The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-12-17
the CtNIURY WITHIN WINCH We lIyf.


A man fifty years of age hardly
realizes what q wonderful century
he has lived in It is only by turn
back the hand of time and re
calling conditions as they existed
long ago a he appreciate the mar
wells that have been revealed since
his birth.
1t was only in the eighteenth Gen.
fury that gss light was a curiosity,
and the first gas company only be-
gan operation in the nineteenth. In
war times, cities celebrated events,
the tallow candle was the most
prevalent form of illumination.
The past half-century began by
candle light, later used kerosene and
now relies very largely upon cleo
tricity. In 1859 such a thing as an
electric light was undreamed of. In
the same year, nothing but clothes
were made from cotton. From the
1eecy staple we now derive an ex
cellent oil which furnishes US lard,
fertilizer and high-grade feedstuffs.
Now the probability is that eve
the stalks may be utilized for paper
or bagging, and indeed every part
of the plant may in time serve
some useful purpose. The age
of steel, marking the highest
point in industrial development,
began during the last half-cen-
fury. Oil and natural gas have
been seduced from the bosom of
the earth. The old castle must
have been a cold and dreary
place in the winter; but we have
now perfected heating to such a
degree that a home can be made
comfortable throughout. The
householder can turn on a reg
lister and heat his room to any
temperature; one press of a but
ton Eliminates his room,
Fifty years ago the telegraph
had been onlv developed imper-
fectly. Now a message is fash
sd beneath the seas to the most
distant lands; the assassination
of a king is known just about as
soon in Greenwood as it is made
public in that kingdom. If some
one in this State had advanced
the theory that a person could
communicate by wire with an
other in New York fifty years
ago. his friends would have look
ed apon him as a visionary that
was h AIDED for a mad house.
The stage coach was still pop
ular fifty years ago. When a
railroad reached a mountain it
stopped. Now, it either climbs
the hill or goes directly through
them. Then our city people had
nothing more rapid than the
mule car or the carriage. The
electric car was at first regarded
as a dangerous experiment. Now
it is in universal use, and one
rides all over the city in a blaze
of lightning and never dreams Of
danger. The preservation of a
conversation or a song or a piece
of music on a disc was looked
upon even twenty-five years ago
as an impossibility, yet today one
can sit in his own apartments
and hesr the greatest singers
and musicians in the world. The
operas of all the composers yield
their choicest selections to him,
and the performances of the
celebrated orchestras can be had
at his will. Sailing vessels that
plowed the seas have given away
to onr modern steamer that
races through the waves like a
greyhound. 1t is like a minia-
ture city breasting the sea-. The
bicycle and the automobile are
now giving the weary horse a de-
served rest. The typewriter
has been invented and now the
correspondence of the world is
transacted by machine.
It was not a difficult matter to
prove thirty years ago that a
typesetting machine was an inn
possibility. The linotype has
met all seeming objections and
today type can be set as rapidly
as a typewriter can be manipu-
lated. Pictures can be telegraph
\ - 1T = -.