Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-05-01
The Wonderful Century.

nc
Our own wonderful" century well de-
serves its name, writes Jennie Day
Haines in the st. Nicholas; for it has
been calculated that "a supremely
had their origin In the 18th century,
against the Is or 16 of all past time.
To enumerate a few: If the telescope
of the 18th century reveals to us myri
ads of suns, the spectroscope of the
10Th tells us what substances COM
pose these suns, and, most wonderful
of all, the direction and rate in which
each is moving. The mariners COM
pass easily yields place to Morse's cleo
trio telegraph, perfected in 1874; while
the useful barometer and thermome-
ter are certainly less wonderful than
Bells telephone and Edison's phono-
graph. Dr. Rontgen's "X-rays," which
pierce the hidden recesses of nature,
and literally speaking, reveal the inner
man; Marconi's wireless telegraphy; IL
qud air; the bacillus, or germ theory
Of disease, form a notable group of the
railroads in the 18th century, but 1t
was after 1902 when Richard Trevi-
thick took out in England the first
patent for a high-pressure engine
adapted for motion on roads; and in
1929 the Rocket, which was built by
Robert Stephenson, drew A tons at
the rate of over 90 miles an hour; this
gave the impetus to the construction
of railroads. How they have devel-
oped is seen from the statistics for
1898, which show that the railroads
of the world cover over 450 900 miles,
years. AS to the use of steam in the
navigation of boats, Robert Fulton, an
American, made his successful trial
of the Clermont in 1907, and to the
New World also belongs the honor of
sending the first steamship across the
Atlantic in 1919, which used her en-
gnes is out of the 26 days voyage.
The Royal William, built in Cana
da, was the first to cross the ocean
propelled all the way by steam. The
first iron transatlantic steamship was
the Great Britain, which discarded the
paddle wheel and adopted the screw
propeller. The steamship Oceanic,
launched last year, marks an epoch in
steamship history, and surpasses even
Jules Verne's widest flights of fancy,
being 704 feet long, outmeasuring the
famous Great Eastern, which as an in
vestment was a colossal failure.
AS to minor inventions. friction
matches have done away with all pre-
vious means of lighting fires; and the
use of gas for lighting, both indoors
and out. has added greatly to our com
fort during the past so years.
Surgery has made wonderful ad-
vances in the past 100 years, and one
of the greatest blessings of our time
is the use of anesthetics to alleviate
suffering
Before 1916 the only machine for
sewing was the needle, propelled by
human fingers, and Hoods pathetic
Song OF the Shirt" was as true to life
as it was poetic.
AZ b4luI pei iotl isiltiso iAONt, an fhAiiC-
lean, patented the first sewing ma
chine in the word which revolution
lied the entire art of needlework at
home and in the factory. Since then
no less than 1000 patents have been
granted for various improvements and
notifications of the original idea.
In agriculture the implements of orr
grandfathers were little better than
those used by the barbarians of old. 1t
was not until the middle of the 10Th
century that the sickle and the scythe
were replaced by the reaper Justly did
the French government decorate Cyrus
Mccormick of Chicago with the ribbon
of the Legion of Honor "for having
done more for the cause of agriculture
than any other living man"
yankee invention is phrase that
proves the recognition of American in
ventiveness; but whether or not they
are first as inventors, as a nation the
United States quickly adopt the new
est things under the sun, thus helping
to make true the poetic prophecy,
"Wostward the course of empire takes
its way"
Spanish sheep are white. excepting