The Teslian - Vol. I, No. 6 Page 3

COMMUNICATION WITH MARS?

Since Schiaparelli's discovery of the "canals" on Mars, opinions have been expressed in support of possible life on the mysterious red planet. Many important names in astronomical society have aligned themselves on both sides of this argument; the name of Tesla too has been associated with the controversy. The year 1956 will be of importance to astronomers as the planet Mars will be in favorable opposition (the last favorable opposition occurred in 1939). An effort will then be made to photograph Mars for the first time continuously, with the hope that some frame will catch its surface unobscured by cloudy mists.

Mr. Fred B. Pitzer of Jersey City has recently brought to my attention a book entitled,

A TRIP TO MARS
(or, Won by Sheer Pluck)
by
Weldon J. Cobb.

No. 835 of the
"New Medal Library" series.

320 pages.

Copyright, 1901
by N. L. Munro
Copyright, 1915
by Street & Smith

This paper-covered pulp edition is on a juvenile level, but particularly interesting in that Nikola Tesla is one of the motivating characters. The question whether permission had to be secured to use Tesla's name so freely in connection with the subject embraced by this story has been raised.

The setting for the story "A Trip to Mars" takes place when Mars was near favorable opposition. (Author incorrectly refers to the nearest position of Mars relative to Earth as "conjunction.") The story opens with Frank Edison (young relative of the famed inventor) being forced to flee from Camden University by a pair of janitorial assistants. Edison had been previously suspended from the college because of his dangerous scientific experiments which precipitated a wild riot. Since that time, however, he had been working secretly in a campus laboratory of a professor who had taken a particular liking to Edison.

Young Edison literally bumps into a tramp on his wanderings after leaving Camden, and a permanent friendship begins. The pair move on to New York City where they hope to cash-in on a stock market tip, and there meet the professor who discloses that his laboratory had been destroyed by an explosion. (Edison recalls that he had an explosive experiment brewing when forced to flee!)