The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-01-02
TEsLA.s enANp vIsIoN.



Msctriolty Now ~ work Transforming
the World's Anairs
Al sketch OF the famous e~lectricians
Eikola Tesla, concludes with the sta4e@
ment Of his belief that the development
Of applied electricity win be the eman-
cipation Of mankind; that the laboT~
saving devices which may be operated
by the mysterious energy viii reduce
the necessary hours OF labor and level
the difference between the rich and the
poor. To that end he is bending his
energies and using his wonderful tai
ents for invention and Investigation.
His purpose is a great and noble one;
his belief is sublime-perhaps some win
say it is impracticable and foolish.
It is a fact, however, that the achieves
ments Of the era thas began with Amer
lean Independence and the untram-
meled opportunity Of man have made
it possible for twice as many people to
live comfortably within a given area
as before that time. The capacity for
production has been so enlarged and the
processes so cheapened that the fear
Of overpopulating the earth has been
W CAs o4A4 uAldhs tOOg IATEnC LaLG -
the most rapid increase of population
within historic times.
We are all accustomed to note the
tremendous increase in population in
this country, a large portpn of which is
due TO immigration, butitis not so com
mon to recognize the fact that the pop
ulations of the lands from which our
immigrants are drawn are increasing
o rapidly than they were a century
or half century ago. Yet such is really
the fact. Great Britain, Germany.
France, Italy, Austria, Belgium and
Holland, which were considered crowd
ed and in need of new lands to which
the surplus population might emigratc
a century ago, now contain double the
population Of that time and are not
overcrowded as they then seemed to be.
This wonderful change has been
wrought by the invention Of labor
saving machinery, by the development
of applied steam power. The contrast
Of wealth and poverty has not been
abolished by any means, but the poor
have been made TO enjoy some of the
comforts that could only be afforded
by the very wealthy a century ago.. The
discovery Of new applications for cleo.
trical energy has already added ma
terially to the worlds resources, and it
is as certain as anything human can be
that this power will develop In many
nor useful directions in the future.
1t is probable that it may do vastly more
than has been lone by steam to support
added population, if not to wipe out the
differences Of wealth.
Robert Fulton's invention for the ap-
plication of steam power for useful pur-
poses has not only made it possible to
produce from a given area the necessi-
ties and comforts for a doubly dense
population, but it has made accessible
vast regions that were formerly mac.
cessible. 1t has made it possible for all
the people Of the earth to exchange
commod ii has opened the interior
of b eAmerican continents to the world.
and tis rapidly opening the almost un-
known regions Of Africa 10
production and commerce. The ST.
berian railroad alone-made possible bv
this American invention-has opened to
q AES1Ou dDdDle with pres
emit devices, of supporting a popuIa-
ton twice as great as that the Russian
empire contains at present.
But all that steam has lone to adj
vance civilization and contribute to the
wants Of mankind may be ecIipsed by
the young giant, applied electricity. Il
is possible that discovery of processes
for generating the current direct from
coal and e of conserving the gen
Grated energy may so cheaper light.
heat and power that all mankind NAV
be supplied with the necessities and
comforts Of life almost without labok
That is Mr.. Tesla's thought. To 81
mHl~NnSamiliar with what has beeny
accomplished the field of applied elee1
tricity it may seem Ike a hazy dream
Of the unattainahle. NRa+. to Mr. Tesla,
deep in the mysteries of j wonderful
energy that seems to pervadetbe whole
universe, it is the distinct percepiQn Of
that from which he is divided by onlSa
thin veil, and which he might view face !
to face. if he could but find the means to
rend the curtain.=Pittsburgh Disnatcb