The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-27

ted States at the beginning of the GEN.
tury. The British Empire thus COM
prises 100000 square miles or lana,
with $40, 900, 900 people. One square mile
out of nine on the face of the globe ac,
knowledges the rule of Britannia, ana
one person out of every four owes al
legiance to her majesty.
All this has been made possible py tne
remarkable inventions of the age. The
year of her birth, 1919, 1t was literally
true that man could travel no raster
than the Pharaohs," says an editorial
writer In the Edinburgh Review. Inc
first of the great Trunk lines from
London to Birmingham was not COM
pleted until the year after she assembled
the throne In 1888 the Great Western
and the Sirius crossed the Atlantic. and
in 1910 a steamer made the passage or
the Red sea- The trip across the At
lantic occupied eighteen days, and the
one to Bombay thirty EIGHT. These
Journeys are now made In five ana FOUR
teen days. The tonnage of the whole
commercial navy Of the empire was less
than 100000 tons. 1t Is now 9oo,ooo'-
coo.
In. 1851 a telegraphic cable was laid
under the channel. and our civil war
was ended before the Atlantic cable was
successfully laid. Now network or
lines on land and cables under water
connects every part of the empire, SO
that a disturbance is felt In London
almost as quickly as nerve communi-
Gates with the brain in the human body.
SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
1t has been contended, with some
show of truth, all these great inventions
and the substitution of machinery for
hand labor has made the rich richer
and the poor poorer. In England this Is
, not true. The vast improvements in
communication and transportation
have injured land onwers and the agri-
cultural classes by bringing to London
| the products of the world. Rents are
lower and the profits of labor less.
| Much land has been abandoned and the
time is not far distant when land will
| be used for residence purposes. where
it's productiveness will have nothing to
do with its value Capital will go into
commerce and the agriculturist will en-
igrate to the colonies.
1t Is this constant stream of emigra
| ton from the farms and the overcrOWd-
ed cities that has reduced pauperism in
Great Britain. When Victoria came to
the throne one person out of every dog
en- was pauper. Now one out Of forty
five is supported by the public. The
condition of the poor was horrible. In
| Tie CillcS tueS uNeu Ill celldTS, anu
| sanitation was unknown. Graveyards
of the towns. The streets We're un-
| lighted: after a rain the accumulated
filth of the streets drained off into the
cellar dwellings of the poor. The NOR
tality of the Door was frightful, eSpe-
cially among children.
Until 1850 children under S years of
age worked in the factories ten and
twelve hours day. Human beings for
the first time were competing with ma
chinery. and for twenty years human
beings We're the cheapest. The vicious
conditions of their lives made for crime
A man In working clothes could not
enter d park. There We're no free IL
braries free schools. peoples institutes
bath or wash houses. The public house
| was the only refuge of the poor from
the sweatshops and cellars. The paup-
| erS numbered 1.5UO.0OO. the criminal Is
10000. In 1893. with the population in
creased so per cent, crime was re-
duced 81 per cent
| The laboring man Is now enfranchiS-
ed, the children taken from Industrial
life and out In schools, sanitation and
factory safe guards are compulsory
agriculture is largely abandoned for
manufacture and commerce Water
and sewer systems are universal, the
parks and libraries are open. and the
slums are rapidly being demolished by
wholesome and wholesale condemna-
tion laws. Wages are actually higher
| than sixty years ago and the purchas-
ing power of money greater, owing tC
rapid transportation and the removal
of duties. The laboring voter Is large.
ly in the majority over all voters, sc
much so that the lords are threatened
| The demand for universal franchise
| 1a with fhp dan, nd for fraA cph,nlo
Two years after Victoria came to the
throne parliament made the first APP
preparation for popular education OF
the sum OF 10000. Now the annual
appropriation Is f9.0O0.000. The univer-
stiles are now open to all classes (Mr
Hardy denies this in Jude the OBJ
scure"O. the purchase of commissions In
the army has been stopped and places In
the civil service are open to those who
pass the examination.
FAMOUS NovELIsTs.
In all these three improvements nov.
elists, u practically unknown class OF
authors before the Victorian age, have
taken q prominent part. Dickens was
instrumental in rehabilitating the pri.
vate schools. in abolishing the impris.
onment for debt correcting the abuses
and delays of chancery court Walter
Besant's "All Sorts and Conditions OF
Men" hurried the peoples palaces
museums and schools of science into
existence; Mrs. Browning released the
factory children; Tom Hood called at.
tention to sweating by his Song or the
Shirt; Kingsley and Charles Reade
each helped in the regeneration ol
the age. ana Carlyle was the prophet
of altruism as opposed to the abomin.
able political economical system ol
Adam Smith. o. ~ '"''' 'N.
This sentiment pervades English
politics. The law interferes to protect
labor in It's life. safety and wages: the
model employer; the, 'living wage" the
issue of the day Factories must bs
ra n IN rxy thu dsva1ii n 0o IN ont tou mi, n