Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-06-08

| ideas were ever entertained least of all
| by men such as those mentioned.
All this and much more is the result
| of invention; for, as was well said by
Senator Plat. "a railroad, from the
steel rail to the top of the Gnoke
stack, from its locomotive headlight
! to the signal lantern on the platform
| of the last car, is but an aggregation
| of Inventions" Still, the history Of the
world Is fun of such incidents and
doubling I HI masses" They stand like
mile-posts along The pathway Of every
ar! and science, and serve to marx the
progress Of mankind in civilization.
Probably no class Of men make 50
many unpatcnted inventions as civil
and mechanical engineers. There is
scarcely a single great ncchauic1l
structure or work of any kind. in
which they do not invent or devise
new means and methods for expcjting
the work and improving the structure:
and these works. dotting the face Of
tie earth, are so many monuments TO
their inventive skill and ability.
Wien Murdoch invented or diScov-
cred means for producing illuminat-
itt5 Ss'o. ii' II % man titil t7ii
Humphry Davy ridiculed the idea of
using it for lighting purposes. and
said. if it was to be used for street
lighting. they would have TO use the
dome OF st. Paurs for gasometcr.
Sir Walter Scott made clever jokes
about sending light through street
pipes" and lighting London by
smoke" but subsequently had his
scientific man, said they might as wei
attempt to light London with a slice
from the neon" 1t is but a few years
since the scientists of Europe demon
stratcd mathematicalIy that the cleo
trio current could not be divided for in
cand. scent lighting; but today the CON
trary is demonstrated by millions on
millions of incandcsccnt lights. il
Illuminating every spot where civilized
man resides.
But the Strangest of all things in this
connection is the fact that. even in this
enlightened age, there are men who
still insist that inventions are in
furious. 1t is not many years since
that, in q paper published at the ma
tional capital. there was the statement
that the invention OF the steam engine
and the sewing machine We're two of
TIE greatest curses that ever bcfcll
mankind
1t is. moreover. a matter of history
that in certain sections of this en-
lightencd land prayers We're fervcntly
offered in churches besccching that
the wickcdness of the newly invented
sewing machines. which. it WAS sup
posed. would rob the sewing women of
their means of obtaining living.
might become apparent. and its pro
meters be stricken by a conviction of
their wrong doing in making it. and
thus he told by Heaven to dcsist from
its manufacture.
AS illustrating the difficulty of sccur-
ing the adoption Of new ideas, | may
mention Il more recent instance. When
the war broke out in 1851 | spent much
time in tho effort to induce the govern
ment To adopt brccch-loadinE guns and
metallic cartridges. but II took ; years to
secure the former and the latter were
not adopted until 1865
In 1861 or IS6. the president of Sharpe's
Rifle Co. came to Washington to secure
a contract to furnish its rifle for the Ber
dan sharp shooters. ! cndcavorcd to con
vince him of the advantages which would
result if il would adopt the metallic cart =
ridge and reduce the .caibcr of it's gun
but in vain. lie said the metallic cart
ridge would never be adopted, and The
Chicl OF ordnance. Ill Alifil. lhl. itiI M
that the government would never adopt
it, Now both have been adop, ci the worl!
over.
This spirit of opposition exists today to
a greater or less extent among the Labor
unions, whose members without inveSti-
eating the subject. are made to believe
that labor-SaviilG machinery derives
them Of employment or At least Will icS-
sen their wages. just AS the silk Wclv"rS
of LYON; thoiirht in regard to Jacquard )
loom and as the spinncrs of Lancashire
thought in reference to liarSfcavcs3
spinning jenny.
This belief exists because of n want Of
knowledge of the facts on the part of
these men. ana because /; has been fos-
tered ny dcmaCocucs for political pur-
poses to secure the votes of these men.
1t is only snort time since | mite !!
States senator. in Il public address, as
serted that the fact that SO many men
had been thrown ont of employment dur
nG the past two years was due 10 the
introduction OF labor saving inventions or
II is no doubt true that. when q new in
vcnticn is introduced which rcvoiut.on-
lies some particular art or branch OF
business il at first decreases tn" number
OF persons employed in that particular
line: but that is only temporary, for in n
short time the result is Il cheapcning of
tho product a greatly-incrcascd demand
for it because of this chcapening, ami
then necessarily an Increased demand for
IabOrers in that line. and almost GIINer-
81, ~ at increased wages
The stats les Of the country show this
to be t-uc beyond the possibility of ques-
ton The records of the labor bureau
show that from lS6" 70 1850. the most pro
life pc:iod IN THIS country of Inventions
and the most intcnSt4ed in all directions
of their introduction, the population in
creased a9a1 per cent. while in the same
period The number of PERSONS tmpl Eyed in
all occupa tionS-InanlllactIring, aEricui-
lure, domestic SerNi and everything
increased lCgS1 ucr cent. and in the de-
catIe from 1879 to 1881 The population in
creased zoos per cent. while the number
of persons employed increased % per
cent.
As the commissioner of labor says: An
analysis of these statements shows that
the increase of the number of those en-
r,pod in manufacturing, mechanical. AMI
mining industrics.-tho in which the in
uucnce Of inventions is most kcenly felt
for The period from 1860 to 1880 was o.
per cent. as against 59.5l per cent. in
crease of population And he adds: II
statistics could be forcibly applied to
chow the new occupations brought into