The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-09-11
THE PUBLIC FORUM.
) ....s.s..s.s. +.
Edison Looks Forward.


what Is coming In the near future. He
says: at is only of those things
which | regard as practical certain
ties that | speak here" And then he
goes on to say:
"First-Within the next twenty or
thirty years-and 1t will start within
the next two or three-concrete archi
lecture will take enormous strides
forward: the art of molding concrete
will be reduced to a science of per-
lection and what Is equally important
OF cheapness; there will rise up
large number Of gifted architects
and through their efforts cities and
towns will spring up in this country
besides which Turner's picture of an
cient Rome and Carthage will pale
into nothingness and the buildings Of
the Columbia exhibition will appear
common. But great expense will not
attend this, IL will be done so that
poor will be able to enjoy houses
more beautiful than the rich now as
pire to, and the man earning $3.50
day, with 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 charac-
ters will not only move, but will
speak. and all the accessories and eff.
fects of the stage will be so faith
fully produced on the living picture
stage. This, of course, will not be
done as well as on the regular stage
but its standard viii approach very
near TO that, and the fact that such
entertainment will be furnished for
FIVE cents will draw vast numbers of
the working classes. The result will
be that the masses will have the ad-
vantage OF the moral OF good drama
they will find an inexpensive and i'm
proving 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 almost altol
gether out of use, and all our main
trunk lines will be operated by cleo
tricity.
"Fourth--A new fertilizer will
spring into existence, containing a
larger per cent OF nitrogen. This will
be drawn from the air by electricity
and will be used to increase the ara
bility of the land. Even now this is
done to a large extent in Sweden.
"Fifth-All our water power will
be utilized by electricity to an extent
almost unthought Of. and will be
used with great advantage both in
dustrially and for railroads.
"Sixth-A successful aerial navi-
cation will be established-perhaps
for mails-and will achieve a sound
practical working basis.
"Seventh-We shall be able to
protect ourselves against environ
ment by the use OF ser ms and things
of the sort so that the general state
of health will improve and the aver
age span of life will increase by a.
large percentage. The grand fight
which is being made against tubercu-
iOSip anu tdhCtI wiz itdtn q cutNtco
full elimination and those diseases
will be entirely mastered
"Eighth--A new force in natureI
of some sort or other will be discov-
cred by which many things now
misunderstood will be explained
We, unfortunately. have only FIVE
senses. II we had eight we would
know more.
''Nnth-We shall realize the pos
sibilities OF our coal supplies better
and will learn how to utilize them so
that 80 per cent of the efficiency will
not be thrown away as it Is today.
Finally, let II be said, hardly any
piece OF machinery now manufactur.
ed is more than 10 per cent perfect
Az the years go on this will be i'm
proved upon tremendously Mere au
tomato machinery will be devised
and articles OF comfort and luxury
will be produced in enormous mum
bers at such small cost that all
classes will be able to enjoy the ben
efits OF them.
These are some OF the inventions
which the world is awaiting, which