Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-06-09
olay in the affairs of mankind.

play in the affairs of mankind. =
But the ten years beginning with
1880 saw an outburst, Of inventive &C
tiyity that dwarfs all.similar periods
in the history of invention. It seem
ed that the discoveries In things
electrical in the last three Or four
years Of the previous decade was
the signal for the pent-up genius of
the world to let loose. .9i$ y e,5sT, !
The trolley car, which has changed
the face of urban civilization; the
Iincandescent light with its more pow
erful and healthier glow and more
adaptable use; the automobile, the
most distinctive feature OF our time;
the typewriter, the most necessitous
instrument in modern business; the
skyscraper, the delineator of the
new skyline of American business
centers and the cash-register, that
ubiquitous instrument and! first aid
to honesty-to pick out the most
obvious OF the innovations that pro-
claim the age-all Of these came into
being or were first whipped into
shape in the ten pregnant years be-
ginning with 1880. ~. ~"
Before 1880 electricity was sparing-
ly used-the first central station for
arc lighting had Just been establish
ed in 1879. Its recognition as a
source Of energy for universal light
| ing, for propulsion, for power, and
| for heating-for all the large and
vital uses it could be put to-was a
matter of speculation, and not one
Of expectedly near realization. No
one, even of the widest imaginings,
could have dreamed of the trans.
formation so close to hand. But be-
fore this census period closed the
electric sincandescent lamp was in.
| contestably established, the trolley
! car was successfully. introduced. the
Icentral station for power distribution
and the; polyphase motor TOT e sta
i tionary work began to show itf
reyolutionizing possibilities, and thu
first electric furnace was put into
successful commercial operation. ~
! AL the big problems that were IN
/ volved in putting into service II
such large ways of this new anc
mighty servant were first con1rontee
and solved In this particular DECADE
In tie sos the generation, transmits
II sion, and utilization of current-th'
j dynamo, the transformer, anu moto
'I-were all made practical PROPOSE
4 tons on large and commercla
lscale for the first time. The lrol
LEY car, which drastically changel
the aspects of things urban ana sun
urban, brought the country 10 IN
city and spilled the city into & Tn
A country, increased land values D
the billions; and the incandescen
. lamp. which inaugurated clean an
! safe illumination, introduced tn
central station power house and II
spired the first great innovations !
generation and utilization Of electri
current: the transformer, that 81
, tremely simple but supreme instr
ment for making serviceable the a
ternating current-the most easll
! generated and transmittable form
electrical energy: and the inductio
! mntor the eventual driver OF mos
AZ our machinery-all these peak
IN electrical progress were made
the same decade. 'sr }j "
Il The most fundamental Of all opers
lions are performed in the furnace
Tie profoundest changes OF natur
were caused by heat and the bas1
processes of industry are carried III
der high temperature condition:
Except a new source Of energy,
70 difficult to conceive a new utilit
; of more potency than a novel Typ
Il of furnace. For the first time
,, all history, a high furnace heat wa
attained through means not 1nvol.
4 inc combustion, when the electri
furnace was perfected in the latte
; part Of the decade. With the &C
, vent of this utility, possibilities {
heat application were opened
that shamed even the dreams c
alchemy. There is no burning, n
smoke or foul gases-resultants {
: combustion. The heat is clean, col
trollable, and extremely high, wit
the result that it is REVOLUTIONARY
high temperature operations in mu
titudinous directions, in the change
in steel and alloy making and i
electro-chemical processes are
ready profound. .5 .,..r.
The steam turbine, which is SUI
planting the reciprocating engine
the gasoline engine, which made pos
sible the motorboat, automobile, an
aeroplane: the automobile itself; tn
!. Mergenthaler typesetter and caster
the cyanide process, which v1es i
), importance with the Bessemer metf
cd of making steel and the vulcan
cation of rubber; and electric wel0
ing-all of these truly epoch-makln
inventions first saw the light OF da
in this census period. .--..
The Harvey process for hardenln
armor plate was invented IN 1883
smokeless powder a few year
earlier; the wax Photographic rec
ord, which made the monograph
practical proposition, came GU
about the same time; Westinghouse
quick-acting brake, which only fal
ed to be considered a pioneer inven
ton of the first order by five t
four vote of the Supreme Court,Wa
another notable addition to tn
decade; the transparent film, whtc
foreshadowed the moving picture
and the pneumatic tire, which help
ed to popularize the bicycle and au
tomobile, were prominent contrlbr
tions of these pregnant ten years.
The half-tone process, the mos
notable advance in the reproductlv
arts since TYPOGRAPHY was establish
ed; the Janney type car-coupler, IN
greatest life-saver ever invented
1 and the centrifugal creamer, wh1cl
has saved the farmers of the civil
LIKED world hundreds Of millions
dollars, were all commercially es
tablished during this period.