The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-11-20

faithfully recognized and respected. and
the world is learning better and better
how to exempiify the spirit of Jesus the
Christ. Let the lesson be learned still
more fully. with Hottest inspiration and
ever increasing effect.
ELECTRIC UTILITIES.
| Returning to our narratives: Among
motive forces. the more modern in its
general application is the electric, whose
evolution in transportation dates within
the last fifteen years. 1t may be Sc
riously assumed that it's practical power
hes not yet reached its full development.
| It's use in the arts and in medicine is of
older date. though there have been many
recent appliances. Within forty years
! the electric light was first used for light
house illumination; just twenty years
| ago it was first employed for street light
| ing. The streets of New York were fret
lighted by gas in 1s24-25. Before that
| whale oil lamps we're used. l have seen
| the home light evolved from the tallow
dip, through the mould-tallow. the sperm
candle, the whale oil, camphene mineral
oil, kerosene lamps and gas. until now
| in some homes the incandescent wire is
| in use.
ENGENDERING HEAT.
| This leads me to modes OF engendering
heat. In my boyhood the common peo-
pie had no means of warming and cook
ing, but by wood, sold by the load from
the vessels that brought il to the city
referring to my native place. In fierce
winters, when the rivers were frozen, it
was brought on sleds from the country.
''Coal was in very little use for domestic
purposes" and this was "sea-coal," be-
| yond the ability of the common people
1t was not until 1880, l think, at time
when the price of wood was enormous
that coal. anthracite, came into general
use. For cooking purposes it was hardly
in use until later day than that just
mentioned. And now gas is successfully
used for heating and cooking fuel re-
! curing new forms of stove or range.
| While wood was in common use, the re-
newing Of the fires in the morning or
after vacation, was rendered practical
bic by uncovering the live Goals which
had been preserved under the ashes of
the preceding night and kindling it; but
il the fire had been lost, resort to the
finder box with the flint and steel was
necessary. 1t was not until 1884 that
friction matches came into common use.
INDIA RUBBER.
When | went to school We had India
rubber in small cubes for erasing pencil
marks. About that time FIVE hundred
pairs of rubber shoes were imported in
TO Boston, the first to be used in the
United States. These were of the crud.
eet sort, probably moulded by dipping
into the liquid gum forms, rude lasts,
made Of earth, which were broken when
the gum had hardened. The consider
able manufacture OF rubber goods began
not until 1882. Goodyear succeeded
only in 1889 in hardening the gum SO as
to extend ITS use by vuIcanizing it, or
combining it with sulphur. 1t was in
1910 that he invented the hard rubber as
substitute for horn or tortoise shell.
PENS.
When | went to school, again, the
only pens in use were made of the goose
quill. One of our scholastic arts was
pen making; and pen knife was nee
eesary implement of the schoolroom
and necessary appurtenance OF writer
or clerk. Not before 1882 did the steel
pen come into common use. No one
who has not used both can conceive of
the greater convenience of the latter
Silver had been used for pens, but the
sale was restricted and the price relative.
ly costly and it was soon discarded. In
time it was found practicable to manu-
facture gold pens, tipped with points OF
iridium, the hardest of the metals; and
the combination secured an implement
inccrruptibe and enduring. Some find
the fountain pen a great convenience
being the combination of a gold pen
with portable ink holder.
EDUCATION
Speaking of school the progress in the
modes of teaching and in education and
knowledge are suggested. The kinder
garten has been in more or less vogue
for thirty years. perhaps; but the
methods of Froebel, the inspirer OF them,
we're founded upon those of Pestalozzi
the Swiss educator. who developed them
quite early in the present century. 1t
was very long, however, before the sys-
tenn, that of object lessons, came into
vogue. Yet it was the natural system.
applicable to all teaching, things before
names-from the known to the unknown
from the particular to the general,
from what we can see or know to what
We cannot see or know, but which we
may infer from description and compar-
ison. 1t has not yet become general,
but is becoming. The training schools
are instructing would-be teachers in the
methods of reasonableness, and the
schools of the land are profiting by their
work. 1t lie great contrast to the old
teaching, when the verbal memory, not
the observing and reasoning faculties,
Was the snbiaot of oulf;vaf;o,, ard A.