The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-18
T1rp PAssrNa or srrAM.

The one hundred years just now ending have witnessed the beginning and the triumph of steam in the Uni ted States. and also the beginning of its downfall as the monarch of mo- tive powers. Its real inception in this country was in August, 1907. when Robert Fulton's little steamer suc- cessfully ascended the Hudson river, to the great sstonishment of those who witnessed 1t, and the discomfiturs of many who had predicted fsilure.
 That was the birth of steam as power In the New World. and from that day its march of triumph began. Little did Fulton imagine what won- derful possibilities lay in the giant he had partially harnessed. Little did those who only viewed his successful venture as a curious experiment think that here was the beginning of mighty revolution on both land and sea, and doubtless many of them ar gued that what they saw was about all there would ever be to 1t.
 And yet there were many then liv- ing who were to bear witness that Fulton had merely started the infant on its upward growth. They lived to see steam vessels covering the waters of the earth, the smoke from their chimneys ascending from every quar- ter of the globe. and the throb of their mighty engines waking the echoes in every bay and harbor known to civil ization. They lived to see steam ves- sells of every size and form, for war and peace, for pleasure and commerce. And they lived to see the face of the civilized earth crossed and covered with iron tracks whereon mighty engines drew long trains loaded with passen- gers and with the products of mans labor. And they also lived to see all over this land of ours great mills and factories and shops where the whir and rattle and clamor of mighty machines owed their movement and power to that infant of Fulton's which had grown into a mighty giant. All this was destined to come about during the lifetime of some who saw the little Clermont slowly forcing its way up the broad Hudson.
 And so the hundred years now rounding out may we'll be called the Age of Steam and steam found itself enthroned as the world monarch of motive power on land and water. But the closing of this century of years has also witnessed the beginning of steam's displacement as the ruling driving force of earth. Instead of holding It's place as the monarch of mechanical force 1t Is gradually but surely finding itself pushed aside by the Irresistible advance of modern dis covery and adaptation. Henceforth. if it Is not entirely set aside, it must divide honors, and yield its suprema- cy.
 And yet this new gladiator that Is contending for mechanical mastery Is older than steam itself, even in our comparatively new world, for some- thing was known of Its powers and obscurity. That the progress ot elec- tric development has been exceedingly slow may be due to variety of causes. but the fact remains that only within a few years have mechanics and engineers begun to appreciate it's pow CTS and foresee what the near future may bring forth. Already the pom derous, noisy and grimy steam engine has gone out of thousands of mills and shops of great factories and small industries. of the home. the office and the printing shops. Already steam To- comotives are being discarded and small electric engines or transmitters are driving the cars and pulling the trains. not only on the streets and the little railways but are being put to work on large railroads where swift motion Is required to pull heavy loads.
 How far this revolution will go, where 1t will end, or what is to be the ultimate limit of its use no one may say. but 1t Is freely predicted that in very few years a steam engine of any kind or size will come to be re- garded as a curiosity, especially on lana, ana why not Wltn millions ana billions of water power running to waste all over the country which can easily be converted into electric power and transmitted almost without limit there seems no reason for achering to the wasteful use of fuel to generate steam. Whether the time Is coming when the great ships will be propelled by the new force may be doubtful, but 1t seems certain that on land all forms of steam engines will soon be- long to the past, and people will won der why they retained their places so long.
 Plainly the throne of King Steam is slipping from under him and King Electricity is mounting it. The "un- conquered steam" of which Erasmus Darwin prophetically wrote more than 1 a century ago has been conquered!
 WHISKEY STRAIGHT.
 Attorney General Bonaparte has taken little time off from the con-