Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-05-13
THE "wORLD DO MOVE"

old Philadelphia, Wilmington q Bnlti- |
more Railroad, ms Il was then officially |
titled. stopping long enough TO per-
NIT amazed citizens TO examine the
eating coach which was much ad-
mircd. and regarded as long step
I'm advance for travellers convenience.
From this new vehicle wore dispensed
oysters and sandwiches, cakes and
pics, and similar diet, Women then
had not been brought into the hustle
OF affairs and they were courteously
served In their seats in the other cars,
oblising walters going back and forth.
! II had not then occurred to bring the
ladies 20 tho diner. so the dinner or
! luncheon was tnken 10 the ladies.
There was much surprise that the re-
freshment was 50 satisfactory and
/ the food so good. for II was we'll pre-
pared.
/ IL is said one of the local wisemen
of that day In admiring the enterprise
"a symbolized by the new car, made
bold 10 venture the prediction that
before long people would be living on
cars for week at time. while an
other concluded we would want to be
travelins so fast that In another half
century we would have invented some
sort of wings to fly with. or course,
the horseless carriage that had been
foreseen and awaited for two CEN
turtles was near In tho ofiing. IL was
thought this long awaited wonder of
the world might become a fact In an
other hfty years or so.
Mono OF those forecasters, however,
could forcsee what the future actu-
ally had in store; none would have
ventured that tho wings they had
visions OF would carry a crew OF mer
across the Atlantic Ocean almost as
quickly as It formerly took a sailing
craft to get from Philadelphia &c
Lewes. or that they would come Into
general use by commuters. None OF
them could have foreseen that in an
other half-century not only would tn,
wagons and carriages be horseless
but that the cities would also be al.
most horseless. or that the use of tn,
real horseless carriages would develoI
to the point where one person In eact
ten OF twelve in the State would owl
vehicle propelled without the horse
Nor would our wiseacres have th'
thought the old refreshment ca
would have been evolved into a mag
nihcent diningroom. fitted and fur
nished with sumptuous elegance
where the eats" were At for a king
ft. at any rate, for our own luxur,
loving millionaires: where the Dime
could be made as comprehensive an
excellently served as in the finest hott
or best ordered home.
No one at that time would have ver
;urcd the prediction that fifty or si1
a ~ wears later he might talk to friend
:, In San Francisco. in Honolulu.
j. Paris, or even in faroff Toxic. NeithC
a would they have excused such mad
i, ness that might have inspired the pre-
d, diotion that in 1922. by simple devic
- one sitting in his home Of evenine
4 might hear every note OF a concel
=, almost at the anupodee picked fro
=. the air and reproduced In ae man
-, thousand homes as there were persor
willing TO meet the slight cost cutie
for the instrument.
The difference of time between Il
, passing Of the first refreshment C;
through Wilmington and today mea
ured by the advancement in devic
for business. for travel. or for anus
ment. IL more than a century. gaug
by the progress Of the worlds wo
in contrast with any other interval
the history OF civilization. Probah
there may not be such wonderful a
vancement in any other hundred-ye
period that lies before us, unless
be along other lines Of endeavor.
The country, or the world, howev'
has not advanced much in literatu
'S in the interval since 1862. IL. inde'
we have not gone backward. Nor ha
ao we gone forward In the fine arts, a
y" many will contend that spiritually {
10 people have fallen below the religio
OF standards OF sixty or hundred yes
ns ago. This view might be sustained
he one reviewed the field about him
he would be likely TO reach the &C
of clusion that there is less godliness
1ill business and trade, and indeed
ne. many of mans relations with his I
The bowman. than there was at the ii