Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-02-06

The new Field for Invention
BY the end OF this century very i'm
portant new discoveries and inven-
tons may be looked for. AT its be-
ginning railroads and steamboats,
came into use. Near the middle oil II
such inventions as that OF the reaper,
sewing machine, friction matches,
the telegraph and submarine cable
were produced and applied to prac-
tical purposes. Then came an APP
parent lull in this department OF
human progress. But in the mean
time the inventive genius Of the age
was not idle. 1t was busy in probing
the secrets Of nature in an almost I'M
explored field. With the exception
OF the telegraph and submarine cable
both dealing with elecIricity--the
inventive progress up to a very few
years past was almost entirely In q
material aud wholly objective direc-
zion. But with the discovery OF the
principles underlying the invention
OF the telegraph new world was, as
1t were, opened up to science-the
world OF the ETHEREAL, the intangible
and the subjective, but yet world,
in Its way, Of reality, Of force and of
importance. No person ever saw,
felt, heard or tasted electricity, or
magnetism, or proved the exist
ence of either III they are really dis
tinct and separately by either or any
Of his Ave senses. We only know of
their existence by their effects. Many
might suppose that IL is the electric
ity, itself, which is sensed by sight in
the case OF electric lights--s called
and Of "lightning." But this is not
strictly true. In both these instances
the illumination observed IA not the
electricity, but the fame of the in
tense combustion produced by cleo
trical action. IL was in this weird
domain OF intangibility and unreality,
as measured by strictly material
standards, that the searching brains
of the inventors had been laboring.
The result was the invention OF the
"electric light" the telephone, which
has come into general use, and OF
many other adaptations OF electricity
of the greatest importance. Now We
are told that electric railways"
where cars are propelled by electricity,
are successfully running in Cleveland ,
Ohio, and other places, and we are
promised the same thing here in Los
Angeles very soon. Our kilograms a
few days ago also informed us OF the
successful introduction Of telegraph
ing on and from moving trains Of cars,
at the initial trial OF which Senator
Stanford and other prominent men
were present and were highly pleased
with the workings of the system.
And this is far from being all.
Science has but Just entered on the
border-land of this and kindred forces,
agents or principles OF nature-what-
ever they really are-and their POI
tency and practical Importance are
but family understood as yet. And
scientific men OF the most profound
abilities all over the world are cease
lessly striving, investigating, study
ing and searching to find out, If pos
sible, more Of the nature and uses OF
the mysterious realms Of matter and
force that lie without the veil OF the
material senses, and in the kingdom
of which may yet remain undiscov-
cred and unthought Of, the most won
derful things. Every day new ex-
periments add to the stock of knowl-
edge already acquired in this direc-
ton, and stimulate the desire for
further accomplishment, and it is al
together likely that before the CEN
fury ends such results will have been
obtained that would seem as marvel
GUS to us now, were they predicted,
as the telephone and telegraph would
have seemed to the people of hun
dred years ago, had they been foretold
to the generations living in the
eighteenth century.