Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1901 — Page 6

AGE OF MECHANISM.

WMKT THE PAST CENTURY HAS BONE FOR MAN’S COMFORT. •' ' ■ '*l.AMwwOved Year* of Invention, WhereNrCbMlitiona of Life Have Been Rad- . MMv CkMSed-Waadarful Strides ■Mo- to •team and Klectrlclty. W» has been a moat materialistic juatury. an age of mechanism. We tore progressed wonderfully in our catoaffiy for luxury, extravagance, comfloat. A hundred years ago, our foredeaaa were content to live by hand, as a wsero; bow we live chiefly by compll-

OLD STYLE OF SPINNING.

•■M omchinery. A century of progress baa created demands which forced ■he dormant Inventive skill of the world to put forth Its beat efforts. The world has made more progress in material things in the last hundred ttan U did in all the centuries preceded- Civilized man's mode of existence has been totally altered by his invenfioat The world has gone patent mad. In the United States alone there were <28£35 patents granted In the sixty®wo years from 1887 to 1898. During Rs existence the patent office has reostvtfl more than >40,000,000 in fees, ©a carriages and wagons, more than 28uNd patents have been granted; on stoves and furnaces, 18,000; on lamps, <m bitings, harvesters, boots and siioes and receptacles for storing, 10,•00 each. The total of patents for the etvllised world is easily twice that of the United States. Thanks to these hundreds of thousands of contrivances, what were luxuries to our forebears of 1800 are commonplaces of existence to all classes, rich and poor, in 1900.

Distance Overcome. With the invention of the steam engine the world shunk at a bound to a twentieth of its former size. Its vast distances ceased to be formidable. Where the lumbering stage coach or the plodding caravan took weeks the •ying express covers the distance in a few boars. The trip across this continent used to be a matter of life and death. Now it is a matter of SIOO, and take your ease as you go. Without the ■allroad a close knit uatlon thousands of miles broad, such as this country, would have been an impossibility. In 1825 the first steam railroad was op ansi between Stockton and Darling ton. England. A year later a similar experiment was tril'd at Quincy, Mass., where the engine hauled stone for a distance of four miles. The first pas ■eager road In this country was the Baltimore and Ohio, ‘opened In 1830 with a mileage of fourteen miles. To-

■ay there are 210,006 miles of railroad to thia country; 103.210 In Europe; 20,■34 in South America; 31,102 In Asia; •,978 in Africa, and 14.384 In Austratoata. ■arty tn the history of railroading Wetve tulles an hour was considered yneUeaaly fast. In January, 1800, a ■rata on the Burlington route. In a run fhatß Hiding to Arion, 2.4 miles, did ■be distance in one minutes and twenty (■coeds, or at the rate of 108 miles aa hour. The Empire State esprees ■usde a record of 112 miles an hour in Wy. 18M Marine travel did not make so won ■nfal an advance In speed, through ?*a«MtDcy of steam, as did land travel, •at the progress la comfort and safety nraa greater, fn 1700 John Fitch conjstnsrted a steamboat - and was consld■oad a raving lunatic. This opinion ataaa confirmed when his experiment

proved a failure. Seventeen years later. Robert Fulton, another so-called visionary, backed by Joel Bartow and Robert T, Livingston, built the steamboat Clermont. She was soon dubbed “Fulton’s Folly,” and when she started for Albany on Augnst 11,1807, all New York was out to witness her failure. She went to Albany in the astonishing time of thirty-two hours, returning in two hours less. Now, when a gigantic ocean lines, with lifeboats as large as the Clermont, crosses the Atlantic in less than six days, we read the news in a bored sort of way, displeased that' steamers should be so slow. Fulton’s experiment fed, years later, to the building of the Savannah, which actually crossed the Atlantic to the great astonishment of the entire world.

Communication between man and man was as expensive as it was slow in the old days. It cost a shilling to get a letter anywhere when the century began, and a shilling In. those days represented far more than it now does. Now two cents will carry a letter to the Philippines or around the corner. Then the mail matter handled was too insignificant for statistics; now there are seventy-five thousand post offices In this country, handling

postal matter of all kinds, per annum, of 6,570,310,000 pieces. Rapid Communication. As for “burry messages” or ,l rush” letters, they were unknown. Prior to the experiments of Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, signaling was done by means of fires on mountain tops, or by waving flags. Morse revolutionized this in 1837 when he announced the success of his experiments. The first telegraph line in this country was opened in 1844. In 1899

MODERN SPINNING WHEEL.

there were 904.633 miles of wire in use in tills country; 71.393,157 messages were sent that year. Now we are on the threshold of au era when even wires will be no longer necessary and when we will be able to talk or to telegraph to Boston or New Orleana, or perhaps even Ixmdon without any visible connection between the receiving and sending Instruments. The year 1800 knew no telephone. A hundred years later sees 772,989 miles of telephone wire In use. connected with 466,180 stations and answering 1,281,000,000 calls a year. When the century was new. It took six weeks to get Dews from Europe. To-day it takes six seconds. To-day there are 170,950 miles of submarine cablee—all laid since the first cable. Field's great achievement, was laid in 1867. Electricity has come to the aid of steam In traffic. Edison must be cred

ited wttb the construction Ot the first successful electric road, that which he operated in 1880 at his home at Menlc Park, N. J. Since then electric traction has developed to such an extent that now there are more than 1,000 such street car lines in operation in the United States, with a capitalisation of f 1,700,000,000. The same electric power, only dimly known before the wonderful century, now lights our cities. In the United States there are half a million arc lights and about 20,000,000 incandescent lights—the latter being equivalent in light-giving capacity to 820,000,000 candle tips such as they used in 1800. While the railroads have served to diffuse the population from one end of the land to the other, another invention has served to centralise it—the elevator. Because of it the huge sky-scrap-ers, the immense flat houses and the great factories have been made feasible. Formerly, when Shanks, his mare, was the fashion, people had to dimb stairs. This tended to low buildings and the consequent spread of population. The elevator has changed all that Huge caravansaries teeming with human beings accommodate as many as formerly could be crowded into respectable towns. The elevator makes practicable the centralization of commercial interests which is the basis of our great cities. The Age of Steel. The science of applied mechanics has reached a stage where further improvements seem Impossible, yet every day new inventions and improvements on old are recorded at the patent office. In other times they built bouses of wood and briek; now they construct them of steel and iron, and so carefully are the plans developed that the architect can say how many bolts will be required in the construction of a sky-scraper, how much each beam can support, where each piece of iron belongs. Wooden bridges hard been supplanted by huge steel structures. Even stone towers are being abandoned for the lighter steel. The age of steel is here. Our vast factory systems, employing thousands of workers and furnishing necessaries and luxuries alike at prices that would have made the citizen of 1800 gasp with amazement, have grown out of the substitution of ma-

FIRST FULTON FERRY BOAT.

chlnery for the hand; the sewing machine, the steam loom, the ring frame and hundreds of other Inventions. We do not yet grow crops by machinery, but no sooner has the fruit of the earth reached maturity than It is In the grasp of steel and steam, to be turned to human needs almost without the touch of human hands. Photography aud Printing. Photography is a product of the last hundred years. To have one's picture “took” In ye olden times required considerable money and more patience, for it took some time to paint the portrait. Daguerre’n daguerreotype, the foirrunner of the photograph, hewed the way for the developments in this line of the last ten years. Photography and color printing together have been among the mightiest educational influences the world has ever known. Appealing to the brain direct 1 through the eye. they have taught more swiftly and more widely than is possible to any other agency. To science their aid has been inestimable. No man can judge of the influence of the printing press, which did not reach any considerable development before 1800. In 1800 the principal dally papers were published in Boston aud New York City. They were marvels of staid conservatism. They permitted no news younger than a week to creep into their columns. As for the paper on which they were printed, respect for age prevents a description. The type, band made and band set, leaned either all one way or in any direction most comfortable. It may have been superlative work for those days, but nowadays new type Is east while being set; paper comes In rolls from two to four miles long; presses run off 80,000 complete newspaper an hour. The press, which is the most powerful agent of progress, is in Itself typical of the advance of the century.—Washington Star.

From Bombay comes the lutelligepce that records dating back to the first century of the Christian era have been discovered by Dr. Bteln In the course of his exploration! in Chinese Turkey tan. The famous traveler and antiquarian came upon a store of some 300 documenta, together with a quantity of clay seals and many Inscribed wooden tablets bearing dates A. D. 36 to A. 1). 72. Many a man will row a long way up stream simply for the privilege of floating back.

Ancient Records.

A Natural Frida. He—Oh, yesl Ido a little that way Dow and then; I’ve written one or two playa. She—How perfectly delightful! And have you met with much success? “Pretty well, so far. I once got a manuscript of mine back from the manager.”—Life. Reference.

“I a in seeking references for a servant who’says she was with you eighteen years, but you are not as old as that. I Have made a mistake.” “Oh, no, it’s my mother.”—Journal Ainusant. A Vicarious Applicant. “Yes, ma’am,” said the ragged fat man; “I’m lookin’ fur work. You ain’t got no odd jobs o’ scrubbin’ or washin’ ter be did, have yer?” “Why, you surely don’t do scrubbing or work of that sort,” said the housekeeper. “Sure not. I’m lookin’ fur work fur me wife.”—Philadelphia Record. A Slam at the Editor. Subscriber—l find your puzzle department particularly interesting. Magazine Editor—Our puzzle department! Why, what do you mean? We don’t run one. Subscriber—Oh, yes, you do. I mean your poetry.—Somerville Journal. The Carrent Discussion. Dr. Yungun—No, sir; I do not approve of admitting others than the physician to the sick room. If the physician understands his business he can prepare the patient for the hereafter. Dr. Oldun— You mean, if he doesn't understand his business.—Baltimore American. The Savage Bachelor. “It has been my observation,” said the Savage Bachelor, “that a man is due to feel his cheapest a short time after bls wife begins the conversation by calling him ‘dearest.’ ’’—lndianapolis Press. He Had Thought of IL Benedict—Why have you never thought seriously of matrimony? Coelebs—l have thought seriously of It—very seriously. That is why I have never married.—Somerville Journal.

SIXTEEN YEARS IN "SOLITARY.”

Remarkable Punishment InfiictcJ Upon Firebug Johnson. After undergoing sixteen years of solitary confinement in a dismal dungeon in Ijeavenwortb prison J. B. Johnson, who was recently pardoned by Governor Stevens, arrived In Chicago recently after serving within two years of his original sentence of twenty-four years. In personal appearance Johnson does not look like a criminal. He has large hazel eyes, dark complexion, and a frank and open countenance. He was first sentenced to the penitentiary from Shelby County, Missouri, for twelve years for robbing a hotel keeper of $25. He had not been in prison long until lie led a revolt to escape and failing to do so he is alleged to have set fire to one of the shops causing its destruction, whence his nickname “Fire Bug” Johnson. For this offense lie was given an additional sentence of twelve years, making In all twenty-four years. Governor Stevens recently granted him a pardon on condition that he left the State of Missouri. “1 am glad that I'm not a raving maniac,” remarked Johnson yesterday, “as a few years of solitary confinement lu a dark and dreary dungeon is enough to snp and destroy any ordinary man's mental aud physical strength and leave him a wreck fit only for the grave or the madhouse. It is hard to imagine the power of endurance that will carry a man through sixteen years of this terrible strain. I passed a great part of this time pacing to and fro across the narrow confines of my cell and wore out three heavy oak board floors. I also Invented secret methods of writing aud taught them to other prisoners, using the guard to carry the notes. During my confinement in order to while away the solitude I made pets of spiders, cockroaches, and mice, and taught a white mouse to carry notea to other cells. The patience necessary tn taming and teaching Insects was something almost Incredible. 1 think I’m ths only man in the United States who has spent sixteen years in solitary confinement In an American P After being pardoned by Governor Stevens, Johnaoa was given a ticket to

RUN a GLANCE

"elMeanink. but— Puffer—For goodness’ sake! What’s happened to my meerschaum pipe? Mrs. Puffer—Why, dear, I noticed it was getting awfully brown and dincolored, so I put a coat of that white enamel paint on It—Philadelphia Press. —• —The Only Rasta. “How many stops has your organ?” asked the curious neighbor. “Three,” sadly answered the father of the musical family; “breakfast, dinner and supper.” The Nerve of Him. She—How dare you kiss me before asking! He—Don’t you like occasionally to be surprised with a good thing?—Life. An Irreparable Blow. “Don’t old sorrows return and steal over you occasionally?” "That’s what; I have the blues every now and then about SSO I lost out of my pocket seventeen years ago.” The Retort Courteous. Jailor (locking the thief in the cell)— There, my good fellow, I am a man of iron, and I guess you won’t break away from me. Thief—Well, I’m a man of steal, and we’ll see about It Her Wholesale Way. “Do yob believe the world's federation of clubs, can be achieved?” “Oh, yes. I know woman; she'll keep on federating until there is nothing else left to federate.” Spoiled the Trick.

Conjurer—Now, ladies and gentlemen. you will see 1 have passed the quarter into this youth’s pocket He will now produce ft. *■ Yokel—r Please, sir, I’ve only got 20 cents left I spent the other nickel on popcorn.—Fun. No Telephone Necessary. “Why don’t you have your house and your office connected by telephone? Then your wife could call you up when she liked.” “Oh, she wouldn't care anything about that. She'd rather wait till 1 got home and call me down.”—Philadelphia Bulletin.

San Antonio, Texas, and SB3 and escorted to the State lines. Since then he has been relating bls experience in a number of States, but has tried in vain to secure permission from the State authorities to lecture in Missouri.

How to Avoid Colds.

A woman who for years suffered from violent colds, which several times threatened to end fatally, claims to have attained immunity, by the use of pure cold water as a medicine and an ordinary horse brush, for currying, as a morning and evening exercise. Owing to a severe nervous breakdown, she was obliged to consult a New York physician, famous for his original and simple methods of treatment. After laying down the law on the subject of diet and fresh air, he said: “You Will also go to some big department store and purchase, for 35 cents, a horse brush, with which you will give your whole body a thorough rubbing each morning, liefore you bathe. As soon as you arise you will fill a qurtrt pitcher with drinking water, and sip It slowly while dressing. At night, do the satnft thing over again, omitting of couise, the bath.”—Washington Htar.

Wanted Proof of the Statement.

“Are you de gemmen dat said 'de boss mua’ go?’ " asked the colored man. “I am,” answered the enthusiast on the subject of mechanics. “Well, sub, 1 jes’ desiahed to take de liberty o’ sayin' dat I baa de ba Ikies’ animal dat ever blocked a street, jes’ aroun' <lO corner. I sbo’ly would be much oblige es you could come aroun’ an’ prove yoh words.”—Washington Star.

“I admire White. He’s a straightforward, honest man.” “I belMve it. Why, he even goes to the circus without lugging a small boy along as an excuse.”—Philadelphia Bulletin.

Area of California.

California la 850 miles long and contains 158,860 square miles. Fllee kttow theft btulneea. Ever notice how they gather around a restaurant?

Honest Man.

RECORD OF THE WEEK

INDIANA INCIDENTS TERSELY > > .-.o ; ■TOLD*/iuH-sv j,| £ ,<»> 11 < Death Terminates a Visit—'Someone in Flora Has Queer Idea of Fan—Two Farmers Killed by Limited TrainLightning Strikes Four Meo. Mrs. James Conn the other dfy stepped from; the train-in London, where she contemplated making it visit to her sister, Mrs. John Vernon. The sisters twenty-five years ago were separated and have not seen each other since'. Recently Mfs. Conn, who lives in Missouri, learned the whereabouts of her long lost sister and at once started for Indiana to meet her. Mrs. Conn was much exceed over the glad tidings, and, filled w'ith the joy of meeting her sister, she rushed into her home and surprised her. In ten minutes after she reached her sister's home she died. __ . Explodes Dynamite for a Joke. Unknown miscreants exploded a large amount of dynamite in front of the residence of Augustus Doty, a Flora farmer, at midnight the other night. The residence was badly damaged and Mrs. Doty is dangerously ill as a result of the shock. It Is explained that the dynamite was exploded for a joke, but there is great indignation over the affair und a reward has been offered for the perpetrators. Kille I by Lake Shore Train. Lee Hines and Isaac Tryon were struck by the west-bound train while driving across the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern tracks, four miles west of Waterloo, and instantly killed. The carriage was splintered, but the horse escaped unhurt. Both men were prominent farmers.

Severe Damage by Storm. A severe storm passed over Duboise and Pike Counties. St. Mary's Catholic Church at Huntingburg was struck by lightning and destroyed. It was valued at $60,009. At Velpin ten buildings were unroofed and one store. The storm did great damage to crops and fences. Four Killed by Lightning. Frank Bridgewater, Anderson Web* ster, John Wiggle and Samuel Stewart, all farmers, were killed by a. bolt of lightning while assisting in thd work on the farm of J. C. Albert, near Lodi. Within Onr Borders. Chrisney has secured telephone connection with independent lines. All the Jeffersonville convicts are in the new cellhouse and under one roof. Charles Hoffman, 64, Elkhart, was crushed to death under a Lake Shore engine. John Hahn. Laporte, has a four-legged chicken, which was hatched out in a recent brood. D. W. Wood, a leading attorney and politician, was killed by a Big Four train at Anderson. All Ohio steamers passing the Indiana river towns are reported to be doing a good business. Two weeks’ pumping on a water well in Nottingham township developed it into a paying oil well. Dudley Yocum, a mute, aged 40, was run down by a passenger train at Brazil and instantly killed. Union City is to have a big gasoline automobile factory. A. L. Lambert of Anderson will run it. One of the Standard Oil Company's big tanks, at Preble, was struck by lightning and burned. Ernest Lloyd, nged 23, was drowned at Elkhart. He was prostrated by the heat and fell from a boat. John S. Bays, Sullivan, says that tho proposed coal combine will violate ho features of the trust law. Leroy Kirk. 24, took carbolic acid at Manila. His father .killed himself the some way two years ago. Congressman Watson has named Jot Goar, the ex-league base-ball pitcher, the postmaster at New Lisbon. The village of Arcadia wifi not become an incorporated town. Au election held on thjs proposition lost by 31. Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Barnett of nehr Rockport have jnst celebrated their six-ty-third wedding anniversary. O. R. Brown, an E. & T. H. brakeman, killed himself io Evansville. Ho was to have been married soon. The Central Christian Church at Tbrra Haute observed its sixtieth anniversary with unique old-fnshioned ceremonl s. > Erast us Welch, Kokomo, a farmer, aged CO, fell dead from sunstroke and overexertion, while chasing a swarm of bees. Eight cases of supposed Cuban Itch in Sweetser prove to be smallpox and almost every person in the town has been exposed. Chandler Williams, Richmond, has received word from Greenville, Ohio, that his. sou, Elmer, 21, hns been crushed to death by a train. The South Bend school boar,l has taken up all outstanding notes against the school corporation, thus stopping interest amounting to $3 a day. John Cook and Carrie Kiser, living near Richmond, attempted to elope. The girl's father Interfered and ip a light that followed Cook was mortally wounded. The contract for the erection of Science Hull of Indiana University at Bloomington has been awarded to Pulse & Porter, of Greensburg, the work to be completed within one year. Daniel W. Storer, of Anderson, and H. B. Chapman, of Slndby, have been appointed receivers of the Shelby, Ohio, Mill Company on the application of Mack Davis, president of the company. The liabilities are nltont $271,000. Terre Haute school board has decided to dispense with Principal Charles Meek, of the high school. There has been a long fight over flic question. Miss Ruuds Talbert, a wealthy maiden lady at Morristown, was set upon by tramps, with the intent of robbery. She drove them off, but was severely bruised by the encounter. Omar Miller, a painter aud athlete, tried to kill hie wife at Kokomo. Mrs. Miller says ha tried to atrangkd her with pillows and towels eatorated with chloroform. She awoke just' In time end beat him off.