The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-05-04
MARvELS WROUGHT IN 1OOYEARs
What Will People Hundred Years
Hence, Think of How we
Lived in 1o00P

re-. b. waldron. in Ladies home Journal
There were but $500 900 p cope In
America when THIS century openeu.
We have more people now than any
European nation except Russia.
We have as many people as 1--we Ia
all Great BritIdn aud France cJLI'
blneu.
There were only five large cities
in Am erica in 1900 Philadelphia.
with IS UOU, was tue largest, the seat
or government, auu the cenyre of
wealth and culture. New YORK was
next, with go UUJ. Is .ltlnIJfe was
taird, with rs 800; Boston foIrtn,
with 20 UUU, aud charleston, south
Carolina, filth, vii 1900 peop,e.
Chicago was unuoaru VI III 1870
The century was Chfee years ola oe-
fore the Goyernm ut ever quit
fort wnere Cnicas" now stdnua, auu
not until thirty years later that
city was Thought OF and Incorporated.
There was no Western city, The
mighty, modern cities of sc. Pau,
Minneapolis, o mana, Denver anu
Kansas Guy were uuueard OF.
TneIe was SIN al trading post at
st. Louis. All tne rest of Lne Vert
was gwen over 10 Indians aud wiz
beasts.
In what are Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan ana Wisconsin, row There
lived 600 people IN 1870 Inc Far
West was Cneu KENTUCKY, Onlo
anu Western New YORK. Bsyonu
the Alleghenlee was practlc uly ii
Wilderness.
The Unlted States il larger now
than ali Europe in point vi area. lU
has 3,6UO,OUU square mlles-Jne' louf-
teenIn OF the ldud surface OF The n
tire globe. In 1900 We mad just $780,
QUO square inlits.
We are the richest nation Oh the
globe. TO day our wealth. 10 estl-
mated at over 500 .OUU,UU0; IN 1900 |.
was $40 900 0UU. "A man worth
$500 QUO was Juen considered aOhUr
ma,ly icb; to-day We nave several
huudreu men " no are Worlh " OOU,
90 or more.
In 1900 naif the people livei in log
huts. Window giass anu heating
stoves were luXurles. There was no
Kerosene nor gas. The tailuw dip
was the STANDARD lIgnt. Lamps
were III the homes OF the very rIcn.
There was 10 such thing as d
match. Tie Hint aud steel of the
old family musk ct was the means OF
kindling fire. When the friction
match came, in 1927, people were
afraid OF IL anl Wouiu not nave lt III
the house.
The cooking-stove was unknown.
TNt,n pnnk iItr "A A. fire.
place in pots amt koLJles standing on
long, slender legs well above the
Goals. The OLD bcIck oven was fred
once a week t. almost DlaZtug neat
and hlfed with appetlzing liones.
Table lineu was made by the
housewife, and IL was beautiful
emma ana silverware were lacking.
Pewter spoons ana Steel knives ana
forks were choice heiriooms and
highly priced. Handmade wooden
trenches, platters, Dowts aud hog
gins comprised most Of the table
ware
Garments were spun by hand
every member or the FAMILY doing d
part. A woman could spin from
dawn to dark IRON fotty to sixty
knots of yarn. Now, with moueru
machinery, one operative can spin
100000 knots in the same time.
Carpets were luxury in 1900
There We're few woulen carpets Ia
Philadelphia aud New York; u few
lngrains, aud here ami there an i'm
ported Turkish rug. But these Were
used for speci Il occasions. The rag
carpet was the glory of the houss
wife.
Mt a cast iron pillow existed il
1870. The farmer used the sickle
the scythe aud the fail. His pillow
was home made-of wood COVERED
with thin sheet of iIoh. Seed.
were scattered by band the hoe wa
the cultivator. Grain was gathered
by hand, thresht d on the floor dur
dng the winter, aud crushed beneath
a stone pestle into fur, or grounl
in the neighborhood fl Jur mill. The
anower, the leaper and the Self
binder were unheard of.
To 90 to New York from PhilLdel
phia meant two uays by the swiftes
stage; to-day It is done in two hours
TO 20 from New England to Oregon
it took Doctor Atkinson eign
months, even in. 1847. To-day on,
CISCO in one hundred aud two hours
There was not Il mile of railroad il
1900. The first line built was tn,
Baltimore aud Ohio, In 1880. 1t wa
fourteen miles long.
No steamboat existed in the worlt
a hundred years ago. Sailing YES
sells crossed the Atlantic Ocean AM
took from two to three months TO
the VOYAGE. IL was not until $50
that Robert Fulton built his "Cler
mont" ana the first steam-propelle'
boat in the world steamed up tn
Hudson River.
The street car was unknown i
1900. The newspaper had hardl
started. There were only SOB post
offices. To-day we have 10 OOO-tha
is, in America alone. It took a lei
ter % days to go tIOm Pniiadelphi
to Nashville, Tennt ssee, and the pos
tage was eight cents.
The telegraph was undreamed Of
~ "A nd n ar