The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-10-26
ERA OF TRANSITION.
Signs THAT SIGNIFY Tp4E APPROACH
or a NEW SOCIAL oRoER.
Rev. Thomas Dinan. Dr.. ContIna~. us. -.
r'e. Of Sermon. on the CauaiAx Rsvsla-
tAsn- Mar,sIou. :.oxre.. Of ,A. Mae


t~sn'h Century and IL. Csa.eaasa~..
NEw loRK, Oct. i5.-Re~. Thoins.
Dixon. Jr.. continued the series ~ ser
mons "n the coming revolution at Asso
citation hall this morning. The suhicc'
Of todAy's sermon was the l-srioi oi
transition or the characteristics uf the
times which signify the approach Of y
lew social order lie discussed a. such
signs the rapidity of material progrys.
ia the elimination Of time and space, tn,
marvellous development OF mechanical
forces, the discoveries of science ~ well
as the growth Of cities. the intensified
f ton Of life, and the rise OF She common
+ people 10 political power. and the ul,i.
versatility Of education. He declares these
10 be the elements which constitute thc
basis OF necessity Of new social regime.
! TIE text was chosen from Matthew xv,.
3. ''1e know how To discern the face os
/ the heaven, but ye cannot discern the
I signs Of the times"
I History seems naturally to divide II
self into periods. These periods ~ his
/ tory have characteristics which d!stin-
/ guish them from the centuries which
/ precede and the centuries which fol
low the era of the crusades ~ clearly
and distinctly marked in medieval his
tory. The period OF the French revolu-
ton in like mapner has its special char
acteristics and is clearly defined in the
history of the world. So in ancient
| times there Were centuries of develop
ment which are distinctly marked
There are, upon the other hand, the cri-
ses of transition between the great his
toric centuries of development These
periods Of transition are the seedtime,
while the great centuries of revolution
and construction are the harvest times
in history.
A PERIOD OF PREPARATION.
The nineteenth century is peculiarly
century of transition. 1t is a period of
preparation. 1t has been one of tre-
mendous development, and vet it is the
development of a promise rather than
the fulfllment of that which has gone
before. The most marvellous develop
ment of the nineteenth century is the
prophecy it gives of the twentieth. With
all our wonderful achievements there is
nothing SO wonderful as the universal
hope inspired in the human breast that
we will do something better in the near
future
The import of action in 4 period of
transition is of inestimable Importance.
What is impressed upon the character Of
this age will constitute the elements OF
strength or of weakness in the new
century that is to be born. That which
is now shaping the forces that shall
dominate the life of the twentieth cen
tury must partake of permanence. In
many respects it will be decisive.
There are certain clements in our cur
rent life which reveal to us the fact that
the century before us must be constituted
In its social. economic and political life
upon a new basis. This must be So
First-Because of the rapidity of ma
terial progress during the past genera
ton and the speed Of that progress in
this generation. The elimination Of
time and space has been one Of the most
remarkable developments OF our period
of invention, and the period Of the
worlds invention Is the latter part Of
the nineteenth century.
In the eighteenth century the world
was divided into isolated continents and
isolated nations. There was little inter
course, and what there was came through
the slow travel by sail on water and
stagecoach on land. The facilities for
gathering news and distributing the his
tory of different nations among one an
other were of the most meager kind.
All this has been changed in the latter
part of the nineteenth century. The
world has literally been made a great
whispering gallery, and every nation
gives its quota to the days story. There
is no longer isolation of any sort. Eng
land and America are today in closer
contact than was Massachusetts and
New York in the eighteenth century. 1t
is possible for man to leave America
in one week and visit the dead civiliza-
tions of the east In the next. 1t is posi-
BILE for a man at his breakfast table to
know all the important events that hap
pened the day before in every nation of
the world. We cross the ocean in less
than six days. We go round the world
in two months, and we come in contact
with the current Of the life Of all peoples
and all nations.
OUR CIVILIZATION A SYMPOSIUM.
Our civilization Is Symposium. The
very delicacies of our table are the prod
uct of the whole earth. What we eat,
what we wear, what we place in our
homes, are the product joint of the ef-
fort of the world.
The problem Of time and space has
within a few years been practically an
initiated. The use of steam and cleo
tr1city has brought the world thus in
close contact. But the speed with which
we are making progress even in annihi-
lating time and space is SO great that it
is possible within the next generation
that the rate of travel will be increased
from four TO five fold at least. 1t may
be possible for the children Of the next
generation to have their suburban homes
900 miles from the place of their daily
business. Such an achievement would
mean the development of the city until
it shall literally cover the whole earth.
In mechanical developments, our rate
of progress has been a marvel during
velous today. Armies Of men and WON
en- now give themselves exclusively to
the work of mechanical invention. Our
daily life has been literally revolution
ized by mechanics. What our ancestors
did by hand we do by machinery. This
tremendous force brought into play by
cranks and wheels and levers is new
problem in the development Of the
worlds life. The bureau of statistics in
Berlin estimated in 1887 that the steam
engines at that time at work in the
world represented not less than 1,0OO,-
300, 900 workmgmen-that il to say, the
steam engines at work in 1887 did more
than three times the working force of
the entire earth. Their earning capacity
at that time was three times greater
than the muscle power of the world.
The advance in the application Of me-