Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-02-09
What Ought a Mechanic to Know !!

WE cannot answer this question for
every special trade, but there are certain
principles involved which apply to all
conditions of labor, and these we can en-
ploy for the solution of the inquiry.
There was q time when labor with the
hands was a disgrace, and from the num-
Der of poor doctors, briefiess lawyers, and
churchless devines there are to be met
with even nowadays, we might infer
that some people still had a lingering fear
of soiling their fingers with undignited
labor.
According to an old India legend, the
priesthood came from the head, the soldier
from the arms, and the mechanic from the
feet, of the god Brahma. 1t was in the
interest of the priesthood to keep out all
knowledge, as their religion was founded
on superstition, and would not bear the
light of science. No doubt the mechanic
of those days was expected to know very
little, as very little was required of him,
and civilization and the arts were made to
suffer in consequence. Some important
discoveries were made, Notwithstanding
the discouraging circumstances, but no
body knew how TO use them. The Chi
nese invented gunpowder several thousand
years ago, but did not know how to use
it for any other purpose than for fire.
works. Many chemical compounds were
known to the Arabs, but they appear to
have had no application for them. There
was want of knowledge on all sides
progress was necessarily slow.
We have attained great prosperity In
our day, because our industry has been
raised to the high condition of art. If we
do not wish to retrograde, we must take
care that our mechanics receive an educa-
ton in many branches of knowledge, and
we now propose to point out what some
of the requirements are.
The mechanic must learn to know the
forces of nature, in order to apply them to
his wants. If he does not understand these
forces he will be constantly exposed to
errors and loss. Arkwright 'labored for
years upon his loom, without being able to
Complete it, and it was not until his part
ner, Strut, brought a knowledge OF
mechanics to bear, that the invention was
perfected. Watt could never have con-
structed his steam engine if he had not
previously learned from DIR. Black the
laws governing the expansion OF vapors ;
and he had the good fortune to live in an
age, where there were enough people who
derstood the laws of physics TO be able to
appreciate and sustain his invention. The
celebrated French Professor Papin was
not so fortunate He attempted to con-
struct a steamboat in 1890, and was so far
successful as to propel it as far as the
source of the Weser River. In order to
descend this river with his boat it was
necessary for him to obtain the consent of
the King of Hanover. He accordingly
wrote letter to the great German philos-
opher, Leibnitz, accompanied by plans and
| specifications of his invention, and asking
the poweaful interposition of the philopher,
with the ministry, to obtain this permis-
sion. The original letter is preserved In
the library at Hanover, and the petition OF
Leibnitz, also, sustaining with all the fore
thought of great mind, the request OF
the French refugee; but the opposition OF
the boatmen, and the Ignorance OF the
ministry defeated the whole enterprise,
and Papin was driven out of the country,
and is supposed 10 have died In great
poverty in England.
The laws of nature that the mechanic
must understand are classed under the
general name of physics; heat, light, elec
tricity, ahd magnetism, are the distin
gushing forces, and they ought to be wei
Understood and studied by every artizan
According to the modern law of conser
yation, the sum total of forces in the uni
verse is the same now as at the creation
the only difference being that they hav'
changed places. If we let ball fall {,
the earth, the motion impaired by grayi