The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-06-02


Literary and Social circle, was held.
II was attended by about thirty-five
members of the circle, and was a very
enjoyable event. 1t was held to COM
memorate the close of the circles sea-
son.
An excellent menu was served and
after it had been discussed to the sat
isfaction of all present, the season de-
voted TO the feast of reason and How
of soul" was entered upon. The exer-
cises began with an address by the
president Herschel j. Hall, in which
he spoke of the work accomplished by
the circle during the year. He intro
duced Mrs Lowell NJ Gates as toast
master, and the following programme
was then carried out:
"The Imperialists" Arthur l.. Collins
Music. MinCa Nenta de Collegensia
Air--Good-by, my Lover Good-by.
"Women Of Today"
Mrs. Edwin C. Dean
"Men of the Hour
DR.. Daniel A. Capwcll
College Ode.............. Fair Harvard
"In Domestic Science"
Mrs j. Alfred Pennington
Commercial Industry
J. Watson Browning
Zine Arts. .... Mrs. Milton w. Lowry
"The Phonograph" William II. Pierce
Medicine. ......Dr. Lowell NJ. Gates
philanthropy"
Rev. Robert T.. Y. Pierce
The regular toast list was followed
by lmpromptu speeches by other MEM
bers Of the circle. one Of the very
thoughtful addresses of the evening
was delivered by Attorney j. Watson
Browning on the Progress of the Cen
tury in Commercial Industries" In
| part. he said
CENTURY'S PROGRESS.
The passing Of the century exhibits
| to a wonderful degree four great facts:
| The supremacy of mind over matter;
| the worth of the individual man; the
utility of natural forces in the service
| of the people, and the Capitalization of
| commercial power. Each interloCks the
other and all operate toward higher
! plane of living and being.
| At the beginning of the century the
! spirit of invention gathered its forces
! for the conquest of matter. Achieve
! ments followed achievement i'm rapid
! succession. A century is but span in
! the worlds life yet it has brought the
nations together into one great com
munity, belted with cable, steel and
| sail and charged with electricity.
| The more marked and more widely
! applied inventions have been in the
! field of mechanical commerce. Steam
| as a motive power on sea and land;
! the Bessemer process of manutactur-
/ ing steel: the cottongin; the power
! loom: the harnessinE of electricity and
many other forces directed by the brain
and energy Of man have sent the life
| blood of commerce flowing along the
| arteries of trade with eVer-increasing
| pulsation.
| Compare. If you please. the progress
! Of the century in railrOading, for an
| object lesson. At the beginning Of the
century there was not a railroad train
! in the world; at its closing, three hun
| dred thousand miles of track span the
continents. In our land alone the sys-
TEN gives employment to nearly one
million men, supporting one-siXteenth
of our entire population.
When the Rocket drew its few lun-
| bcring wagons of freight, and few
| passengers seated on hard board seats,
al the rate of six miles an hour. the
| world thought 1t was wonderful. SO it
| was.
THE TELEGRAPH
| With the perfecting of the telegraph,
| the merchant in New York orders his
| SOOuS IN CdDlt III 'dltutld, ana UNIOTH
| the day is over they are shipped by
way of the Suez canal TO their dcstina-
| tiOn. So rapid has been the growth Of
| the system that 50, ,000, 900 dispatches a
| year is the record OF the worlds tele-
graph. The banker i'm Chicago takes
his electric pen and writes his check
| in New York, where it is received as
| soon as the lightning flash reaches the
| metropolis. The resident of Boston dis
1t,
| Little Rock, Arkansas, and each over
the phone recognizes the voice Of the
| speaker. A perfecting printing press
| will print cut, fold, paste, count and
number $4,000 eight-page papers an
| hour. From the uttermost parts Of the
earth the lightnings flash the news of
| the day; the press prepares it for use
| almost before the wires cease clicking.
! and the workingman for one cents
tribute is enabled to carry each morn
ing to his work the daily record of the
| worlds events
Niagara has been harnessed into a
team of $4,000 horses; the gold of the
| worlds greatest mining camp Is
brought to the surface by the power
OF an electric plant thirty miles away,
and there is no surprise at the achieve
ment. \ few years ago in our own
city was put in operation one Of the
|
nent. Today there are 1000 millions ot
capital invested in electric lines, Oper-
ating $4,000 miles of track.
If Robert Fulton could stand agair
on the banks of the Hudson and look
out over the harbor of New York OF
watch a great ocean liner as she steamS
up the NarroWs, think he would stand
with uncovered head and say: Men
my brothers, men the workers. evel
reaping something new; that which
they have done, but earnest of tn,
things they shall do"
MEN BEHIND THE GUNS.
In all the relations Of commercial
life the men behind the guns have
forged TO the front. Without the work
of their hands and brain we would he
today where our fathers were one hun,
dred years ago Their worth has beer
demonstrated 10 the world by thoiI
achievements. The men of our tim,
are free born, thinking men. They are
fired with ambition and a knowledge
of their power. The world bows in ap,
probation of the tOilers--her uncroWneC
kings.
The utility of natural wealth in com.
meTCial life; the discovery and utility
OF iron and coal; of copper and gold: o'
oil and air have entered into every
avenue of commerce. / must, however
hurriedly pass the thought and lool
for a moment at the fourth great fact
the American trust.
| our friends, the enemy, had on theil
blue speCtacles the other night in st
Louis. They always take a gloomy
view Of our industrial prospects, They
seem to forget that we are living in
day of great enterprises and greater