The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-02


volume of: essays*of Thomas Magee was
published in last Sundays CALL. An or
binary review, however, fails to give an
adequate idea of the thought and study
which the. author has evidently given to
the subject on which he treats. Following
are extracts from the diff rent ESSAYS:
THE CHICAGO EXPOSITION
"What, then,H said Macaulay, in his essay on
Bacon, was The END which Bacon proposed to
himself? 1t was. 10 u>e his own emphatic ex-
preston, fruit. 1t was tile multiplying OF ln-
man Judgments and the mitigation of human
suffering. II was the relief OF mans estate"
No exposition in the world ever exhibited such
an array OF machines and appliances for the ie-
lief OF humanity and the mitigation of pr0stra-
ting drndgery. and therefore for 'the relief OF
mans es ate" as that at Chicago: 1t pointed.
too. 10 day, NOT far distant. when machinery
VIII still mole effectually, and far more cheaply,
tighten the burdens OF humanity. and transport
m by land and sea. and probably. through
the air, with far greater iapidt w. The
TRANSPORTATION building at Chicago may
be quoted, illustrative OF !. the truths
we have: been mere recording: l"Of alt
Inventions The alphabet and printing press
alone eXcented,. those which have served to
abfidge distance have been most useful 10 civil.
liZatlon." The -triumpns Of electricity will al.
most certainly far surpass those OF steam. 1t is
the coming giant of greater speed and power.
ished. for IL is needed 10 produce electricity
In speaking Of I'll importance and usefulness.
of the metals, Faraday SAID that "rehned civil
lIZation would be impossible without them"
He also said that .ihe anclents delhed them
for a far more restricted uSe." The nineteenth
century, therefore, with such explorers ana con-:
querors in. the highest intellectual realms OF
physical truth-the fruit OF their labors nearly
all consisting OF mechanical art triumphs-is
not DOOR butrich beyond computation. Those
men, though laborers. in different field, were
Justly COMPARE bic TO the gre atest poets, archl-
tects. sculptors nd:palnterst the world has ever
SEEM. -: =:
= Considered from "a practical and poetical;
point OF view there never was: such an expOsi-:
lion as that Of Chicago. Every: civilized coun:
try placed there IS masterpieces of mechanical
art progress; and,:.if we can imagine the god
dess OF: civilization. and: humanity presiding
there she must have tflumphanliy exclaimed as
she {: looked over the: miraculous machines,
These are my Jewels. =: -. =:
And theTe:is another and more poetical side
to-. these unitarian eXpoSltons. Emerson eX-
pressed It.. lie said that. The real ship is The
nina OF the ship builder. :. Therefore, although.
expressed in material ships, locomotives and.
gigantic 0rmicrnsc0pic machines, to-. the stu:
dent by far tile most wonderful sights reveal d
in that exposition were the expressions OF The
minds OF the inventors and the .:phy Sicists,
their leaders and allies; and. therefore, those
best capable of appreciatfng them were,there
as much alone %h tns maa as VIII s9a TAKE
pest; ," with Michael AngeIO. in the 'Sistine
Chapel or in the dome OF ST.. Peters. Imagina-
ton. therefore, still rules the world. - i:
IMMORTALITY OF THE BIG TREES: !: =.
Professor Adolpn: Russell Wallace visited
California four years ago. He then accepted
without Investigation the opinion OF professor
OF history at Berkeley. that the age OF tue big
sequoia did not exceed probably 1900 years,
said professor having counted the annular rings
on one tree only. On this subject we quote:
If Professor Wallace, by personal examlna-
ton and study, had arrived at the above con-
illusions, his knowledge and reputation would
be the strongest possible guarantee OF their cor
rectness; but all be says was gathered from
Although the moraIne soil aids very rapid
growth In our gigantic counters, they attain TO
massive proportions ard their greatest age
without 1t. One OF the very largest sequoias of
The Sierra Nevada was found on dry hillside
by Mr.. John Muir, the welfknown California
botanst and geologist. This tree had a diane.
ter of thirty FIVE feet eight inches, exclusive of
the bark. Mr.. Muir estimated It's age. by count
ing The annuIar rings, TO De over 40OO years.
IL mad eviden ly grown very slowly. because its
but hard fare obIainablc from rock; It's chief
susl enance, indeed, was derived from the air;
yet very large growth and comparative lmmor-
tally were exhibited by that Tree.
LANGUAGE.
The nation that enjoys an upright, self-as-
sering use OF words must have successfully
demonstrated It's courage before DOMESTIC and
foreign tyraufs, ana be in The van OF national
progress and of mental light and physical
liberty. If il loses the latter, II must to some
extent lose its language, in the highest and best
sense. The decline OF Rome. in the sense OF a
fall OF Its liberties is generally dated from the
lime OF Marius, Sulh, P0mpey, Crassus and
Julius Caesar But that fall really began after
the second Punic war; and 1t is an historical
fact, related by Polybius, that the Roman OF
Rome and Carthage, so great had been the
changes In Latin. The language, like the peo-
pie, had LOST the ancient earnestness, truth aud
simplicity. 1t had gained In cOpiousness OF
vocabulary; bur this gain was paid for by loss
of SIMPLICITY and virilily, 10 The moral and
social sense.
OF France in the eighteenth century great
writer said: III ever there existed state of
society likely by its crying and accumulated
evils TO madden men 10 desperation France
was In that state" What the aristocrats
thought Of the common people is illustrated by
the assertion quoted by De T0cquevllIe In bis