The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-26
A FAMOUS YEAR FOR RECORD.
BREAKING IN EVERY DEPART
MENT OF LIFE.
GREAT STRIDES OF SCIENCE.
FLEETER STEAMSHIPS, FASTER
TRAINS AND ELECTRIC ROADS
THAT SURPAss STEAM.
YEARS MANY NOTABLE EVENTS.
War and Peace Have Contributed
Their Share to the History of
the Past Year.

From the beginning to the end of
1897 progress has been the watchword,
and on the banners of men of science,
men of business, professional men,
leaders in art and literature, church
preiates and merchant princes there
has been written in robust characters
the motto Excelsior" Looking down
from the heights to which the world
has climbed during the past twelve
months one sees that giant strides
have been made in every direction.
The vast field of engineering science
has seen some sensational develop
ments Eighteen hundred and ninety
seven has given us the mighty Kaiser
Wilhelm der Crosse queen Of ocean
greyhounds and the fastest, handsom-
est and the largest passenger steamer
af1oat; 1t has given to US the fleetest
battleship in the world, in the shape
of the japanese fighting craft Yashima,
and the speediest small vessel in ex-
istence, in the British torpedo boat
Turbina, this last presenting in itself
one of the most important advances in
steam engineering in that she attains
her tremendous rate of speed by means
Of her steam turbines. Record breaking
has been the aim of every naval archi-
tect and engineer; the time in which
vessel crosses the Atlantic has been cut
down by hours and minutes and sec
onds until at last q vessel has done
the trip in less than six days. Engin-
GERS have hammered away at the rec
ord times of railroads, until today the
accomplishment of a speed of sixty
miles an hour, which a few years ago
would have been regarded as visionary
and impossible, has become Of such
common occurrence as to be considered
scarcely worthy of more than passing
notice. The use of steam as a motive
power has been improved upon. Elec-
trio railroading has been tried and
found to be distinct advance. 1t is
operating successfully on the New
Haven road in Connecticut and on the
overhead railroad in Liverpool, Eng
land, while in London IL is to make
bearable the choking atmosphere of
that abomination, the underground
railroad. Horseless carriages have
ceased to be the butt of the cartoon
lists pencil and the joke writer's pen.
In three great cities of the world-Lon-
don, Paris and New York-motor car
riages have become such a familiar
sight as to be an object of curiosity to
none but country visitors. The impor-
tant advancement made by electricity
is shown by the fact that in 1887 there
were eighty-six miles of electric rail-
way, while 1897 finds US with 1900
miles of electric railway, and an in
crease in the number of electric cars
operated from 172 to $1,000.
From business point OF view 1897 be-
gan in gloom and ends in sunshine 1t
was a long time coming. The first half
OF the year passed and the clouds were
still there. They rolled away with
rush when the control of the great steel
and iron industries of the world passed
from Europe to America. The control
Of this portion of the worlds commerce
meant a great tidal wave of prosperity
at a time when the country most need
ed It, The value of imports Of iron and
steel in 1897 was less than half the
value Of these imports in 1891, while the
exports were twice as great. In fact
the past year has been far in advance,
commercially speaking, Of any previous
year. 1t is evident that the returns
to be made in the middle of January
will show our exports to run many mil
lions above those of 1895, which has
been the record year heretofore.
1t has been great year for the adj
yancement of women. Even in the
conservative countries of Europe bar
riers to the onward and upward pro-
gress of woman have been removed.
In France this has been especially no.
ticeable, many of the restrictions to the
higher education of women having been
removed. The attempt to secure for wo-
men equal privileges with the male
students at the university proved fail
ure, although the faculty had admitted
the women to study with the men, pa 8
the same examinations, and beat them
when they could, which occasionally
has happened.
In the field of sport, as in the field
of science, to break records has been
the aim Of every contestant. The star