TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



401 



above the ground to be very well view- 

 ed in the early evening. The rings are 

 well opened out, and these with its 

 brighter moons make it one of the 

 most interesting of all objects in the 

 telescope. This is the last month of 

 the present year, however, during 

 which Saturn can be satisfactorily ob- 

 served in the early evening. 



An Open Letter to Mr. Andrew 

 Carnegie. 



I have noted with much pleasure your 

 interesting article in the March number 

 ■of the "Woman's Home Companion" in 

 which you say : 



"What are among the best practical 

 uses to which wealth may be put? Per- 

 haps the most important of all is the 

 founding of great universities. In con- 

 nection with them should be observatories 

 completely equipped for the study of 

 astronomy, in order to carry further our 

 knowledge of the universe and of our 

 relation to it here upon earth- But as 

 the need for establishing new institutions 

 of universal learning perhaps no longer 

 exists in this country, great good can be 

 accomplished by adding to and extending 

 "the facilities of those already in exist- 

 ence." 



More universities are undoubtedlv 

 needed to extend a knowledge of the 

 things that are already known, but great 

 observatories in connection with great 

 universities will not accomplish that ob- 

 ject- The university may increase and 

 make knowledge popular, but the work 

 of great observatories is to increase the 

 sum of human knowledge of the heavens. 

 A greater number of astronomical obser- 

 vatories in connection with a greater 

 number of universities would be a jux- 

 taposition of incongruous concepts, be- 

 cause the university teaches while the 

 great observatory accumulates- You 

 presumably have in mind a desire, per- 

 haps the intention, to disseminate a 

 knowledge of astronomical realms. There 

 may be need of one great observatory in 

 the East for the accumulating of more 

 astronomical knowledge, but it is doubt- 

 ful. What are really needed are less 

 rigid financial facilities for the observa- 

 tories that are already established ; if 

 that were accomplished the accumulation 

 of a knowledge of facts astronomical 

 would take care of itself- 



But to disseminate knowledge an en- 

 tirely different type of observatory is 



r.eeded, a large number of moderate 

 sized observatories, so that one might be 

 in every town and city of the United 

 States. Here at Sound Beach, a small 

 community but with easy access from the 

 city of Stamford and the Borough of 

 Greenwich, we have recently completed 

 an observatory costing about $1,300. This 

 will do fairly well for this community, 

 but the ideal observatory would be one 

 that should cost some $6,000 or $7,000, 

 ])0ssibly, in larger communities, $10,000- 

 i should not advise the town to go much 

 beyond that, but I would put an enthusi- 

 astic man in charge and have him devote 

 all his time to the task of showing the 

 public what has already been discovered. 

 He should have a lecture hall, and at 

 least one assistant, so that when he is 

 talking to visitors, and using lantern 

 slides, he should have some one to mani- 

 pulate the telescope. In smaller places 

 the astronomer would probably not need 

 an assistant. Let me suggest that the 

 grandest and greatest thing that you 

 could do in the most uplifting of sciences 

 in the disseminating of knowledge among 

 humanity would be to establish a series of 

 such observatories, and to provide for 

 their maintenance for, say, five years. 

 Erect an observatory in each of ten 

 places. This would cost as a total about 

 $50,000 for establishing, and perhaps 

 $12,000 a year for maintenance, or for five 

 years $50,000 to establish and $60,000 to 

 maintain. Could you invest $110,000 to 

 better advantage ? The plan would prove 

 practical, and, I am sure, you would con- 

 sider it worth while to establish a series 

 of such observatories near to leading cen- 

 ters, and to maintain them in perpetuity, 

 or as you do with your famous libraries, 

 arrange for the local community to pro- 

 vide a part or even all of the maintenance. 

 There are, I believe, many places in which 

 the observatory would be carried on local- 

 Iv if once established, but I am sure that 

 it would be dangerous to establish such 

 in connection with any college or any 

 high school- The tendency would then 

 be to use it merely for class work. .\s the 

 teaching is now conducted in many of 

 these places, that would take the heart 

 out of the whole thing, and the pupils 

 would soon detest the tiresome array of 

 facts and figures- 

 Yon have accomplished great and won- 

 derful results in establishing public libra- 

 ries, but you never could have secured 

 those results if you had established the 

 libraries in connection with universities. 



