Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-01-16

conf aad Wireless Telegraphy-hI-
pects to See Electricity suppiant
Steam as Motive Power In . Few
Hears-Medicfne Played Out-Ge rm
of Old Age May he Discovered.
Thomas A. Edison, the great invent
or, makes the following statement In
the New York World:
The great problems of the year are
the problems Of fighting bacteria. Of
citing electricity direct from coal, Of
getting power from the elements cheap
ly and In spplying the many uses Of
electricity To manufactures.
Il look for Il wonderful year There
is more activity In science than there
has ever been before, more men are
working OH big problems and great dis
coveries would be only natural.
For myself. my storage battery. on
which | have worked four years, will
be put on the market In January. 1t
solves the traction problem, and its in
PRODUCTION means that the horse will
have to go.
Il expect to give up practical inven-
tion for two years. ! am going to ex-
periment-going to delve In some prob
lens that have put by for an idle
time and for once am going to work
without having the production Of
commercial commodity In view. ! am
going into the byways OF science. /
prefer not to say what my experiments
will be. Yes, trying to get electricity
direct from coal is one of them.
The wireless telegraphy | assuredly
expect to see perfected for commercial
purposes, II not fully so In 1908 at least
advanced toward that end. The right
kind OF man is working at 1t. prac-
tical man, an earnest man, and have
confidence in him. As TO the objection
that messages may be tapped, that's as
far as the objectors can see now. That
may be true tonight; tomorrow 1t may
be different.
I'm not interested In the flying ma.
chine. | could never see any CONNER
cial use for it. have never had time
TO read much about II.
IL expect to see electricity supplant
steam as a motive power In fifteen
years electricity will be the railway
motive power. Nineteen hundred and
three will advance 1t In that direction.
Nineteen hundred and three will
bring great advances In surgery, in the
or ~ hor rfa arto In, ha lpA InJr -
the cause and prevention of disease.
Medicine Is played out. Every new
discovery Of bacteria shows us all the
more convincingly that we have been
wrong and that the million tons Of stuff
we have taken was all useless. They
may even discover the germ of old age
i don't predict it. but 1t might be that by
the sacrifice of animal life human life
could be prolonged. The doctor Of the
future will give no medicine. but will
human frame, In diet and in the cause
and prevention Of diseases.
Surgery, diet, antiseptics-these three
are the vital things Of the future In the
preservation Of the health of human
ity. There were never 30 many able,
active minds at work on the problems
Of disease as now, and all their discov-
cries are tending to the simple truth
that you can't improve on nature.
'The newspapers are among the
great agents that will grow better in
1908 and In the years to come They
are the great school. A man who does
not read the newspapers might as well
be de0l. They are powerful infiu-
ence for advancement. They are get
ting better, they are printing more SCI
ence and paying more attention to the
things that benefit and improve hu-
manity.
There will be few more wars. The
world seems to be tending to peace.
We should have great navy, one three
times as large as the present-not to
fight, but to have ready in case there
should be fight. A great navy is one
of the greatest stimulants to science.
I'VE are only in the infancy Of cleo
tricity. Its possibilities no man can
uredu any uoTe tndH a uaH MY years
ago could have foretold what we have
today Little discoveries like the Roent-
gen and the Becquerel rays and SINH
lar things will lead to great things
what, cannot be told just now.
"As to books. the books of today are
more to my liking than the old books.
1t Is so with painting. 1t is great
time. Great things are being done, and
it is impossible to prophesy. Better
health, greater enlightenment, better
facilities Of living. are being placed in
our reach with every day. look for
wonderful year Of progress"