Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1886-02-06
A HUNDRED YEARS HENCE.
HUMAN PROGRESS IN 1.-THE AGE OF
ENLIGHTENMENT"
Aerial Navigation-One Government on
Earth The Worlds News at Sunrise
signaling venus-Dweilings-
schooIs-yagabonda

shall take the liberty Of transporting
you 100 years into the future. 1t is 1886,
Jan. / If you look back to 1886, You will
be surprised at the rapidity of human prog
ress We call the present "fhe Age Of En-
Hghtanment;n the preceding was 1.-THE Age
of Civilization" We have now only to an
ticipate one more age-that of pure Reason,
which will also be the era of unbroken
peace The Characteristic of the preceding
age was steam as motive power Steam
we have quite outlived as useful only for
those who do not care for speed and safety.
The characteristic of our age is electricity,
by which human life and the very face OF
nature have been revolutionized
In 1882 a congress of balloonists was held.
the object being to discover some method Of
securely steering an air-ship
Now, as YOU know every one navigates
the air with ease harnessed. as You may say,
ne is able "a rise easily, travel in any drec-
ton, over the forests and houses, carry
heavy weights, and completely control his
motions all 10y electricity IN this way also
huge weights are lifted BY convey Of men
and deposited where desired. These travel
in sttaight lines rather than by tortuous
country roa ls roadways are largely given
over to cultivation, millions of miles of
mos terriblo Of ell horrors. a drive in the
mud 81 au AVERAGE country Dad is forever
a thing q iae past
Vast troiIls OF immense eoavoys now move
in every dire zion through the air, to and
from tha sfsatar maI'ts These electric con-
VOWS are eaB48le Of self Illumination, and
arc thus & III ht objects OF great beauty,
movig WtA colored fghts, while they
largely Ia iiluIuina sing the earth be-
low P0staEic.s are now, except for central
distribu OF, dispensed with Tor post CON
voys, WHO drop tho mail at each mans
door.
UNITED STATES or THE WORLD,
IN 1881 numbered uincty-four states
spread from the ,sthmus nurtIward 70
Alas Il a1i newfoundland, counting the
West as five states 1t was thought
best re 60 the application Of the Sand
witch l 1nd others, as more properly
hol0ag.1 10 lha Pa III league OF republics
The League OF Nations was formed later in
the century. IL was the outgrowth of re-
pubhcanisin. Standing armies became an
uncomfortable burden. 1t was found that
sixty eight republican states could frater-
nize in government. Why, then, should
not the twelve republics that constituted
Europe; the forty -four in ASIA the seventy
nine in Africa, as well as those scattered i'll
the Pacific, form an international unionf
This was done as the United States of the
World; and now peace is maintained as
mutual interest, without standing armies.
An international conference is in con-
slant session at Cadiz, with branches at
Sidney, St Louis, London and Yeddo.
This is a court without power to enact laws,
but is an albiter between nations, and its
decisions are final. Its members are elected
for life. It's decisions are regulated by
"'The Constitution of United Humanity"
which is tie common law of the whole
world. Congress meets but once in ten
years and 10 law is constitutional that can
not be rep aled while you stand on one
foot. Other legislative bodies meet once in
five years, except supervisors, who are al
lowed five days each year. Congress and
the legislature are not permitted to remain
in session over one month
THE WORLDS NEWS AT SUNRISE.
In the progress of events men considered
chat to keep up with their age they must
have the news at least once n week. Then
came the need of daily paper Then the
system was perfected for placing bulletin
on every citizens counter, or table, three
times a day, and five times on Sunday.
Then the telephone was used, wholly to dis
pense with the press The Chief Editor of
the United States sat in St Louis and di-
rectcd the messages which simultaneously
flashed, once an hour, to every village in
the land. But even this system did not sat
isfy the requirements of enlightenment
Ono hour to us was as long as six months
had been 20 the Puritans and Cavliers of the
seventeenth century News must be instan-
taneous, Whatever occurred must be sent
by nolye thll through all the world
And so &c is tina, to-day all news is photo
graphed automatically from post to post
over the whole Union. All that a man has
to DO is 10 look at the town signal station,
whore he can, every ten minutes, hear from
the whole world.
1t is thought that a system is about ON
plete, whereby. by a combination of photo
graph and pAotOphone, the worlds news
will be announced in clear tones at sunrise
from every electric town station. People
will then simply be awakened by q town
alarm-clock, will roll over in bed and hear
from Asia and Europe before dressing. But
most wonderful of all is the revelation Of
the cosin0scope, whereby we are actually in
communication with Venus Mars and the
inhabitants OF Jupitar's moon We are
rapidly perle ting a system of common sig
mails, Which wiz enable us to see and hear
as regularly from other systems of worlds
as from other planets
HOMES FOR ALL-EDUCATIoN UNIVERSAL.
Paper IS used in building wherever tenn
porary use only is required. Houses TO
rent may q b ilt Of this material: but for
whate4 o. purpose constructed, they must be
burnd u, tie end Of three years; so that
no tenet9eat house ever becomes foul nest
no pp Hous can be built over one story
in he ~ are cheap, portable, warm,
eyate. iroef, and easily gotten ril or Not
only are cur houses made of glass and alum
mum, but tie furniture also The brittle
glass of the civilized age is now only a GU
riosi,y. Oar h1mas contain in their struct-
ure aH3.fusu, hing almost nothing but glass
and aln-- lu.- For the past aiXty wears