Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-12-03
The influence of Science on Business Mel

The influence of Science on Business Men
| The great mass of the business people of
the world in such an active, bustling see as
our own, when the acquisition of money seems
to be the great object of all, regard scientific
pursuits as bordering a little on the Insane
Who is more dreaded than poor inventor,
with patent right in his pocket, obtained af,
ter years of study, and at the sacrifice of eve
ry comfort ? What a deaf ear is turned to
his theory and bis explanations? What pro.
found nonsense does it appear to too many to
be contriving "cut offs" for steam engines
spikes, and chairs for railways, cylinder pres
ses for newspapers, hot air furnaces, gas light
and cooking apparatus for our homes Did
not the world exist without these Is it any
better than it was two thousand years age
What is the good of continually building OF
servatores and gazing at the stars What
crazy people are these chemists perpetually
attempting to analyze everything these ge-
ologists running about and knocking stones
to pieces with their hammers Why do they
not set themselves down to some honest every
day employment, and earn their living as 9TH
er people do?
This is the kind of remark enc hears every
day, and which makes the unhappy votaries of
science indignant at mankind. Why should |
work hard with my own hands, ard such fel-
lows get along with clear brains, asks many
an inconsiderate, yet good hearted man, who
does not favor the inequalities of life.
This is onesided view, however, and can
not be Justly taken To no class is the world
more indebted than to what are called scienti-
fc men. These are the most efficient friends
of humanity, and to their exertions we owe
nearly all our comforts and our prosperity.
What would we do without the steam ell
gine, which converts water into the most USE
full power at work upon the globe, that ena-
bles us to travel thousands of miles in a day,
to cross oceans with the greatest swiftness and
certainty, to set millions of spindIes at work
to create the fabrics which we wear, to shape
our implements of husbandry hammer out our
weapons of defence, lift onr coal from the
mine shafts and do the work of hundreds of
men in a minute.
What could we do without the incessant
| vigilance of the inventors in detail, who are
continually Contriving how to econOmize the
power, to lessen the friction of machinery, to
devise new forms of motion, and to make it
applicable to every variety of labor.
How could we travel so swiftly over our
iron roads, if the minutest parts of their fix
lures were not accurately considered and sci
entifcally arranged What would railroad
train do ON a curve unless carefully laid down,
having a constant relation to its radius existing
IN the mind, and reduced to practice 10y the
engineer. How would newspapers be so cheap
and so abundant but for such admirable con-
trivances as those of Hoe We take up pa
per which costs us two cents, and do not ccn-
slider what years of toll and study it has re-
quired to produce it. How should we get our
dinners without coal ranges, or live comforta-
| bly, through our cold winters without hot air
furnaces and the economical use of heat ?
How could we light our dwellings so cheaply
and brilliantly without the ingenious prepara-
ton of gas How could we find our way
/ from port to port, without knowledge of the
stars the variation of the magnetic needle,
| the direction of the currents, and the sound
! ngs of the deep sea line How would we
know what fertilizers to apply to worn out
| Soils how to stimulate the growth of plants
but for the Iabors of the agricultural chemists?
| What food to prefer for our sustenance, what
remedies to apply to our disordered frames but
| for the ANALYTICAL What erumbling edifices,
| what insecure marine structures would we not
erect but for the abors of the geologist ?
| How little would we know of nature or our
selves, but for the unfaggng, yet almost un-
| honored laborS of scientific men
The world two thousand years ago, no doubt
was very respectable world in its way, but
it was chaos, compared to what it is now
Houses without roofs. dwellings without car
pets, food without variety, people without
books, without shoes, without hats, without
shirts, may have been very brave, very COM
panonable, very good and very heroic ; but a
mechanic of the present day, with the ordina-
ry success of modern life, is better fed, housed,
clothed, and instructed than the greatest prince
of ancient times, with all their barbaric gold
and silver. Yes, better off in all respects than
even Queen Bess, of more modern era, whose
apartments were strewed with straw, and who
wore silk stockings as a curiosity.
Science is eminently practical 1t is at the
bottom of all our rational and healthy enjoy
ments it is the foundation upon which all our
modern improvements have been erected. The
press of our day begins to recognize this truth,
in the care 1t takes to chronicle every advance
they make Let Us then regard with respect
these men of science, the friends of our race
and our country, and give them the place IL
our esteem they so richly deserve. Money is
certainly the prevailing, the almost insane de
sire of the day, but let us not forget those whe
help us make it, and of which too commonly
they obtain but a small share for themselves
CLoUDs.-If it were possible to pass through
Al, II Il