The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-06-18
The DAWN OF THE 10th CENTURY
BY MARY ELLEN BoLAND.


The nineteenth century is now drawing
to its closets sun is gliding the
western horizon, and lighting the
heavens with all of the glories of the dy-
ing day while already the first faint rosy
bushes of the rising twentieth century
| are reddening the eastern sky-beauti-
full prophesy for the coming age-when
we shall draw one step nearer to the
Golden Age of Man"
AS we look back over the pages of
history and see the wonderful progress
and startling changes wrought in the
| past hundred years, we seem to be able
to read the future by the past. If this
we're true we would look toward the
future with amazement and awe. 1t
would seem like magic story to hear of
| the great achievements which will be yet
accomplished by natures servant of the
dawning Electricity.
Before looking into the future let us
give casual glance over the past ages,
for we are told that History is but Phil
osophy," teaching by experience. Every
one has, undoubtedly, heard of the once
leading nations of the world Greece and
Rome They reached their highest glory
as nations long before the birth of Christ.
1t is true the world has never since
reached the perfection in sculpture and
arts that those two nations did, but
although they fourished for hundreds of
years, we learn that a moral and a
national decay set in and that they lost
all of their glory and today, we know,
are considered to be among the most
helpless of the civilized nations.
The cause of this downfall we may
trace to the lack of universal education.
Education is what has brought the
world to its present status. 1t is that
which has caused the people to demand
a better government to act in behalf of
their own welfare and look to the
interests of themselves and their
posterity.
What does the splendors of the com
ing sunrise fortell us regarding the
education of the masses?
The advantage of popular education
is far more favorable and reaching for
the children of the present and coming
age then has ever been in the past. A
part of the public lands of the United
States was, from its earliest history set
aside for purposes of enlightening its
citizens. Tn consequence OF this ana of
equally liberal provision on the part of
each state, the progress of education in
the United States has been marvellous
The public school bell now calls
together, in the United States alone,
over ten million boys and girls who are
being educated at the expense of the
states.
Does this not speak wonders for the
coming age? Who can tell what
achievements, what glories, what crown
ing splendors shall mark the epoch OF
raising the masses from ignorance to the
plane of we'll educated, right thinking,
noble men and women. Glorious herit-
age of freedom which those staunch, old
Puritan forefathers gave to America
} No better monument could stand fol
their departed shades than the public
school system of today.
AS we came down through the pages
of history, We see that each age, OF
} period, is marked by some character
izing thought. Sometimes we find il
the fine arts, at other times literature,
music, or perhaps invention predom-
mates. This, the dawn of the Goth
} Century, may be characterized the age
of invention.
Therefore we can not confer the
J present prosperity to education alone
) but to ratures genii.
, The inventive genius of man has been
accumulating for years. AS the
necessity required it, we find from time
/ to time inventions made to satisfy the
the last fifty years inventions have
, reached place equally as high assculp
ture and painting in the days of ancient
Greece and Rome.
Up to the year 1900 the few inventions
known to man were confined to few
} household implements. The people
were improving and beautifying theiI
homes so as to make the home what il
should be and not mere stopping place
for the family. In the ensuing fifty
, years mans inventive faculty developed
rapidly-books and papers became more
J common. The influence of this can at
I once be seen. People begin to avail
themselves of the opportunities to find
out more Of what could be done. Pop
ular demands became greater and to
meet these demands men turned their
, attention to invention.
Let US look for moment what man
) has accomplished in this line. In 1901
st cam was successfully applied tc
= navigation in Scotland. In 1918 the
!. Savannah reached England from the
, United States after voyage of twenty
six days. The quaint, curious old shiI
is to the great ship of today as the
scythe and pruning hook of the past
, are to the reaper and mower.
For eighteen hundred years, the only
means OF conveyance was caravans
cameis and horses. This was first