The St. Mary banner., 1900-12-22
THE CLOSE OF THE CENTURY.


ourselves comparing our daily lives
our common conveniences, and ~ha
we consider the necessities Of mod
ern civilization with the manner 0
life in America Il hundred years ago
Our entire population in 1900 Wa:
less than $500. 600. We had thir
teen small cities OF importance
Nothing was known Of tie ccuntrN
west of the mississippi and it va:
supposed to be largely a worthless:
desert and un,amab!e wiidcrn IS
Washington Was a new town ot sinai
regulation and had OH y recently
been made the National capitol. The
entire revenue Of Tie United States
government under Washington :
first administration was only s.. 100.
jOGO. Now it costs :9S. .l00.4 3.33j
to defray the expenses Of governing
Greater New York. No matches
were known in those days OF finder
box and fllnt-l lock and if the fire was
carelessly allowed to 20 ou', tie
unlucky people must travel TO the
neighbors perhaps several miles 10
! borrow live Goals with which TO re-
new it. The churches were unhrated
and it would have been considered a
sinful indulgence t. laye them
made comfortable.
We speak of the '.sood Old times.
and many people express a desire 10
return to the manner Of living whlch
our grandfathers knew but not many
of US would be satisfied 20 remain.
even If We could rrtGrI il The - aiii
our fathers trod.7 "Tho3e He.e Iii"
days Of cold. draughty dwellings.
heated only by open iirep'aces. Of
frequent sickness and unalIcyialeG
pain of bungIing Surgery and Short
lives, Of slcw travel. antluattd
farms, unlighten towns. !og cabins,
corduroy roads, OK teams aEd pony
expresses, Of dear books. ial.ow
dips, too,hless old age. superstition.
religious intolerance. witch buyuihgs
at home and inquisi':cn abroad Ii
seems in comparison wIiii the en-
lightmen; and civilization ot to-day
that lhey shoaId he called the ''hai
old tines Think Of il taking fifty
hours to carry 4 dispatch from New
York to Boston, i stage drive over
the same road occupied a wcch a1d
ships took seven weeks 10 cross the
Atlantic. George Washington never
saw postage stamp Aor dreamed
on how many Of them his !:kenes
would be printed. Ii cost twenty
five cents to sen'l Il letter more than
four hundred and City miles ana Tie
letters were written with a quill from
the old gray goose. The public ,
school WAS in its infancy crad!ed in
log school houses and ru!cd by |
harsh pedagogues; there were few
colleges, no universities and books
were few and AigI! priced. Million
luently business was done on small
scale. More than half Of the pnpsi-
latiOn worked on tie land ani there
we're no labor Unions to reou-
ate prices and laJo,e.s were paid
rom two to four 5biiiin9s per day,
Railroads there were none aud tie
wagon roads were fGarru, to cOiitrn!-
)late.
In 1880 the great excursion with
lie first locomotive which WAS con-
ldered Il success took place. one
hundred and forty miles Was made
n seventeen hours, eciipsing a!i
;nown records. IN 1867 ''Fu!lon
'olly, as it was derslveIy called Us
he skeptical crowd who gathered to
'ltness the start of the first steam
oat, made lis first successful trip |
p the Hudson river, that was tho t
avn of the age Of steam and elec- T
rlclty followed it close. Tie early J
lachines Of Edison. Houston and +
'ush are mere curioslies now,so far t
eyond them has American inventive S
enlus gone. Electricity now lights p
ur dwellings in ali the small towns. Il
ven draws our trolley cars, eleva. q
us and elevated trains. launches. II
ltomobiies and supplies power to q
lmberless factories and press u
IONS. In fact it is used in SO many al
ays that an enumeration would be
earlsome. What would John Paul
'nes have thought of one of oar cs
odern battle ships? How the bi
arch-light used upon them would fc
I'VE terrified the supers,;lious sea- T
en- OF hundred years ago, further gi
monstratIon of power would have Fl
en- unnecessary. st
Ever since Morse sent that first in
storlc message over the wires. the
e OF the telegraph has increased
tn marvellous rapidity, and in later
Us the telephone for short dis l.s ~
nee business is Of great value. Our an
VS. are so heightened by The use of -
these wonderful inventions that ~