The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1901-02-15

WHAT THE CENTURY HAS ACCOM-
PLISHED.
INTERESTING LECTURE BY REV O. w.
BARKER.
The lecture given by Rev O. W..
Barker at Botsford, last week Friday
night, was we'll attended and all pres
ent were well repaid for gong. Mr.
Barker spoke in his usual pleasing
manner, which held the attention of
the audience, the subject being
"What this century has DONE" After
mentioning where he found a few of
his facts, Mr. Barker began his address
by quoting this epitaph which is writ
ten on a tombstone in an English
cemetery.
| Here lies the remains Of Many Jones
Beneath this pile of rustic stones:
Her name was Brown, it was not Jones
But Jones was put to rhyme with stones'
So if do not stick quite close to facts
you may know have changed to make
it rhymes The progress in the last
century has not been step by step but
was made by leaps forward. In the
last century there have been "a great
inventions against Is in all the cen
turtles preceding. Many long for
''the good old days." What were "the
good old days." The days of unlighted
houses, the days of foot warmers, of
dueling, the days of bungling surgery,
pneumonia and rheumatic. I thank
God 1 am not living in the good old
fashioned days, when we had to keep
the fire covered on the hearth at night
and if it went out we must 60 mile
to neighbours to borrow a live coal.
OF course there is a quaint pictures
queness about it. Martha Washing
ton used the same kind of distaff that
was used 1000 years ago.
In the good old days it was not nee
essary for a young man to have a
bank account before he could marry.
The times are not the same. Every
thing was to be had in their own
home. The farmer had his bins filled
with all the vegetable and grain nee
essary for eatables. The wool was on
the sleeps back and could be made
into cloth, the fax was grown in the
fields. If a deliCacv was wanted the
farmer could take his fowling piece
and 60 out and kill some bird or game.
The good old ways were slow ways. It
took week for letter to go from
New York to Boston. After the NOM
ination of Andrew Jackson it was two
weeks before the news reached Wes-
tern Pennsylvania. Leaving New
York at 5 O'Clock p. m. it was consid-
cred a good trip if Albany was reached
by 7 the next morning. Postage on
letters in those days was 25c for die
lance of $50 miles or less, and when
writing letter one would try to get
their moneys worth, writing on fools
cap paper, 17x2O inches. The first
postotfice in St Paul was box 2x6 feet,
the entire revenue for a year being
$40. Now it amounts to millions of
dollars. George Washington never
saw an envelope nor a postage stamp.
In the year 1900 there were not over
dozen newspapers each having a Cir
culation of not more than 1000. Our
little NEWTOwN BEE, with it's
new BabcOck press could entirely
eclipse any one of them. If Benjamin
Franklin could come back to this eArtl
and see the self-feeding presses that
strike off $4,000 eight pages papers in
one hour, he would say, "Let me go back
to my narrow bed, it makes my head
tired, will take another little nap"
The first steel pen was made in 1919,
but it was long after this before it
came into constant use. Daniel Web
ster stole the quill from his mothers
pet goose for his pen and used SCOT
mixed with water for ink. Henry
Clay traced letters in sand. Most of
our grandfathers were brought up on
Webster's blue backed spelling book,
the Bible and Shakespeare. Our pub
lie schools have increased 80 fold in
the last decade. We have 100000
school children costing S123, 100000 for
education. There are more colleges in
Illinois than there are in the whole of
Europe. But our public institutions
are not secure so long as we spend
1928, 600, 900 for schools and 5000, OOO 600
for rum. In 1880 out Of every 1000
voters one out of every five could not
write and one out of every six could
not read. Elihu Yale laid the founda-
ton for Yale college by giving $40
John Harvard gave his library for a
foundation ofsHarvard college. Booker
T. Washington has worked his way up
from poor boy until now he is at the
head of Tuskegee institute. In the
early days women thought there was
no possibility of inventing machine
for sewing. In 1864 Elias Howe in
vented the first sewing machine, and
when he died was worth $40, 5000 as
the result. The first railroad was be-
tween Columbia and Charleston, S. G.
The first engine was drawn by horses.
next sails were used and then the
primitive locomotive. The first steam
engine, named "The Best Friend,
went 40 miles in II hours. From
1885 to 1910 were years of speculation.
The government gave land freely.
Oscar Taylor of Freeport, ILL.,, went to
Chicago with drove of cattle. He
realized from them $500. Not wish