Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-08-12
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF SCIENCE

by sctence. Literature, music, 1culp-
ture and painting must go back into the
moist and mildewy past for their most |
glorious accomplishments, but the
golden age of science still lies several
miles out in the sweet bye-and-bye.
There was time, and not SO many |
years ago, when about all the average |
scientist needed was hair tonic and
pair of steel-rimmed spectacles, but |
great changes have come of late years
and the scientist of to-day must be
equipped with about everything from
monkey wrench to q map of the
Milky Way.
The scientist of the present must
be brave of heart and quick OF limb,
ready to climb mountain OF swim
creek, feel the pulse of a nervous vol
cano or dive to the depths OF the sea.
Whenever anything happens, the
fleet-footed and Intellectual gen
tleman who may be seen get
ting in on the scene slightly
ahead of the policemen and the
reporters, is a scientist. He sleeps
with his boots on and is ready at
moments notice. AT midnight, while
the rest of the world is trying to see
how loud itcan enore without swallow
ing it's tonsils, a message is pressed
into his hand:
"You are commanded to proceed at
, once to Buckskin, Kansas, where a
cyclone will strike Thursday. Remain
out where you can make careful ex-
periments and examinations. If you
are personally picked up and carried
away by the storm, make a careful
memorandum of your velocity, mean
average height from the earth's sur
| face, objects through which you are
blown and objects blown through you"
run over to Africa at once, where
strange light is reported to have been
seen in the heavens since the 18th. AS
certain whether it is an erratic comet
which has lost its bearings, signal
| from Mars, or newspaper inaccuracy,
any of which will be regarded with pro-
found interest by the world of science"
And thus it goes with the scientist.
He is honored, respected and sent for
on every hand. Yesterday he lived in
| an attic, smoked an 1s-horsepower
blow-pipe, and had hard work to pay
his rent; to-day the world purrs around
at his feet in humble affection. But
the world can well afford to do this,
for it owes much to the brave man who,
hairless and friendless, has toiled on
and on in the face Of every discourage
| ment. working night and day, often
Drawing the dangers of sea and food,
enduring poverty and political ostra-
cism that the great, throbbing world
might learn the crop prospects for
Saturn or have q hat rack that can
also be used as an egg beater and dog
muzzle.
Take the farmer. for instance. Yes
terday he cut his wheat with a scythe,
and gathered his hay and potato bugs
by hand, to-day he has lightning-rod
contracts and a self-binder with red
paint and mortgage on it. Yester-
day the farmer led an humble and sim
pie life, to-day he has every luxury
from a barb-wire fence to an incubator
and he can get his market reports by
telephone, thus enabling him to de.
eide whether to sell his eggswhen paid
or hold them till the next spring.
And what science has done for the
farmer it has also done for everybody
a else, more or less. The hotel and the
= restaurant and the bank have changed
+ wonderfully. The livery stable, too
! has felt the touch of science, and it i:
2 not the same to-day it was 50years ago
[ Many of the horses are the same, bu1
Each day brings some new wonder
each year means a revolution. A few
, years ago man sent his shirt to the
laundry and got It back the nextweek
: but to-day the laundry can take ar
ordinary boiled shirt, yank the epider
: mis- off the bosom, amputate the tai
and both arms and return it to tht
owner while he waits.
Even in the affairs of our nationa
government science has accomplished
wonderful things. Take for instance
in the matter of weather. Where, {
! few years ago man had nothing to &c
: by but his patent medicine almanac
8 or his rheumatism, to-day he is able
] to tell just exactly what kind of wealth
5 er the United States weather burea,
! has ordered delivered for the succeed
r ing days consumption. But the rheu
. matism was not without it's advan
I tages, for its forecasts were reliable
handy and did not suspend publicati
on Sundays and legal holidays.
When man with the rheumatism
! awoke in the morning the first thing
he did was to issue bulletin:
! Sharp pains in left knee accompa
e MED by tinkling sensation in back O
neck. Rain in Missouri, Iowa and Hi
nois. Michigan cloudy Indiana threat
ening. Eastern states dry.
Left knee stiff. Strong westerly
, winds accompanied by rain and snow
, in South Dakota.
Right ankle swollen, sharp pain i,
both arms, left leg might be ABIDE t.
hurt woree but doubt it; occasional
pains In back accompanied by appropri
ate profanity. Severe storm approach
,, ing. Will reach here some time da,
after tomorrow. Great damage will
: he done. Hand me the liniment.
s "No pain. Joints timber, muscle.
: plinbls, appetite good. Will hunt VI
man who called me liar last week
: Clear and continued warm!
"Bunion on left foot inclined to b.
quarrelsome. Signs of SPAWN in righ-
/ knee. Left leg again growing stiff
n Will linn I'LL noon and will then uat