Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-01-21
THREE SCORE YEARS.
The Marvellous Changes Wrought During
the Past Sixty Years.

The Marvellous Changes Wrought During
the Past Sixty Years.
Without going back even to the be-
ginning of the century of which more
than one-seventh is unspent, the
achievements of the past sixty years
mark an area of progress and intellectual
triumph that is unapproached in the his
tory of mankind. In 1926 the first sue
cessful railroad and locomotive had not
yet been built; only in 1929 did Stephen
sons Rocket mark the decadence of the
stage coach and inaugurate the era of
rapid transit by steam. Robert Fulton s
Clermont made the trip to Albany in
1907 at a rate of five miles an hour, but
not until 1925 did James P. Allaire, of
New York, build the first compound
marine engine, which was destined to
revolutionize OCEAN travel and trans
portatfon. Without the locomotive and
the fast steamer, three-fourths OF this
continent would yet be an unframed will
derness.
Sixty years ago our grandmothers had
no friction matches or solid headed pins,
no gas or mineral oil, few and cum
brous cooking stoves, no hot and cold
water at the turning of faucet. What
they wore was mainly homespun mate
rial woven in hand looms. Silks and
fine laces were rare in those days as
were thousand other comforts and
luxuries which We scarcely appreciate
to-day. so common and necessary have
they become. There were no canned
fruits and vegetables, and even what
was picked from tree or field for imme-
date use was too often ill-f1avored and
of poor quality. Steel pens were I'M
known as the telephone and telegraph;
rubber had not been transmitted into
hundred useful forms for household
use, the newspaper of the period
was laboriously printed on slow
hand press and contained news
that was months old. while the post
age on letter from New York to Phil
adelphia absorbed nearly half the days
wages of an unsilillful laborer. New
York was then a budding city of about
$50, 600 inhabitants, ST. Louis was a
trading post with population less than
5000, and Chicago was a military fort
with half dozen families clustered
around it. Within half century steam
and electricity have wrought more stu
pendous changes than the world wit
messed from the days of the Caesars to
the First Napoleon.
And it is not merely in Harvesting the
forces of nature or in subduing wilder
nesses that mankind has advanced. In
telligence and tolerance and freedom
have marched onward with gigantic
strides. Human slavery has been abol-
ished over vast stretches of territory,
international jealousies have been
toned down, human sympathies have
been broadened. Notwithstanding the
plants eff chronic grumblers, the con-
dition of the laboring man in all lands
is ilnmeasurably better to-day than it was
in almost any land at the opening of the
century. A proud distinction is it to
feel that our own country, three score
years ago deemed rude and hazardous
has kept steadily to the
forefront in emancipating the peoples
ruled under the older systems and in
enlightening the world" When the
American Colonies inscribed upon their
banner the motto mo taxation without
they cast far and wide
seed which is terminating and bringing
forth fruit to day from the Shannon to
the Danube.-N. Y. Graphic.