The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-03-07
A WORD FOR fHE FUTURE.

i We have no criterion by which
, judge the future but the past; al
y taking this as a basis, We wish
y glance briefly at the future prosDee
: of our country, considered both mo
: ally and socially. Let US look for am
n ment at the condition Of our flourish
I ing land fifty years ago.
Where now the shrill whistle of tn
5 locomotive is heard, as it rushes aIou
e with almost lightning speed, bearin
: its thousands and thousands ofhuma
! souls over the broad prairies an
t through the densely populated cite
e then was seen only esmOke ascend
! ing from asOlitary cabin; the stillnes
around unbroken save BY the re
sounding strokes of the woOdman's 8
/ or the bowling Of the wolves as the
rOamed through the forests seeking fo
prey. Then the farmer yoked hi
oxen and travelled fifty miles over a.
unbroken road to mill and thought
no hardship. Then the girls wer
taught something of more impOrtane
than filling their brains with thought
Of young men, while these were neve
seen sauntering along idly, their hat
tipped earelessly to one side, holdint
aminiature engine in their mouth. No
They were early taught that ''by tn,
sweat Of the brow shall men earn thei
bread, I" and not enly taught but force,
to put it in practice.
Did those farmers, those early set
tiers, ever dream that where theil
cabin stood then, woulds arise the fu
ture great cities, and the locomotive
go plunging through their then vel
cultivated fields? Did they ever think
that their noble river, the Mississippi
would bear upon its broad bosom the
mighty steamer? That which was
then a dense wilderness would, by en-
igration and progress in civilization,
be made to bud and blossom as the
rose? Nosueh thoughts ever entered
those humble peasants minds. But
man in his great love for glory has
sought out many inventions. He has
converted steam intoa a mighty agency,
and placed lightning under his control.
No longer is seen the rumbling stage
coach bearing the wearied passengers
over the rough, uneven roads.
Instead we are enabled to traverse the
United States from the coasts of
Maine TO the borders Of Florida, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, with al
most the same degree Of ease and
comfort as if sitting at home I'm our
own parlOrs. We must not stop to
enumerate the many improvements;
they are apparent to all, but we will
glance into the future.
It seems to Us now, as it seemed
to those peasants afty years ago, that
improvement over the present state
Of things i impossible, but what man
has done, man can do, and we living
in this nineteenth century, are we
permitted to see fifty more years pass
over our heads, will glance with as
much wonder and astonisment at the
improvements then over those OF the
present time, as did those ineredulous
people gathered on the banks of the
Hudson, when they saw that great
clumsy steamboat, Robert Fulton,
was moving slowly along propelled
by steam only.
Already has the idea entered the
minds of some Of inventIng a ma
chine by which the farmer, instead of
the very wearisOme way he now has
of cutting his grain, being compelled
may 'nrC tiI5 jla,s---izas. -4ssls,,
send it to the field and wait patiently,
passing the time as pleasantly as he
pleases until the shrill whistle shall
announce to him that the work is
completed. And We ladies, the time
is coming when you will be delivered
from the household drudgery. Your
meals will be cooked, brought to the
table and taken away again by ma
chinery, your floors will be swept aud
furniture busted by steam. In fact,
judging the future by the past, We
feel that ere another century is added
to the worlds history it will be COM
pletely controlled by machinery.
But improvements are not all to be
confined to mechanism. No, in science,
in literature, in educational pursuits,
will the improvements and progress
be just as marked. Education, were it
only for the enjoyment it affords Us
here, were still amply worth acquire
ment; but when we consider it to be
an ever increasing, ever Frightening
ornament of the soul throughout the
countless ages of eternity, then indeed
is it fraugnt with deep, a thrilling
interest. Behold the naturalist; with
what delight he delOrs into the rich
mines of nature; he finds volume of
instruction in the minutest particle of
matter; for him the smallest flower
bears upon its tiny petals a volume of
interest. The mathematician delights
in pursuing his researches through the
may Iabyrinths of mathematics,
toiling for their great truths, which
shine more brightly for him on ae-
count of the labor required to obtain
them. The astronomer scars away
from earth, in his imagination, visits
unnumbered Eworlds, holds commune
with the inhabitants, listens to the
music of the spheres, pursues the
comet in its eccentric flight, aud in
vestigates the laws which regulate, and
computes the attractions that bind
these revolving system intOs one har-
mOniOus whole.
Theirs is q high, a noble destiny for
man. Each day the conflict between
right aud wrong, between justice and
aggression, between freedom and des-
pOtism wages more fiereely. 1t is
education, that beautiful developer OF
intellect, which can in the future ft
the mind for this great conflict. This
alone, rightly directed, can conduct
man triumphantly through the tenn
pests of life. In nothing has there
ever been more advancement made
than in education, and in nothing is
there more room for improvement in
the future. But we must now leave
this, our faYOrite theme, as we wish
TO glance briefly at the political field.
The trouble which now threatens
US, caused by England's repudiating
arbitration which it invited, and th'
treaty to which it was anTequal anC
consenting party in settling the Ala
bama Claims, promises to be no ligh
and trihing affair. Unquestionabll
England is nov in a better condition
to dictate the terms on which tn
claims shall be settled, than she wa
one year ago. Then she was threat
ened with war by Russia, while tn