Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-11-02
More On The Nineteenth Century

90 AuOtItI VI tilc dCillcN CtuCubo Va
the nineteenth century has been
the proclamation Of liberty, and
the rights OF man. Whereas in
other centuries desrots have held
sway and tralnpeled on the rights
Of the masses, the said century has
happily become known as the era
Of freedom.
The establishment aof the United
States as republic with, her mar.
velous growth in said century to-
gether with the rise of republics in
South America, Central America,
Mexico. and Europe. has establish
ed beyond reversal, the doctrine Of
human freedom.
Another happy fruitage Of the
century has been the granting OF
constitutional rights to the people.
by Inc leading monarchies. Of the
Old World. But the most striking
augury of good in this direction in
the century has been the abolition
of African slavery. The dawn Of
the nineteenth century found the
course of slavery in almost every
land. 1t was not only in old Eng
land but it was in New England AS
we'll. According to old statistics.
in the year 1890 there were eight
slaves in the state of Newhamp-
shire, 381 in Rhode Island, 1000 in
Connecticut and over 10000 in
New York. The transition from
these conditions is gratifying. The
Century has closed with slavery
abolished in every CIVILIZED land.
And with the leading Nations
banded tagether, to exterminate it
in all lands. This emancipation of
millions, who could not choose or
act for themselves, is one OF the
browning achievements Of the Cen
fury and constitutes an open door
for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Turning to the progress made in
mechanical and industrial devices
we are confronted by an almost
boundess field Of research and
inquiry. In the field of artificial
lighting it is a surprising fact that
no progress worthy of mention
was mahe in thousands of years.
The home on which said century
dawned had no other light than
the fire on the hearth, tallow
candle or possibly a whale oil lamp,
those crude means Of illumination
which had been in use in Babylon
and Egypt three thousand years
ago, still remained the only light |
for the homes an the cities at the
dawn of the aforesaid century. The
change which a hundred years has
wrought is amazing. The discoy-
cry Of petroleum, and gas. and
their uses for illumination, togeth-
er with the more recent applica-
ton Of electricity marks, revoln-
ton in this department. sufficient
alone to make a century famous.
The present illumination Of the
homes. business places, churches, !
public buildings and cities of our
country, contrasted with the tallow
candle of a century ago shows a
progress thousand times greater
than the combined progress of all |
other centuries since the creation
A similar advancement and one
wholly developed in the aforesaid
century is the improved means for
and the rapidity of modern travel
ing. At the dawn Of the century
people could not travel faster than
could that noble animal, the horse.
No progress had been madein thous-
ands of years and the horse still
remained the swiftest and principle
Of travel and communities
ton. In the year 1900 there was
not a mile of steam railway in the
World, and it was not until the
middle of the Century's fourth de-
cade that 1000 miles could be
reckoped in this country. The
century closed with more than
$4,000 miles of track in the Unit
I'd States, or more than enough to
build nine lines of railway around
the entire Globe.
The transition from the days of
5he horseback rider and the stage
coach to this present gigantic ex-
.ention Of the railway system is a
evolution in conveyance sufficient
v great, the way the world has
oeen moving, to constitute the
-ecord of 4 600 years but instead it
S the record of the last 10 years of
he writer's life. 1t is marvellous
esson of rapid and world wide de-
and yet accomplished
within a single life time. The
nineteenth Century has closed the
-ecord of thousands of years when
he horse was the swiftest means
,f conveyance the tallow candle,
me means of artificial light, and
he supple fail, the instrument for
grain.
With the development of facili-
les for increased travel, the century
las also. solved the problem of the
nstaneous conveyance OF intelll-
,ence. which has brought the
rds of the World in close proximity