The suburban citizen., 1901-02-02
STORY OF THE CENTURY
AN OUTLINE IN BRIEF OF ITS cLo-
RloUS TRlUMPHS.

and 1.-THE Peoples Century"
Alfred Russell Wallace calls It "thc
Wonderful Century" Hall Caine calls
It "the Peoples Century" Camille
Elammarion calls it "the Era Of As
Economical Discovery" because of the
spectroscope which has brought with
in the range of human vision 100000
600 new worlds. Sir Norman LOCK-
yer calls it "the Scientific Century"
Other eminent authorities have vari-
ously characterized it as the Century
Of Discovery and Exploration, the
Century of Mechanical Invention, tine
Century Of Commercial Expansion, the
Century Of Steam and Electricity and
the Century of Social Progress and
Reform. In truth, it has been all
these things, and more.
In political revolutions and social
svolutions it has been a Titanic cen
fury. At its opening all the world
excepting the United States was i'm
perially governed. At its close all
the Americas and France are demo
cratically governed both in fact and
In name, and the British monarchy
has become n republic in all but name.
There is in fact in 1900 no absolute
ruler left among civilized men. If we
except the Czar Of all the Russias,
who remains to remind us Of Ma
poleop's prophecy that the world will
some day be "all Cossack or all re-
publican" The extinction of slavery
and the African slave-trade is perhaps
the greatest single item in the account
of the century's political and social
reformatlons But the emancipation
of white labor from the twelve AMI
fourteen hour day that was universal
In 1890. and the establishment in its
place Of the day Of ten, nine and eight
hours, the restriction Of women's and
Ghlldren's labor the general and
great rise in wages, and, above all,
the creation in nearly every civilized
country of a ree-cOmmon-schoOl sys-
TEN, which a hundred years ago eX.
listed in this country only. are steps
forward Of broader scope and value
than the disappearance Of African
slavery. The United States, with the
majestic total Of 100000 pupils in
It's public and private schools, graphi
sally described by the United States
Commissioner Of Education, William
I. Harris, leads the march of popular
education in 1900 as it did in 1900,
but the whole world is now keeping
step to the music of the school bell.
Great Britain since 1870 and all her
colonies have free common schools.
And all Europe saving Russia is in
the cruclble Of universal enlighten-
ment.
In the domain of science, as Sir
Norman Lockyer remarks it is the
century that has entirely changed,
md for the better the conditions Of
human life" 1t has given us the
steam-engine. the steam railroad, the
steamship, the telegraph, the ocean
cable, the storm-signal service, the
geological map, the sewing machine
the reaping and threshing machines
the printing press, the typewriter
stenography photography, the tele.
phone, the Oil lamp, the gas jet, the are
light, the electric power house draw
ing its herculean strength from wat
erfalls hundreds Of miles away, the
Roentgen X rays, the giant telescopes
and a host of subsidiary applications
of these notable inventions.
Considered as a century of discovery
it has given US the great blologic reve-
latlon Of Darwin shedding more light
on the origin Of life, human and ami
NAL, than all the previous centuries
combined. In medicine, as Professor
Mazzoni says it has worked mira.
cles in the conquest of pain and the
reduction Of the perils Of infection"
The name Of Jenncr, Pasteur, Lister
and Koch would alone make it a cen
tury of marvellous memory Unques.
tionably, as Sir William MacCor-
mac, the eminent British surgeon,
remarks, "the greatest boons con-
ferred Oh humanity during the hun
dred years now ending are the dis
covery Of anaesthesia, the introduction
Of antlseptic methods Of wound treat
ment and the progress made in the
prevention and cure Of disease by vac.
cinatiOn and incubation
The common assumption that II
has been mainly century Of material
growth and commercial extension may
be doubted, in view Of the enormous
strides that have been made since 1900
IN popular education, the improvement
Of labor conditions and the elevation
Of the masses to a plane Of comfort.
able living unknown even to the well
to-dO classes Of the eighteenth century.
And yet no estimate of it would he
Just that left out Of account the huge
expansion it has witnessed in the
population, wealth and commerce Of
all civilized nations When the CEN
tury began, the annual value Of the
commerce Of the world, covering the
interehanges Of commodities between
all It's people, Is eXpertly estimated ia