The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-01-10
HORSE MUST GO
ELECTRICITY IN FIFTEEN YEARS
WILL SUPPLANT STEAM ON
RAILWAYS
Wireless Te1egraphy will be used
for Commercial Purposes Edi-
son Says so-Five Humid
red Pound Woman
Other News.

Other News.
New York, Jan. 2.-Thomas A
Edison, the great inventor, made
the following atement to ths
World Wednesday:
"The great problems of the year
are the problems of fighting bacte
ria, Of getting electricity direct from
coal, of getting power from the ele
ments cheaply, and in applying the
many uses of electricity to manu-
features.
81 look for wonderful year
There is more activity in science
than there has ever been bsfore,
more men are working on big prob.
lens and great discoveries would be
only natural.
'sFor myself, my storage battery
on. which I have worked four years
will be put on the market in Janu
ary. 1t solves the traction prob
lem, and its introdu ton means
that the horse will have to 60.
I expect to give up practical in
vention for two years. I am going
to experiment-going to delve, into
some problems that I have put by
| for an idle time, and for once am
going to work without having the
production of a commercial COM
modify in view.
81 am going into the byways O
science. I prefer4not to say wha
my experiments will be. Yes, try
ing to get electricity direct from
coal is one of them.
'sThe wireless telegraphy I as
suredly expect to see perfected fol
commercial purposes-if not fully
so in 1903 at least advanced toward
that end. The right kind of mar
is working at it, practical man, an
earnest man, and have confidence
in him.
Gas to the objection that messages
may be tapped-that's as far as the
objectors can see now. That may
be true tonight; tomorrow it may
be different.
II am not interested in the flying
machine. I could never see any
con- mercial use for it. I have new
er had time to read much about it
"I expect to see electricity sup
plant steam as motive power. In
fifteen years electricity will be the
railway motive power 1908 vii
advance it in that direction.
"Nineteen hundred and three
will bring great advances in surge
| Try, in the study of bacteria, in th.
knowledge Of the cause and pre-.
vention Of disease.
Medicine is played out. Every
|new discovery of bacteria shows III
all the more convincingly that w
have been wrong and that the mil
ilion tons of stuff we have taken wal
all lluseless.
''They may even discover tn,
germ Of old age. I don't predict it
butit might be by the sacrifice o
animal life, human life could b,
prolonged.
.tThe doctor of the future vii
give no medicine, but will instruct
his patient In the care of the hu
man frame, in diet and in the.caus,
and prevention of diseases.
"Surgery, diet, antiseptics-thes
three are the vital things of the fu
ture in the preservation of th,
health of humanity. There wer
never SO many able, active mind
at work ON the problems of diseas
as now, and all their diecoverie
are tending to the simple truth
that you can't improve on nature
Tine newspapers are among tn
great agents that will grow bette
in 1903 and in years to come. The,
are the great school. A man VIII
does not read the newspapers nigh
as well be dead. They are pow
erful influence for advancement
They are getting better, they ar
printing more science and payin
more attention to the things tha
benefit and improve humanity.
"There will be few more wars
The world seems to be tending t
Epeace. We should have great ma
Ivy, one three times as large as th
|present-not to fight, but to hav
|ready in case there should be
fight. A great navy is one of tn
greatest stimulants to science.
I'VE are only in the infancy Q
electricity, Its possibility no MAJ
can dream no more tslan mai