Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-10-09
OIdfish on Speed.

together too active in the pursuit oil
news is doubtless the opinion of certain
of our uncertain citizens, who at times
shrink from publicity. This world oil
ours in its earliest centuries probably
made no more than one complete revo-
luton in any given "A hours. 1T was
then quite rapid enough for the ieisurely
heathern who dwelt upon it Now il
would appear that to adjust this sphere
to present activities it should turn over
twice at least every "a hours. This
would. of course. increase the number
of editions of your paper, but you would
be equal to it.
ut is really bewildering, the rapidity
with which news is gathered and fed to
the mutitudes who are as hungry to get
IL as were the ancient Hebrews in the
wilderness to get their daily mamma. One
may imagine the gossip that went round
among the mamma gatherers recounting
the society affairs and the general news
of the day
I'VE have had gossipers in our time,
but the daily newspaper has well-hiSh
put them out of business. Even in the
villages there are no more gatherings
at the saddler's and blaeksmith's to hear
the daily happenings, and today it is
doubtful if even old Homer, greatest OF
gosspers, would get a hearing. No, we
should depend upon the newspaper and
as the siege of Troy went on the head
lines would carry so much of the story
that we might dispense with the reading
of the small type.
"In early Indiana, before hte Madison
road-the first nail in the coffin of steam
boat enterprise-was built, David Guard.
worthy citizen of Lawrenceburg. gave
much of his time to watching the steam
boats going up and down stream on the
beautiful Ohio. He was of the belief
that this invention was the limit OF
speed, but lived to see the first railroad
with little engine, pocket edition of
the monsters of today, making the mar
velous speed of 20 miles an hour.
and some unreasonably sanguine per-
sons of that day predicted that this
wonderful CELEBRITY would soon be greatly
increased. This was in the day when if
| a horse in harness made a mile in 2.40
he was the wonder and admiration of
every lover of horse flesh, and 2.40 on
| the shell road was a saying intended to
| illustrates the utmost possibilities in
l cduiit spccu. w nat OH Sdi III silc We
| coming to- exclaimed Mr.. Guard. Next
| thing they'll be loading us up into can
| non, firing us into New York in half a
dozen minutes, and first thing on arrival
| there'll be some of these fellows to
| jump up and denounce the cannon COM
| pany for being too slow
"The late Major Jones Mitchell at one
| time mayor of Indianapolis, was coun-
| try boy living near Bloomington when
| the Madison road, then nearing Indiana
| polls was running its first trains Great
| ly exaggerated reports of the speed OF
| these trains were spread about the coun-
| try. The trains. it was said, went by so
| rapidly and stirred up the atmosphere
| so greatly. that if any one should be
l within 40 rods of 'em the suction like as
| not would draw him in, and that would
| be the end of it. Major Mitchell de-
| scrbed how he htched up the farm wa
| gon and drove across the country many
| miles to see a train go by He left the
wagon and horses half a rnst" away,
| crawled cautiously to within loo feet of
| the track, and, lying flat in the grass.
| waited for the speed demon with his
hands to his head holding on his hair.
| There was the snort of the engine and a,
last the train came and passed going
| at about u miles an hour. greatly to the
| disgust of young mitchell.
To-day our big ocean liners, carrying
5000 people, cross the Atlantic with a
| speed rivaling that of our passenger
| trains. But this speed was anticipated
and equaed by St. Raymond, of Penna-
| fort who preceded by several centurie.
| all the Watts and Stevensons This wa:
a Spanish saint who engaged in the work
| of converting to Christianity the heather
| people of the Island of Majorca. in thu
Mediterranean, 1870 miles away from his
monastery at Barcelona.
1 while engaged in this work and wher
/ he had all but converted every one OF
| the island an order was issued by tn,
| king of Spain that he should remain or
| the island. He even threatened with
death any who should help the holy
man to make his escape. But the mere
lack of transportation was a matter OF
| no consequence to the saint One da,
desiring to return to his monastery, h,
went to the seashore. spread his CLOAK
on the water, tied up one corner of it t.
his staff stepped on board and in 81,
| hours landed on the coast of Spain-si,
hours at 80 miles an hour which was in
deed going some.
While all of us are, as we should be
greatly in favor of the spread of intei
ligence. we certainly must admit that i
should be spread somewhat thicker, tina
we should find leisure to read O few
hard-backed books even though it shoup
be required that we OCCASIONALLY foreg,
the ecstatc pleasure of abest seller
| which like the poor player soon crosse
the stage and then is heard no more
| When some of us We're young we rea,
Miss Maria Edgeworth and r. S. Arthur
who was quite as ladyllke, but none o
pur boys and girls will ever be calle,
| upon to do anything like that The nov
els of our youth whose wicked exclama
tons never passed beyond % fie" woult
never do for today, All, mon Dieu, non
Some of our physicians find no littl
difficulty in keeping reading matter ava,
! from their patients whom they wish /
associate from the exciting incidents O
! the time. The story is told of a patien
slowly recovering from a prolonged sieg
of typhoid fever who was not allowed /
I, read One day he feebly asked his nurs
IN at tt,tA a,