Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-05
NINE NEW INVENTIONS COMING
Mr.. Edison says They Are on the
Road and Hundreds Will
Follow.

The next era will mark the most won
derful advance in science and Invention
that the world has ever known or hoped
for. SO vast will that advance be that
we can now have scarcely any conception
of its scope, but already a great many OF
the inventions of the future are assured.
It is only of those which I regarded as
| practical certainties that I speak here.
First. Within the next twenty or thirty
| years-and It will start within the next
two or th~ree-concrete architecture Will
! take enormous strides forward; the art
Of holding concrete will be reduced to a
science of perfection and what is equally
important. of cheapness; there will rise
up a large number of gifted architects
and through their efforts cities and towns
will spring up in this country beside
which Turner's picture Of ancient Rome
and Carthage will pale into nothingness
and the buildings of the Columbia eX-
hibition will appear common, But great
expense will not attend this; It will be
lone so that the poor Will be able to
| enjoy houses more beautiful than the rich
now aspire to, and the man earning $1.5o
a day. with a family to support, will be
better housed than the man of today who
is earning $40.
Second. Moving picture machines will be
so perfected that the characters will not
only move, but will speak. and all the ac-
cessories and effects Of the stage will be
faithfully produced on the living picture
stage. This, OF course. will not be done
as we'll as on the regular stage, but its
standard will approach very near to that,
and the fact that such entertainment will
be furnished for 5 cents will draw vast
numbers of the working classes. The re-
suit will be that the masses will have the
advantage OF the moral or good drama,
they will find an inexpensive and improving
way OF spending the evening, and the death
knell of the saloon will be sounded.
Third. In perhaps fifteen or twenty years
depending on the financial condition of
the country-the locomotive will pass al
most altogether out Of use, and all our
main trunk lines will be operated by cleo
tPicity.
Fourth. A new fertilizer will spring into
existence, containing a large percentage
OF nitrogen, This will he drawn from the
air by electricity and will be used to in
crease the arab'ity of the land. Even now
this is done to a large extent in Sweden.
Fifth-An our water power will be utiI,
lied by electricity to an extent now almost
unthought Of. and will he used with great
advantage. both industriallw and for rail,
| reads.
, Sixth - successful aerial navigation
will be established-perhaps for mails-ant
will achieve a sound, practical working
basis.
seventh-we shall be able to protect our
selves against environment by the use o
serums and things Of that sort 50 that tn
general state of health will improve ant
the average span of life will increase by
large percentage. The great fight whicl
is being made against tuberculosis AM
cancer will reach a successful elimination
and these diseases will be entirely mas
tered.
Eighth-A new force IN nature, Of som
sort or other, will be discovered by whic'
many things not now understood Will b
explained. We unfortunately have onl
five senses; II we had eight we'd knoN
more.
Ninth-We will realize the posslbilitie
OF cur coal supplies better, and will lear
how to utilize them so that 80 per cent d
the efficiency win not be thrown away
as It is today.
Finally, let il be said. hardly any pieC
Of machinery now manufactured is mol
than 10 per cent perfect. As the years g
on this will be improved upon tremer
dously; more automatic machinery will ,
devised. and articles or comfort and luS
ury will be produced in enormous mum
bers at such small cost that all elassC