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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1908)
.IE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY ; KORNING, ; ;- DECEMBER 27, " 1903 7 j frI I III j lVi'gyr- mi MSI AigVifCS, am. M : . . .- ' S.Mt I ..v-' 1 - r w " ;' ' i i. jv,., i . , I - ' - - ' VMM' nfl , ' .. ; ' . , ; I . Ur - tu tfA - c' -1 t; - - 1 1 ' ! i ' 1 r 'V t ' ;-'-r I , . f u iJ'1 - -I ' . -5'. "... t I What, the World ,May WitnessBefpreAnother Year Rolls Round rWl HE new year of jgog,'so near at hand ' and regarded with expectation only of the little things which immedi ately concern their fortunes and their voca tions by the majority df mankind, is $ery big with possibilities to the race as a whole possibilities so many and so huge that, should allJif them come to pass within a wondrous twelvemonth, almost the whole aspect of mod ern civilization would be altered. That all, or nearly all, those amazing possibilities will be realized ultimately is fairly certain; that they can reach full fruition far ing the coming year is more than doubtful. But that a sufficient quota of -them, will be things of such common use and familiarity as to make a profound impress upon our daily life is assured, if the history of man's progress during the century past can be taken as any criterion. What, then, will be the salient changes which this old world of ours will present to our eyes wJien midnight of December $i, igog, rings out the old year that is now the new: and what are some among the strange, amazing boons by which man's genius and his already vastly multiplied resources are liable to transform his little planets facet i-. .V X -if " , -' yiw ( " , -- plant thera cxlatt feint copy of wh't w nil eon cioune la ourielves." . Tbat averment, aupporud by cvldenca and ar Tumnta ba propounded, wai but littl appraclaUd br a popular Intelligence amaied and abiorbad by the more concrete and obviou demonatratlon that planU can ,. ' But the bold, unequivocal acceptance by ao distin guished a botaniet of the full theory that there l conaciouaneaa, and perbapa Individuality, la the plant kingdom, la In reality naan'a Ulacovery of tbat vaat, unknown world upon wblcn alone be and the member of all animal apeolea aubalat. The difference between the result flowing from auch a poeltiva knowledge and the consequence that come from the chance experiment of blind Ignorance la Incalculable. Complete demonatratlon and unlveraal recognition of that tremendoua truth during the com lng year would revolutionise the world' ' harvests more radically than the recognition of the principles of atock breeding that have changed the animal world, over which man now relgna supreme. The face of this world how completely may not man alter it, or, at least, begin to alter it. within the year 190 I The Alpa, those chill and changele sentinel of Europe from the time of omnipotent Rome to the present, may nevertheless be changed, even as ere Americana' are changing our hemisphere' by cutting lta appendix. Pletro Caminado, an Italian engineer, ha laid out a plan for joining by canal Genoa with Basle and the North aea. A series of tubular, inclined locka along the moun tain slope, auch as he has proposed, could be devised, in the opinion of leading Italian statesmen, that would profitably carry a 15,000.000 tonnage a year. In the United States the twelvemonth of amasing possibilities may bring about the Inauguration of the grand inland waterways system, now so urgently needed and o universally demanded by the people. And, even before that comes, the nation is likely to t0 !he 'mPerious necessity of aafeguarding it dwindling forest upon a seal adequate to the re quirement of the future and the appalling neglect of the present-j, maglo change, indeed, from the des olate waste left by this autumn'a aoarrlng forest fire to a face of nature crowned With living green. Already, If the almost assured value of one im portant discovery of this year satisfy the high expec tations it aroused, the process of papermaking from cornstalks bids fair to stand between , the Buffering forests and the devastating pulp machines. Devised and perfected In the Department of Agri- If vou can look Into the.seede of ljsse. . , . AnJ y which Brain will .row. andwjin AMID all the change which the hurtling; time may reveal, what la that one promising the most salient consequences upon mankind' life and habit a they are lived T Beyond doubt, the world today looks forward most expectantly to human air flight But how will It come in what form? The triumph of the Wright, striking aa they proved during this last year, have afforded assuranoe only of the feasibility of the aeroplane, and that upon a acale of actual accomplishment smaller than the automobile. At best, the "machine heavier than air" remains In the condition of the bicycle. . .Yet a dngle year might well prove sufljclent for auch a erase for flying aa the bicycle Inspired for the wheeling madness In an earlier day; and already the boy of the generation have given indication ' that they. In their reckless darinf, may prove the true pio neers of the universal flight. But the last word baa not been said of the dirigible balloon, even a the first word haa scarcely been ut tered of the tetrahedral kite, that strictly acieojtifla Invention of that famous scientist. Professor Alexan der Graham Bell, whose latest adventure employed aerodrome of more than 4000 tetrahedral cell. Nor are these all. Every principle known In aero statics Is receiving lta due attention by reason of these recent, first victories of man over the stubborn air, that one element which had ever defied the asser tion of hi unlveraal supremacy. - , , " Moat atrange among the applications - of man'a present knowledge of aerostatic ie the flying machine that literally climbs the air, devised by J. 3. Shearer, of Han F rancisco, Motor-driven wheels catch the re sistant air like parachute and force the apparatus upward, aa a swimmer might rise from the bottom oi a laice ty treading water. MAY HAVE RACES IN AIR Of all forms Into which man'a protean flight Is . now transforming itself, none can be surely aettned a the ultimate hope, and all may find their due place in the economy oi aerial transportation. Iesa than full twelve month of the fateful and auspicious year of 190 may see the city parks so many launching and landing places for tne racers of the air In num bers suddenly reminiscent -of the cyclers, who were their prototypes on land. That marvelous apectacie may, indeed, be the moat amasing thing we people of the new year In the new century are destined to behold; yet the old earth holds secrets that may prove far greater in their dis covery than the now certain flight of man. What of the face of the earth and the inhabitants thereof? 1 No more -apparently . useless, and no more Inspir ing, high emprise has ever been essayed than that tern, unyielding assault upon the mystery of the North Pol by the indomitable Peary, now at the verge of his fifth attack. For centuriea the queat of the Holy Grail by. the Knights of the Bound Table remained the inspiration of herolo song and story. But no myth of human courage, no saga of sublime devotion to the Ideal of ' indefatigable daring, from the epics Homer sang to the labors of a fabulous St. George, will ever rival " these grimly furious onslaughts upon a mystery whose solution is as useless as it once seemed remote, by a prosaic,, indomitable man of this modern, prosalo world. ' j . And the wonder of It I that this time, Wore the summer of the new year i over, it Is more than pos- ' slble hi inflexible will may have conquered. fTar-; theit North" wa hi record on the last trip, when nun- : rer alone withheld him from the coveted goal, only 00 mile away. A By October of next year the trulygreat explorer, Peary,' may be back with man's most coveted, most -Useless and most splendid discovery a hi ownT The world will hall him as the discoverer of it ultima Thule; but hltory and philosophy will recognise him as the sublime Incarnation of the eternally momen tous mystery the stubborn will 6f man. Far more keenly Interesting to science, and of far more direct concern to mankind," is the advance that may be recorded In that wonderful new world opened to our knowledge by the bold declarations reprardlnv life and sensation in tne piant Kinsraom oy irancis Darwin during the year now closing. The son of Charles Darwin and president of the British Associa tion for the Advancement of Science, he, nevertheless, paralleled in this young twentieth century the bold Columbus of the fifteenth In his arraignment of the world's lauded knowledge of its laws and in the huge hemisphere of discovery which his modest claims may open to mankind. . "We must believe." declared Mr. Darwin, "that In "ThemanhoDidEverythinq0 T HERE is a very High-Spirited and Ambi tious Young Woman of New York and of Weehawken, of Boston and of Brookline, of Washington and Alexandria, of Phila delphia and Bryn Mawr, of Chicago and Evanston, whose real name is the Average Female, and who ia atill Extremely Tired. She is not yet Recuperated from her recent Resolve to Attain Perfection, and her sole Source of Gratitude is that she has escaped the Sani tarium. x She Began with the Resolve that she would Learn to Pky the Piano, a Segment of her Edu cation which she Discovered had heen Neglected fcy her Too Indulgent Parents, and she Instantly Began to Practice Five-Finger Exercises three Hours a Day v. . ' . Soon afterward she Noted an Unwonted Sense of Fatigue in the, Lumbar Muscles and all along the Spinal Column, together with a Slight but Alarming ; Disinclination to Discuss with her Dearest Friend the Price of Plumes and the status of the Soul: It was Apparent that Both her Body and her Mind had been Unfitted for the Strain of Modern Existence. ' It was then that she Became Exceedingly' Busy J she Became Known as the Woman Who Did Everything, and her Name is Legion. ' --a H ASTILT Consulting a Lady Animal Trainer for $5. she learned . that she waa in Dire Need of Athletic Exercise, Supplemented With Vapor Baths and Turkish Massage, to which she ' Took like a Duck to Water. She found that It Con sumed only Two Hours to get In and Out of her Gymnasium 8ult and Fix her Spinal and Abdominal Muscles as per Schedule with the Proper Interval for Dumbbells, Indian Clubs, Wall Exercisers and Breathing Between Stunt. The Bath and Massage, Occurring only Twice a Week, did pot Count aa In terruptions to her Halcyon Day. However, in the Course of her Exercises, she No ticed that there were Several Angle upon her -Anatomy which might Well be Dispensed With. The Lady Animal Trainer Assured her that Nothing but Fancy Dancing for the Lower Limbs rfnd Fencing for the Arm and Torso, together with Horseback Riding -and Japanese Walking, would Supply the Desired Pulchritude, and was Also Kind Enough to Recom- mend her to Professor of those Arts who had Just Reduced their Charge from 3 a Lesson to 12.75. The One Hour Each, upon Alternate Days, which he Devoted to the New Courses Admirably Balanced the Other Hours She was Giving to Baths and Mas sage. ' Just at that Period, there was a Great Literary Revival In her Neighborhood, Mingled with Hectio Excitement over the. Discussion: 1 Bernard Shaw a Plagiarist from the Venerable Bede. ! Being Nominated to Champion the Cause of the Venerable, she found Three Hours, after her Piano Practice, allToo Short for her Literary Researches; and,' Melnwhlle, her Dearest Friend Remarked. Sym pathetically, that her Hair Certainly wa-Looklng Thinner. .. . , - ' , She Succeeded In Unearthing a Ferfoct Treasure et a Scalp Specialist. Who Charged hr only Fifty Cents, for a Dally Treatment Lasting Half an Hour, Exclusive of the Whole Hour she Always Had to Wait and the Half Hour It Took to Get There. Her First Quarter of Instrumental Music Having expired, her Instructor Explained to her that he was Profoundly Gratified with her Progress, and wa Now Realizing What a Crime It was to Allow her to Sit Mute while she Possessed a Voice that would Terrify Tetrazzlni, and he was Connectd with a Conserva tory Jammed Full of Song Birds. Because of her Great Promise and upon Condition that she Must Practice and Study at Least Three Hours a Day, be Believed he could Induce the Di rector to Accept her as a Conservatory Student at S50 a Quarter. She Joyfully Consented, but Observing that her Fancy Work was Now Being Shamefully Forgotten, she Began a Dlning-Table Dolly Five Feet in Diam eter with the Firm Determination that she would Finish it Before Easter, if she had to Work Two Hours a Day which she Soon Perceived she Must Do. Her Financial Resources being Almost Wholly - Engaged, she Deemed it Necessary to Acquire some Useful Accomplishment which should Supplement her Income, and she Contracted for a Course in China Painting, which Occupied only Three Hpurs of her Spare Time and Promised Ktch Reward-Inid of Seven Lessons. Unfortunately, some Slight Sympton of Dyspepsia Made it Requisite that she Devote Some Further Time to a Course in Sdentlflo. Cooking, where the Regular Lessons Lasted Three Hours. She Effected a Com promise upon Two Hours Dally, on Condition that she should Memorize All Recipes as she Went Along, and ahe wa Thus Able to Consider the Advisability' of Receiving the Addresses of the Most Popular Toung Fellow In her Set, who had the Reputation of Being a Stayer from Stayersville and Never Quit un til 11.30 P. M. Profoundly Perplexed, she Sought to Readjust her Day' Schedule; but sheyould Find no Way. In the Midst of Her Distress, she Suddenly Discovered that ' Already she wa Working IS Hour Out of the H. Realising that ahe had Accomplished the Impos sible, she Emitted a Cry of Joy, and said to him: "Alberlc, you Come -Around Thia Evening at I o'clock. " Tra Through with" the Whole Business! ' This is not an imaginary sketch, but very close to . real thing that happen today pretty nearly every where.1 . i ' i II I I mm i W -.... ,. N- MWW , . I, , t culture at Washington, tne announcement of ' the availability of cornstalks , a a substitute for woodl pulp was Instantly followed by the organisation of a half million dollar company for the exploitation of the material. In the South, where cotton Is returning; to Its) kingly throne, the Invention of a cotton picking m chin tbat, it la hoped, may be in extensive operation next year, will transform the snow-flecked fields to outdoor harvestings rivaling the enormous teBi reaping of the spacious West. That alone. wiU be V change almost epoch making in it consequences. At sea, there la the likelihood that the old sailing ship, long believed to be aa doomed aa the galley of Cleopatra, will make alliance with the enginea of the land, no less an authority than Lewi Nixon bavins averred that the calling ship of the near future, utll ialng the gaa engine as an auxiliary power, will re-, turn as the world' freight bearer. More than that: The teamahip it would appear, has already reached the limit of its development. Rear Admiral Chester has shown, after a tour of naval inspection through Europe, that the logic of war, like the logic of speed and economy in transpor tation, points to the ga engine, even on war vessels the size of battleships. The seas in 1909 may see the forerunners of the new navies of the earth, from which the huge smokestacks and the high fop-hamper will have vanished, ieaving barely tne hulls of iong, deadly motor boats of high 'speed, and with radii o action equal to those of the world itself. , in new year wm beuoa-for mey are already raaue na -operated uinpuiotous autos that glide aae luusarais liuu laud tu waiei, uu the pououupuu, wuicn, cumpused of two ioug, pantilei floats, is pro pelled, over tu waier'a surtax uy iiui' sealed uo- A,.BOt61 lncr8e In electric traction will diver airy the umlou ruUwiy. miiu in u.ue appiewaule measure, replace tne smoke-belching locomouve of tne steam railway, wniie it is tar rum liupusaioie that . LiPrlPlUve Peaerhtn muy avail numeif of mj uewlj, inventeu loot cycle, that lets turn run ou wheels twelve or uiteen tncues in diameter, tne wotiou or the foot, operating a spring, rurmsoin moilve power along smootn ZnX ey ro' di We are destined next year to live more and more numerously in dwellings oullt entirely of cement, al though they will still be among tne more wealtny who can afford the ornate luxury of suca conciei homes as have become popular. Tne one-piece con crete dwelling for the poor uit.u. promised y tdit.cn await its ooinmercial practlcabiCuess at ni creative hand, let any day, among those pregnant 8ti5. may bring about its completion and witness the inaaia rise of hundreds of such houses, aa though the poor man, become a modern Aladdin, bud acquired Dower over genii who can build cities overnight. It the next big war should come during those near twelve months, the automatic rifle, firing twenty, five shots from a strip of cartridge lu lightning suc cession, may be opposed to the llamelesa gun. of which the Maxim noiseless rifle was the forerunner iu 1DU8, and both, at closer quarters, may be opposed by soldiery flinging the terrible rifle grenade, which i. wow attracting so much attention in Europe. a,nd which enable every man to play the part of shrapnel cannon. ' There may be no war. But' the piping ' times of peace promise to lend the eye to the ear, and the ear o the eye, in two fields of pleasure and profit where the supplementing of either sense has ben eagerly awaited. The transmission of a mirrored likeness by electricity, so that ahe who telephones can see hint who answers, is among the hopes of applied science that may bear fruit before the new year is a old a this; and, nearer consummation than that, there is the endeavor to combine with the cinematograph! auch aa adaptation of the phonograph that the maglo screen, will give a complete reproduction, to hearing aa well a to sight, of any performance, dramatic or operatic, MAY REMAKE MAN All these wonders, and many more, are liable to be flung forth, like some opulent largesse, from mans munificent brain and hand. But what of the well nigh omnipotent ruler himself what of that creature to whom his Creator ao long ago gave the dominion, of the earth with lta land, its ocean and its atrt Will he remain the same in the midst of the changes where he rules aa despot, defying the earthquake and the hurricane, braving the convulsion of the shaking earth as coolly a he transform hi bitter aeedlinKa to the trulta of his primal paradise! What is the new year to make of Man? It may remake him utterly, from the very heart i his body to the infinitesimal corpuscles of his blood. Into his bands, at last, the secret of the ages, top which he has so vainly longed through the genera tions, may fall as simply, yet a astoundlngly, as the apple dropped on Newton. Before December 31, 1909, darkens into the eve of another year, man may know how to determine the sex of his children. The aver ment by Professor William B. Castle, of Harvard Uni versity, of hi discovery of the mathematically pre cise laws governing reproduction and sex determina tion in the higher animals, is regarded a being tne farthest advance yet attained toward the definite so lution of the problem of sex. If all that such a dis covery foreshadows prove true, incalculable modiflct tions must ensue in the propagation: of the race In France, Dr. Stephen Leduc is steadily progress ing along the line of his experiments with electrical anesthesia, experiments which, should they prove com pletely successful, will give to mankind freedom from pain without the penalty all other anesthetics exact, penalties that too often reach the extremity of deat:i. With aucn an ideal anesthetic as the electrical cur rent may aoon prove to be, the miracles of surgery thus far performed must remain merely the dawn of marvols that will hasten to accomplishment. Again and again the human-heart baa been pierced and sewed up and handled, and the patients huve llveti. Again and again, at the Rockefeller Institute, has Vr. Alexia Carrel transplated vital organs from beast l beast and major bones from man. to man, while Dr. Simon Flexner, of that institution, has held out tne hope that, at last, the organs themselves can be trans planted in man. In the wide field of sanitation this country Is beln stoundingly awakened to the possibilities of preven tion of disease, and in athletics no less an authority than Dr. Dudley A. Sargent has given the weight r,t his opinion In favor of a return to the all-around, haia and healthy athlete of ancient times as being a better man and a more valuable asset to the nation than t!. specialized, chronio contestant in some on form exercise. k . . The srmy of the United States will fall Into i!n with those of Germany and Great Britain in seek!; . -r immunity from typhoid by mesna of vscclnation. 'I r. , army medical board has decided that voluntary va cination be introduced, with the likelihood that tV would first become operative id those army pos tvphold is most a menace. Abroad vaccinating h been found to be a notable preventive. It-fore I: year is over the Immense advantaas of trphoM cination may have become so apparent tht ! .. among civilians may Inaugurate the movement t tirpate one of the scourges-most farnt.lar tj o r t llUatlon. ... ! So, within and without, the new yr mnr man himself during the scant and swlf Uy f".' , when he 1 remsklng his world.
