The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-30
THE CENTURY
OF MECHANISM.
Machinery That Has Altered Condition,
Of Life for Mank nd in the
Century 100000.

- HIS has been most materiaiistie
century. an age OF mechanism. We
have progressed wonderfully in
our capacity for luxury, exiraya-
gaace. comfort, A hundred years
ago our fOrebears were content 10 live by
hand nS il we're. now We I've chiefly by
complicated machinery. A century of
progress has created demands whic6
forced she dormant inventive skih Of the
world to put forth its best efforts. The
world has made more progress in material
things IN the last hundred years than II
did in al the centuries preceding. CIVIL
i1ed mans mode 81 existence has been
totally altered by his inventions.
Tho world has gone patent mad. IN ths
United States alone there were 81 5Sa pA--
ents granted iu the si&ty-tro years from
tsS1 20 1888 During its existence. the pat
emit Office has received more than &t909i,Q9l
IA fees. ON carriages snd wagons, more
than eo.e2 patents have basn granted, on
stoves ana furnaces, is,WS. GA lamps, gas
Atiings. harvssteFs boots and shoes ana
receptatles for storing ia@3 each, The
total 81 patents for TIE civilized " Jrld "a
easily twice thai OF tho United Statcs
Thanks to these hundreds OF thousands os
cpntriyances. What we're luxuries to our
f0rrbcars 81 tasa are commonplace II
existence 70 al classes, Tioh and poor, In
Lgo.
with the invention OF the steam engine
the world shruak al bound 70 a TWEEN
tieih az its former stse. Its vast dtsta noes
ceased 10 hs Formidable Where the lgme
barring stage coach o. the p3oGdigR cara
van took weeks the - ing express covers
ths distance 10 a few haura The trip
across this continent used 20 ~ mat
ter ~ life and deAth- Now u = . matter
o. slaa. ard taks y0Gr sase ~ you t.
without the railroad a clcse-kriI nation
thousands % miles broad. sprh - his
country, wsssld have been At tmrosH5bili-
IT, In fS1s the first steam railroad Was
apeue4 between Stockten and nardngton,
England. A year later a similar sxperi-
nent was tried al Quincy. Mass. sasre
the anRins hauled stone for a distance q
four miles. Ttc hFss passenger rad Ia
this country was the Baltimore ohio.
opened tn 100 WIth a mileage x foarteea
uliins. To-Day there are moss rallies @.
railroad in this country. 1876 Pr Euroga.
s6 80 IN South America. RIA Ira Asia. 9se
IN Africa and Ia1sF ia AusirAiaslze
Early in the History "a a4f6sdinG
twelve miles an hour was ceusidered recS-
icss1y fast. la January, .SSs, n train "a
rho Burlington route. Ia rI4u from SID
iue 10 Arfan. 20 miles. d4a the 81 taGee
In minute aHA % seconds. cT ~ the r4i.
x 10 s4liloS an hngr The EEpire STATE
express made Erc0rd % li2 miles an boar
Ia May ISsA
Marine travel aid not make 80 wonder
fui an advance 10 speed through ths
agency Of steam. az did land travel. but
the nrogress IN comfort aa4 safety was
greater. In ITO John FItch constructed
a steAEnboat--zaa vas considered a raylns
luaAtic- T7ais opinion was ccnrmed NheH
his experiment proved failure. Seven
teer, years Later, Robert Tnitoa- another
so-cAllec visionary. backed by Tosi Bar
low aa4 Robert :. Lyinxssca. built lie