer canvassers will be needed to secure 

 success. Each census blank contains in- 

 structions to the collector and places for 

 twenty-five names; and special blanks for 

 the "Yes" cases are furnished in addition. 

 I shall be most happy to supply these blanks 

 to any one who will be good enough to make 

 application for them to 

 Yours truly, 



(Professor) William James, 

 Harvard Uatversity, Cambridge, Mabs. 



THE MYSTEKIOUS MUSIC OF PASCAGOTJLA. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Sir : Mr. Chidsey's article upon The Mys- 

 terious Music of Pascagoula, in your April 

 number, recalls a recent experience of mine. 

 While cruising on the west coast of Florida, 

 we lay at anchor one night at Rocky Point 

 in Old Tampa Bay, and heard most distinct- 

 ly a very curious musical note of some deni- 

 zen of the water. The sound consisted of a 

 single note, and was continuous for a long 



time. It recalled the singing of telegraph 

 wires, or the hum of a planing-mill, or the 

 music of an iEolian harp. It occasionally 

 approached or receded, and more than one 

 such note — apparently from different animals 

 — could at times be heard at once. In our 

 cabin the sound seemed very distinct, but it 

 was in reality probably faint, as it was hard- 

 ly, or not at all, audible upon deck. My 

 companion and myself have both cruised 

 along the Gulf coast south of that point be- 

 fore, but had never heard this sound any- 

 where else; our captain, also, had never 

 heard it anywhere else, but said it was al- 

 ways to be heard at Rocky Point, which is a 

 principal oystering-ground for Tampa. The 

 sound bore no resemblance to that of the 

 drum, which is very common in Florida, and 

 which is a booming, interrupted noise. Its 

 most remarkable peculiarity was its steady 

 continuance — it certainly often lasted with- 

 out interruption for several minutes. 



Yours, etc., William M. Meigs. 



216 South Third Street, 



Philadelphia, April 16, 1890. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



A MORAL ISSUE. 



TO many of our friends, as we learn 

 from letters that reach us from 

 time to time, the position that The 

 Popular Science Monthly takes up on 

 political and economical questions ap- 

 pears more or less "onesided." They 

 would wish us, if we can not throw our 

 influence on the side of paternal and 

 protective government, at least to hold 

 the scales even between that system 

 and the anti-paternal, anti-protective 

 system, to which manifestly our pref- 

 erence is given. We are sorry to dis- 

 appoint any who find our pages suffi- 

 ciently interesting to command their 

 attention, but we do not see that we can 

 abandon our present attitude. There is 

 enough of trimming, enough of com- 

 promise, enough of the non-committal 

 style of writing in the newspaper press: 

 a magazine that professes to represent 

 science may be pardoned for being true 

 to what it conceives to be the teachings 

 of science. What we are compelled to 

 see in the restrictions that governments 

 impose upon the course of trade is not 



a true statesmanship or a generous pub- 

 lic policy, but simply a series of trans- 

 actions, or, as they are now more fa- 

 miliarly called, " deals " with different 

 private interests. Who can truthfully 

 deny that this is the case ? Certain 

 manufacturers ask for protection and 

 get it. What is their object in asking ? 

 Surely their own private gain. What 

 do they ask? That other people may 

 be forced to buy their goods, so long as 

 the price is kept within a certain figure 

 which is fixed far above the value of 

 such goods in the markets of the world. 

 Is this a righteous demand to make ? It 

 seems to us far from righteous. It seems 

 to us that a man who approaches the 

 Legislature with a request that the pow- 

 er may be conferred upon him by law 

 to force his goods at a high price upon 

 people who could buy, and would much 

 prefer to buy, other goods at a lower 

 price, comes forward with an essentially 

 immoral proposition. But what if the 

 people at large accept the proposition, 

 it may be asked. What if they are will- 

 ing to impose a heavy tax upon them- 



