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Title: Looking Forward
A Dream of the United States of the Americas in 1999
Author: Arthur Bird
Release Date: October 6, 2015 [EBook #50148]
Language: English
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LOOKING FORWARD
A Dream of the
United States of the Americas
in 1999
BY ARTHUR BIRD
Ex-Vice Consul-General of America
at Port-au-Prince, Hayti
PREFACE.
The author respectfully submits it as his firm and immovable
conviction, that the United States of America, in years to come,
will govern the entire Western Hemisphere.
The Stars and Stripes which never knew, nor ever will know defeat,
will, in years to come, gather under its protecting folds, every
nation and every island in this hemisphere.
It is a duty we Americans owe to the republics of Central and South
America to give them the benefits of our pacific government, the
rule of the People, by and for the People, exemplified in the great
Constitution of the United States of America.
America has to-day an inviolable Monroe Doctrine. Any attempt on the
part of Europe to violate the spirit or letter of that wise doctrine,
would be promptly resented by America.
Our American flag already protects and defends every republic in the
Americas. How many years will it require to convince the Central and
South American Republics that their security and path of safety is
to come under the flag that already protects them?
The purpose of this book is to clearly establish this important fact in
the mind of every patriotic American. Our glorious, starry banner will
rule the entire Western Hemisphere. It will be the emblem of Peace,
Liberty and Civilization, floating over a united America from Alaska
to Patagonia. This is America's Destiny.
In setting forth this great truth the author has avoided the well
beaten paths and dusty roads travelled by writers from the days of
the Deluge up to the hour of going to press, and it is to be hoped
that the reader, now and then, may find some refreshing scenery along
his pathway.
If this book serves to stimulate patriotic pride and strengthen
respect for our liberty-loving flag, it then will not have been
written in vain.
Most respectfully submitted,
The Author.
LOOKING FORWARD
----A Dream of----
THE UNITED STATES OF THE AMERICAS,
1999.
CHAPTER I.
The American Colossus.
A Dream of Magnificent Expansion. America becomes the Mightiest
Nation of the World and extends her Domain from Alaska to
Patagonia.
Gauged by certain standards and viewed from certain standpoints,
a mere century is but a brief compass of time.
From an individual point of view, in the daily routine of life, a
century appears to be an embryo-eternity. When time is gauged with
clock like precision and to each minute is allotted its full value,
a century assumes an unfathomable depth. But, in the cycles of time,
a century is a mere footprint in the passage of time; a small link
in the endless chain of eternity.
Time is easily annihilated by mental process. Witness the feat
performed by Mahomet, related in a certain chapter of the [Mahomet
on Rapid Transit.] Koran. The faithful are informed in this passage
of the Koran that the Prophet was awakened one morning from a deep,
refreshing slumber by an angel and was summoned into Paradise
to confer with Allah. While in the act of ascending to Heaven,
Mahomet's foot struck and upset a pitcher of water which stood near
the couch. The Koran unblushingly proclaims that the Prophet held 999
long conferences with Allah and had safely returned to his couch,
ready for another snooze, before the water in the falling pitcher
had time to spill on the floor!
There is something very refreshing in this narrative. It shows that
Mahomet was well up in rapid transit matters and again it proves the
sublime virtue of a man, a son of the desert, a turbaned Washington,
who couldn't tell a lie and who resisted the temptation to make this
batch of conferences with Allah an even thousand. Mahomet missed his
calling; he ought to have been a newspaper reporter.
Assuming the prerogatives of the Koran, the author, at one stroke
of his pen, proposes to annihilate time. Plunged into a profound
slumber he had a dream. Great men and little men; the renowned and
the ignorant; the philosopher and the Australian bushman; quakers
and cannibals; the prince and the peasant, all these and myriads of
others, have had their dreams. Love's dream has been the theme of all
ages, the burden of songs untold. The dream of conquest, the dream of
ambition and dreams of every human passion and desire have throbbed
within the human brain.
But the author's dream is not swayed by human emotions; it is not
the handmaid of [America's Giant Republic, 1999.] passion. It is a
dream that unseals the book of the future and reveals to the world
the colossal, peace-loving, giant republic of the universe in the
year of our Lord, 1999,
The United States of the Americas, the mightiest nation ever known
in contemporaneous history.
It is related that at a national anniversary celebration dinner, held
a few years ago, in the classic regions of Chicago, while the toasts
were being dissected, a guest arose and proposed to "Our Country,"--the
United States of America, bounded on the north by Canada; on the south
by the Gulf of Mexico; on the east by the Atlantic and on the west
by the Pacific Ocean. Another gentleman arose and protested warmly
against the narrow limits as ascribed to our beloved country. "Let
us," he continued, "drink to the prosperity of the United States of
America,--bounded on the north by the North Pole; on the south by
the Antarctic Region; on the east by the first chapter of the Book
of Genesis and on the west by the Day of Judgment."
At the fin-de-siecle of the twentieth century, in the year of our
Lord, 1999, the United States of the Americas were virtually bounded
as above related. The comparatively small segment of territory known
and officially recognized in 1899 as the United States of America,
still retained in 1999 its predominant importance, yet this territory
in the twentieth century became only a small fraction of an integral
whole. In 1899, compared with its neighbors, the United States of
America appeared like a whale by the side of little fishes,--a large
loaf compared with which its neighbor-nations in Central and South
America resembled little biscuits,--half baked at that.
In 1999 the little fishes were glad to come to the great American whale
for protection and become a part of our grand union. Our glorious
and ever-victorious banner remained precisely the same in 1999, as
it must ever remain for centuries yet unborn, the pride of America
and the glory of the world. The stripes on our noble flag were still
red and white alternately; the only difference was in the number of
the stars on the field of blue; they had increased from forty-five
to eighty-five and Old Glory proudly waved in 1999 over one mighty
united republic from Baffin's Bay to the straits of Magellan.
Place in your hand an acorn. Pause as you gaze upon it, consider the
mighty giant which slumbers within its bosom. It is only an acorn,--a
mere pigmy. Plant it; watch it as it develops into a mighty, towering
oak, which, in its majesty of strength seems to bid defiance to the
very heavens. Beneath its massive branches and grateful shade the
weary traveller may pause to rest his limbs and seek refuge from the
heat of day.
Our pilgrim fathers were the "acorns" of the colossal republic known
in 1999 as [Commenced on a Small Scale.] the United States of the
Americas. Little did they those pure and sturdy fathers, dream that
from their loins would spring the greatest and grandest government
descended to men since the promulgation of the Decalogue. From small
beginnings, great ends may often be accomplished. The avalanche that
rolls and thunders down the mountain side, sweeping before it forests
and boulders, begins business in a very small way. A little handful of
snow starts the uproar but before its headlong career has terminated,
the very mountain itself trembles beneath the mad rush.
So it was with that splendid political structure, known in 1999 as the
United States of the Americas. Its humble origin was easily traceable
to Plymouth Rock. From the landing of the pilgrims to the close of
the nineteenth century, the rapid growth of the Federal States left
nothing to be desired. But in the nineteenth century America was
still an acorn, from which a mighty oak was to be reared in 1999,
a tree under whose branches were sheltered in one mighty republic
all the territory from Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn.
In the year of our Lord 1999 the world gazed with an admiration,
akin to awe, upon [Eighty-five States in the Union.] the magnificent
spectacle presented by the United States of the Americas, a colossal
republic, embracing eighty-five states, bounded on its northern apex
by the states of Alaska, East and West Canada, while the state of
Patagonia guarded the extreme south of the American giant, including
all islands of the seas lying in the Western Hemisphere, between the
Arctic and Antarctic regions.
It frequently happens that the insignificant child of to-day, soon
becomes, by reason of growth and intellectual force, the leader of
the family, a tower of might and strength in their midst, one to whom
they look for counsel and protection.
So it was with America, the Child of Destiny. In 1776 America was a
mere infant, attached to the breast of a harsh, unloving mother. By
leaps and bounds this American infant budded into childhood, and in
the year of 1899 had already become a busy, good-natured youth, whose
prowess, industry and great future already commanded the respect of
the world. In 1899 the western hemisphere was politically divided into
independent republics, with the minor exception of certain European
dependencies, belonging to England, France and Denmark. The United
States in the year last named was universally regarded as a prodigy
in the family of nations. Its magnificent resources and its expanding
industries; its keen inventive genius; its limitless [A Big Fellow,
Decidedly.] agricultural wealth; its absolute liberty and entire
freedom from militarism, challenged the envy as well as the admiration
of the world, while the naval and military prowess of the young
American Republic, evidenced in the Spanish-American unpleasantness
of 1898, exacted from other nations a wholesome and enduring respect.
Such, in brief, was the condition of America in 1899. Little indeed was
the popular mind prepared for the extraordinary developments and the
remarkable series of events that brought about in 1999 the creation
of the United States of the Americas. In that memorable year all of
the independent republics of Central and South America had joined our
union and were governed under the great Constitution of 1776, which
is and always will be, the most inspiring document that ever issued
from the pen of man, one that will continue to bless mankind as lone
as the sun retains its power and the earth gives forth its fruits.
How did all this happen? The Dream furnishes the solution. Read on.
CHAPTER II.
Under The Eagle's Wing.
The Mighty Oregon and the Little Yankee Schooner met on the high
seas. "Let us keep together for mutual protection." Mexico the
first republic to join our union. The Central and South American
Republics all stampede for the shelter of the great American
Eagle. Peru joins our union in 1921, Venezuela in 1925, Canada
comes stumbling along in 1930.
Every American patriot recollects with feelings of pride and admiration
the great voyage of the U. S. battleship Oregon, the noblest floating
citadel of the nineteenth century, during the spring of the year
1898, from the Golden Gate to Jupiter, Florida, a distance of over
14,000 miles. With only five first-class battleships to its credit,
it was of paramount importance for the U. S. government to secure the
services of the Oregon to join in the volcanic welcome that awaited
the arrival of Admiral Cervera's squadron in the Caribbean sea.
The memory of that eventful voyage will remain vivid in the
recollections of more than one generation. After the noble vessel had
rounded the turbulent waters of Magellan and her stout prow pointed
north, anxiety for her safety increased at every knot she covered. The
Spanish phantom, at that critical period of the war, looked like a
towering mountain, an elevation, however, which was designed to be
soon transformed, by subsequent events, into a mole-hill.
One bright afternoon, while steaming in latitude 30° south and in
longitude 40° [A Saucy Little Yankee Craft.] west, shortly before
touching at Rio Janerio, the great Oregon spoke an insignificant,
one-masted little schooner, a mere shell, tossing upon South Atlantic
billows, with a crew of two men. The fact that the diminutive
sail boat proudly unfurled at her masthead the glorious flag of
America, was the sole feature, in her case, that saved her from utter
insignificance. The Oregon displayed signals, asking the captain of
the little vessel if he had spoken any Spanish war-vessels adding,
as a matter of information, that war had been declared between Spain
and the United States of America.
It happened that this was the first intimation the captain of the
schooner had received that a state of war existed between the two
countries above named. In reply he promptly signalled to the Oregon
that he had not seen any Spanish men-of-war, and, being somewhat of a
Yankee humorist, added, that if war had been declared, the best thing
that they could do would be "to keep together for mutual protection."
This anecdote of the recontre of the Oregon and the tiny schooner
illustrates aptly the conditions that ruled in 1999 and during
several preceding decades. In that year was witnessed a grand union
of all the peoples of the Western Hemisphere under the starry banner
of America. The little Republics of Central and South America were
heartily glad to seek the protection of the Great Leviathan of the
North, and, gathered into one great Republic, The United States of
the Americas, they stood together one and indivisible, "for mutual
protection."
In 1999 the world beheld the imposing spectacle of a United America,
a nation in magnitude and power that eclipsed any previously known
confederation of States, invincible in war and unrivalled in arts,
sciences and industry. The Americas were all under the protection
of the same stars and stripes, employing the same legal tender and
coinage and in 1999 the English tongue had been adopted officially
by every Central and South American State.
The first Republic that knocked at our gates for admission into the
grand union of [Mexico makes the First Break.] the Americas, was
Mexico. In the year 1520, the Spaniards, under Cortes, that valiant
and most intrepid of Castillian warriors, had already crushed that
most dreaded of all barbarian monarchs, Montezuma, and had reduced
the Aztec Empire into vassalage and slavery. In 1898, by a series
of the most brilliant victories, American prowess and arms, coupled
with dare-devil bravery and resolute fighting, had in turn driven
out the Spanish hordes from the Americas. With this turn in the tide
of history, nothing could be more fitting than the incorporation of
Mexico as a State in our Federal Union. Could they have witnessed our
brilliant American victories against Spain in 1898, Montezuma and
his Aztec warriors would have arisen from their graves and shouted
for joy at the knowledge that at last their wrongs at the hands of
Spain had been avenged by the sword of America and their Spanish
oppressors of 1520 had at last been hurled back to the Castillian
haunts from whence they had emerged under Columbus and Cortes.
Mexico added a new star to our flag in 1912, just one hundred years
after England and America crossed swords. These swords have been
sheathed in their scabbards, never again in the world's history to
be unsheathed against one another.
As early as the year 1899 the desire to join our American Union began
to manifest [Awakening of the Americas.] itself. In that year the
little island of Jamaica already had under advisement the question of
joining the American Union, and the people of Jamaica were seriously
agitating the matter. They regarded this step as one that would benefit
their material prosperity. This belief was shared by the inhabitants
of the other West Indian islands and gained strength with every year,
culminating in 1912 in the action taken by Mexico.
The incorporation of Mexico into our grand American Union created a
profound sensation, not only in the Americas, but, also, throughout
the world. It was a purely voluntary act on the part of Mexico,
one which could not be fondly ascribed by the ever-jealous nations
of Europe to "Yankee greed." It brought about a distinctive turn
in the tide and the conviction became firm in the minds of all that
the example of Mexico would be followed, sooner or later, by every
Republic in Central and South America.
In 1920 public opinion in Peru became ripe for a change. The affairs
of that Republic had been unsuccessfully administered and the land
of the Incas seemed likely in that year to be devastated by Chile,
that active and more or less prosperous people, sometimes called the
"Yankees of South America." The prospect of another disastrous war
with Chile crystalized public opinion in Peru and hastened action on
her part. In the following year of 1921, Peru became a State in our
Union. Venezuela came next in 1925, then followed in rapid succession
the entire group of Central American States, Guatemala, Salvador,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras.
In 1930 Canada at last joined the American Union. Canada had long
occupied the position of an old maid in reference to the Union;
she had been entirely willing for many years, but had withheld her
consent; England, of course, had to be consulted, and with the utmost
good nature was present at the wedding ceremonies, giving away the
Canadian bride into our union in a most gracious manner.
Between 1930 and 1935, in rapid succession, the entire stretch of
territory known as South America, and the eleven Republics occupying
that continent, were incorporated into the United States of the
Americas. The State of Brazil was recognized by Congress in 1931, and,
on account of its large area, consisting of 3,209,878 square miles,
the new State was styled the "Texas of the South."
During the last half of the nineteenth century the burning issues
caused by the [Old Wounds are Healed Up.] Civil War were generally
and vaguely characterized as those which existed between the
North and South. The question of State sovereignty, slavery and
the resultant Civil War, divided the North and South into two vast,
hostile camps. The fall of Richmond in 1865 terminated hostilities,
it is true, but a bitter, relentless political and social war was waged
between these sections for over a quarter of a century thereafter. The
deep wounds caused by the Civil War began to slowly heal, but it
required a foreign war to demonstrate to the world that time at last
had conquered all animosity, all the anguish and bitterness of spirit
that had existed between the North and South.
During our war with Spain from April 22, 1898, to October 26, of the
same year, Confederate generals who had taken prominent parts in the
Southern army, men who had led their hosts to help tear into tatters
the great Constitution of the United States, unsheathed their swords
once more, in 1898, and to their lasting honor, this time it was in
defense of that very Constitution. In 1898 the men of the South eagerly
followed the lead of Wheeler and Fitzhugh Lee and sprang to arms in the
defence of a united country. It was a most impressive spectacle; one
that filled the world with amazement and America with patriotic joy.
In 1999, that little strip of territory lying between Mason and Dixon's
line and the [No more "South" in 1999.] gulf of Mexico was no longer
known or recognized as the South. The sceptre of the South had passed
into the keeping of the South American continent, which territory in
1999 had been divided into ten States of our great American Union,
namely the States of Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and, in the extreme South, the State
of Patagonia.
The real and actual South of the United States of the Americas, in
1999, consisted of the States above named, a vast sweep of territory
lying between the 10° North and 55° South of the equator, embracing
8,207,688 square miles in area, with a population of 127,000,000
souls. In 1999 the State of Brazil alone had a population of
42,000,000.
The Middle States of the great American Republic in 1999 were those of
Central America, namely the States of Costa Rica, Salvador, Honduras,
Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico.
The Northern States of the great Republic in 1999 consisted of those
states lying between Alaska and the Mexican gulf, including the newly
acquired States of East and West Canada. The population of the Middle
States in 1999 was estimated at 75,000,000, while the census of the
Northern States figured at 329,000,000. The total population of the
United States of the Americas in 1999, figured at 531,000,000 souls.
CHAPTER III.
The Cuban Question Settled.
The wretches who blew up the Maine. America is slow to anger
but terrible in punishment. Cuban native government not a
success. Joins our Union in 1910.
Cuba became part of the United States in 1910. The direct cause of the
war of 1898 was the blowing up of the Maine. Through this premeditated
and diabolical act, no less than 266 of our brave American sailors
were murdered in cold blood.
The Madrid authorities were innocent parties to this lamentable
transaction and their representative in Havana, Captain-General Blanco,
has been acquitted of the heinous charge of participation in that
fearful piece of butchery. The guilty men, the assassins who blew up
the Maine on the night of the 15th of February, 1898, were Weylerites,
whose chief, the infamous Gen. Weyler, had been removed from office
by the Sagasta government. To resent this slight upon their chief;
to embroil their home government in a war with the United States,
and to gratify their thirst for American blood, these Weylerites,
(who themselves located the mines in Havana harbor,) watched their
opportunity and exploded the mine that destroyed our gallant vessel,
hurling into eternity 266 of as brave men as ever trod a deck.
But the vengeance that was meted out to Spain for the treachery
of her murderous [The Maine was Avenged.] sons, was sweeping and
most complete in its character. Our martyrs of the Maine have been
avenged. Spain has learned along with the rest of the nations, that
America is slow to anger but swift and terrible in her vengeance;
from the punishment of Spain the world has learned a Yankee lesson
that will be remembered in all time to come.
Apart, however, from the castigation of Spain, America had a duty
to perform in the liberation of Cuba. From the date of the arrival
of the first shipload of Spaniards in 1492 to the departure of the
last load of Spanish officials and soldiers in 1899, Cuba had rested
under a cloud. Prosperity under Spanish rule, from Valesque in 1510
to Blanco in 1898, appeared to be an impossibility. From Christopher
Columbus to Admiral Cervera, the first and the last Spanish navigators
dispatched by the crown of Spain to Cuba, the life-blood of that
fair isle had been wasted away. Its history may fitly be written in
blood. Such condition of affairs could not be endured always at the
threshold of a vast, liberty-loving Republic and Cuba's loud appeals
for aid stirred America to action. War was declared after a formal
demand upon Spain for the liberation of Cuba. The result of the war
of 1898 was that Spain stood up to the front just long enough to get
kicked into tatters.
On the 1st day of January, 1902, the military occupation of Cuba by
the troops [A Civil War in Cuba.] of the United States terminated
and the government passed into the keeping of the Cubans. The Cuban
government, under President Gomez, was beset with difficulties from
the start. It was found difficult to bridle and keep down jealousies
and partisan feelings among the Cubans themselves. They appeared to
detest one another under their native government as cordially as they
did their former task-masters, the Spaniards. As soon as the Cubans
established their own government, love of country vanished from among
them; there appeared to be no unity of purpose.
In 1907 a civil war broke out in the fair but unfortunate isle,
and during the summer of that year the terrible scenes of the last
struggle with Spain, under Weyler, were again re-enacted. During that
year and the two following years of 1908-09, the gleaming machette
once again performed its deadly work.
This fratricidal war came to an end early in 1910, when the Cubans
by a plebicite, or popular vote, rendered an almost unanimous vote in
favor of the annexation of Cuba to the United States. This important
decision was ratified by Congress and received the official signature
of President George Dewey, the hero of Manila, at noon on the 24th
day of December, 1910.
CHAPTER IV.
Keynote of American Expansion.
The Awakening of America. Dewey the Idol of a great Nation. His
immense responsibilities at a critical period of the war. In
1999 Manila is still on every tongue. Spain's bargain with
Germany. Discomfiture of the German Admiral.
It was the first gun of the Raleigh, fired in Manila bay at dawn on the
first day of May, 1898, that sounded the keynote of America's future
greatness. The echo of that gun had not died out even in 1999. It
still rang amidst the nations of the earth, reverberating across its
seas and continents. It was the signal that sounded the dawn of
The United States of the Americas, a mighty Republic, which, in
the year 1999, embraced every square foot of land in the Western
Hemisphere, from the snow-clad huts of the Esquimos to the rock-ribbed
straits of Magellan, with its teeming, hustling population of
531,000,000 souls. Uncle Samuel was boss of the ranch, from its
Patagonian cellar clear to its roof in the Arctic region. With its
mighty talons [The Great Bird of Freedom.] clutching the narrow
isthmus of Panama; with its beak pointing into the Atlantic, far
beyond Porto Rico; with its tail-feathers covering the expanse of
the Pacific, clear into the Philippines, the American Eagle was a
proud bird to behold, as its mighty wings spread from the North to
the South Pole. And Dewey's guns did it.
At critical periods the fate of nations, as well as of individuals,
seems to suspend by a single, slender thread. At such moments,
so keenly poised are the balances of fate, that a mere breath may
disturb them. Admiral Dewey, the idol of America, unknowingly, held
the fate of a vast Republic in the hollow of his hand. He knew it not;
America knew it not. But in the light of events in 1999 such proved to
be the case. Had he failed; had his brave squadron been annihilated by
treacherous mines in Manila bay; had our American fleet been destroyed
at Cavité, instead of Montojo's squadron, the Dream of the United
States of the Americas would not have been realized in 1999.
But America is unconquerable; and Dewey won. When, on the 24th day of
April, 1898, the momentous message flashed across sea and continent
to Dewey, ordering him to "sink or capture" the Spanish squadron, the
American Eagle gave its first shrill cry of defiance. Every man on the
American fleet off Hong Kong swelled with pride from Commodore Dewey
to the humblest powder-monkey. Theirs was a mission to feel proud of,
and when Dewey's six warships sailed south to Manila, April 27, 1898,
to interview the Castillians, every man on board the American squadron
was ready to lay down his life in the cause of our noble country.
These were the men with cool heads and unflinching bravery who first
encountered the Spanish hosts. These were the men who electrified
a whole world by the splendor of their matchless victory. The word
gratitude is a feeble one indeed to adequately express the feelings of
the American people when the truth became known. At first it seemed
incredible that such a brilliant stroke could have been accomplished
in less than ten days after the declaration of war. In 1999 men
occasionally referred to Trafalgar and the battle of the Nile,
Farragut's heroism at Mobile bay, the encounter of those two little
scorpions, the Monitor and Merrimac, and other naval engagements, as
matters of history, but the peerless American victory at Manila bay,
the praises of the one and only Dewey and his brave men, were still,
in that year, the theme on every tongue.
In 1999 it was reckoned a high distinction for any American to be
able to say that his father, brother or relative took part in the
great victory at Manila. Indeed, there still lived in 1999, in the
State of Brazil, an extremely old man, aged 115 years, who took part
in the gallant fight off Cavité in 1898.
When Dewey's squadron left Mirs bay to proceed upon its eventful voyage
to Manila, Earl Stanley, at that time a stripling of fourteen years,
hid in an empty hogshead [A Plucky Little American Lad.] in the
hold of the warship Boston, just as the American fleet was weighing
anchor. When the mountains about Mirs bay and the Chinese mainland
had disappeared from the sight of the squadron, Stanley, the young
stowaway, emerged from his retreat and soon after landed in the arms
of a marine, who brought the lad before the Captain. That official was
at first inclined to deal severely with the young culprit. The latter,
however, was straightforward and fearless in his bearing. He plainly
told the Captain that he stole his way on board the Boston to share
in the fight and he was ready to do anything to fight under the Stars
and Stripes. The Captain, though outwardly severe, secretly admired
the lad's pluck and turned him over to the charge of a gun-crew. In
1999 Earl Stanley resided in Rio Janeiro, and for over sixty years
had been drawing a monthly pension of $35 from the government. He was
in that year the sole survivor of the battle of Manila, an exclusive
distinction he had already enjoyed for many long years.
Aside from the sweeping results of the action off Cavité, Admiral
Dewey's firm and resolute attitude towards Aguinaldo and his
mercenaries, as well as his open defiance to the German squadron,
gave the keenest satisfaction throughout the United States.
As early as the year 1902, the fact, long suspected, was at last
officially confirmed, that before the declaration of war in 1898
[Spain failed to deliver the Goods.] between Spain and America,
there existed a firmly established secret alliance between Spain and
Germany. Spain had bartered with Germany for her active support in her
war against the Yankees. In compensation for her aid and countenance,
Spain had agreed to cede over to Germany, in fee simple, the entire
group of Philippine islands. After Dewey's matchless victory of the
1st of May, Germany slipped on her "thinking cap" and experienced an
exceedingly sudden change of mind. Her "aid" in the Spanish cause was
not worth a baby's rattle. As to the German "countenance," it looked
so crest-fallen and hopelessly sour that Spain as she gazed upon it
refused to be comforted.
But, notwithstanding this, with an impudence that was positively
refreshing to contemplate, after the battle of Manila, Germany put up a
fine game of bluff and acted as though she held a proprietary interest
in the Philippines. The German government dispatched a fleet of seven
war vessels to Manila bay, under command of Admiral von Diederichs,
under a flimsy pretext of "protecting German interests." In reality
it was intended by the presence of this German squadron in Manila
bay to annoy, bulldoze, and if possible to intimidate Commodore Dewey.
For six weeks after the battle of Manila, Dewey's fleet as a result
of the fight, was [Little Powder but lots of Pluck.] low in its
ammunition and coal supplies. There was one very important fighting
factor however, that never ran short on the American fleet, as that was
the indomitable pluck and fighting mettle of Dewey and his men. Dewey
diplomatically tolerated some of the petty annoyances offered at
that time by the Germans, but they were given by the brave American
commander to distinctly understand that there existed a danger-line
which once crossed, would bring death and hospitals in its wake. None
knew better than the German Admiral that the practice of lighting
matches around powder magazines is a very unhealthy one.
Admiral Von Diederichs bluffed around with his squadron, but with
a wisdom that Solomon himself might have envied, he gave Dewey's
danger-line a wide berth. It was only when Admiral Dewey sent his
famous request to the Department for the Oregon, "for political
reasons," that the German fleet in Manila bay suddenly discovered
that they had some urgent business elsewhere, and made a very hasty
exit from the unhealthy neighborhood of an American Admiral who had
a mind of his own and a fine lot of lads to back up his opinion.
CHAPTER V.
Centennial Celebration of Manila
1998.
America never surrenders, and that is one reason why we hold on
to the Philippines. Grand Celebration of the Dewey Centennial
throughout the Americas.
In the year 1999 the American possession of the Philippine islands
was regarded throughout the United States of the Americas as a master
stroke. Statesmen in that year asked themselves how the Americas
could have ever developed their enormous Asiatic commerce, without
having a point d'appui, or base of operations, in Oriental waters?
In the year 1899 Christendom (and Heathendom, as well,) beheld with
amazement the carving up of China by the greedy vultures of Europe. In
that year of her interminable history, China resembled a huge, helpless
jelly-fish, attacked on every side by the sword-fishes of Europe. While
this interesting process of China-carving was in full operation,
America, as a result of Dewey's victory, discovered that a pearl [The
Philippines in 1999.] of rare value had fallen into her lap. When
Dewey entered Manila bay on the ever memorable morn of May 1st, 1898,
he had not so much as a hitching-post to fasten the painter (rope) of
his smallest launch. But, before the setting of the sun on that day,
he had laid low a whole empire under the keels of his squadron. There
lived not a solitary European Admiral of the period of 1898 who would
not have given his right arm to have been in Dewey's place.
In 1999 it appeared incredible that one year only after the battle
of Manila there were men (earnest and well-meaning patriots, many
of them,) who were strenuously opposed to the retention of those
islands by the United States of America. It was difficult, in the
twentieth century, to conceive how short-sighted, how unmindful of
our country's glorious future, were those so-called anti-expansionists.
In 1999 the argument was clear and indisputable that America in 1898
had not waged a wanton war for conquest. It was a necessity of war that
brought about the destruction of the Manila wing of the Spanish fleet,
and the city was captured subsequently as an act of self-defense. It
became [Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep.] a measure of necessity to
"put to sleep" every Spanish gun afloat in the Pacific. Had Dewey
allowed any of these sea-hounds to escape and prey upon American
commerce in that ocean, what would have become of our merchant shipping
in the Pacific? Our finest steamships would have been at the mercy of
the most contemptible Spanish privateer. Hundreds of precious lives
and American shipping, representing millions of dollars, must have
been destroyed by the pirates of the red and yellow flag. But Dewey
put them all to sleep and rocked them in the cradle of the deep.
This deed of self-defence accomplished, then what? Ought Dewey to have
vacated Manila bay and made a laughing-stock of himself or stand his
ground and bring the fight with Spain to a finish? There can be but
one patriotic answer to this question.
Dewey stood his ground, and in 1899 public opinion throughout the world
divided itself into two great camps--those who openly and others who
secretly admired the brave American Admiral.
On the 1st day of May, 1998 the Centennial anniversary of the battle of
Manila was celebrated with a volcanic display of intense enthusiasm
throughout the United States of the Americas. It was "Dewey Day"
from the State of Alaska clear south to the State [Equal to the 4th
of July.] of Patagonia. The seals in Baffin's bay wore an extra
smile, while the albatross and other gulls at the Horn circled about
and fluttered as though something uncommon was on.
Every city in the vast Republic was in gala attire to honor the
glorious memories of the day. In Washington, (Mexico,) and at the
capitals of each of the eighty-five States of the Americas the Manila
Centennial was signalized with a patriotic enthusiasm seldom equaled
but never eclipsed.
The celebration of the Centennial anniversary of Waterloo by the old
allied nations of Europe in 1915 proved a very brilliant affair, one
which dazzled the world by its magnificence and regal splendor. But
the Manila Centennial in 1998 relegated the Waterloo episode entirely
in the shade. The only American national celebration of the twentieth
century that might compare with it was the Bi-Centennial celebration
of the Declaration of Independence on the 4th day of July, 1976.
The Manila Centennial in 1998 celebrated what was universally regarded
as the pivotal [Turning Point of American History.] or turning point
in American History. From the date of that battle in 1898 the supremacy
of the United States became established as a first-grade power. Its
prowess in war and triumphs in the arts of peace were universally
recognized. Little then is it to be wondered at that the American
Colossus in 1998 seethed with patriotic fervor on the 1st day of May
of the Manila Centennial anniversary.
The preparations for the great event had been under way for nearly
a year. It was clearly remembered in 1998 that, although Bunker
Hill was an insignificant fight from a military point of view, yet
it was a glorious battle for America from the fact that it proved a
turning point in our nation's history. So it proved with the battle of
Manila. It was a turning point in our national history that demanded
a fitting celebration of its centennial anniversary.
In 1998 the President of the United States of the Americas was Vernon
R. [A Chip of the Old Block.] Schley, a grandson of the famous
Admiral who annihilated Cervera's fleet on the 3rd day of July, 1898,
while the commander-in-chief was inconveniently away on some other
errand. Upon President Schley devolved the high honor, but irksome
and difficult task, of firing at sunrise a salute of ærial torpedoes
in the capitals of every State in the vast American Republic, and,
at the same moment, from his private office in the Capitol building
in Washington, Mexico, the President unfurled the American flag on
the dome of every State house in the Americas.
This, of course, was accomplished by means of electricity. At first
thought it might appear to be a very easy task to press a button in
the State of Mexico and fire off ærial torpedoes in the States of
Alaska, the Canadas, Peru, Patagonia, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia
and Brazil at the same instant, extending the salutes to the Middle
American States of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Salvador, Guatemala, but as a
matter of fact, the task of the President was by no means an easy one.
On the Manila Centennial anniversary day President Schley required
nearly three [Going Around with the Sun.] hours of constant work to
fire the national salutes from the Eastern to the Western Capitals of
the great Republic at exactly sunrise in each city on the 1st day of
May, 1998. The sun arose on the Eastern Capitals of the New England
States that morning at 5:32 A. M. in Hartford, Boston, Montpelier
and other cities, but it was nearly 8:43 A. M. before the President
could fire off the ærial torpedoes over the Golden Gate, unfurling
at the same moment Old Glory, which waved to the morning breezes of
the broad Pacific.
All those States of the Americas, from Canada to Patagonia that are on
the same degree of longitude received their signals from the President
at about the same time. The most easterly city of the American Union in
1999 was Rio Janeiro, situate on the 40° longitude. The torpedo salutes
were first fired there in honor of the great Centennial. The next
city that saluted was Montevideo. Buenos Ayres next followed. Boston,
Mass., Caracas in the State of Venezuela and Bogota in the State
of Colombia were next "touched off" by President Schley, and so in
the course of the rising sun each American city saluted the glorious
day. When this feature of the 1998 centennial program was explained
to a Frenchman on the 1st day of May of that year, he shrugged his
shoulders as only a Frenchman can, exclaiming: "Mon Dieu, vhy don't
zey fire a salute in zee sun,--parbleu."
In this vast aggregation of eighty-five States the Dewey Centennial
celebration was everywhere observed with marked enthusiasm, but the
style of the celebration differed widely, according to the section
or location of the State in which it was held. [Different Ways of
Celebrating.] Throughout Alaska and the two Canadian States and the
northern belt of States, military pageants, naval parades, athletic
sports, orations, concerts and banquets predominated.
In the tropical or Central American States, high mass was celebrated
in all the cathedrals and churches in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica, and the day was given to feasting
and dancing. Throughout the southern sections of the United States of
the Americas, in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and contiguous States,
the Te Deum was chanted in all the principal churches and high mass was
celebrated with a pomp and magnificence that appeals so irresistibly
to the heart of the Latin race. In each State of the Americas ample
appropriations had been voted from State funds to meet the expenses
of the great day. Not a family in the colossal American Republic
of 500,000,000 souls lacked on that day for a feast of the choicest
delicacies, with a carte blanche of wines of the most grateful and
generous vintage.
On the occasion of the Manila Centennial in 1999 Englishmen were
accorded the seat of honor at every table in the Americas and the
health of King Alexander II, who in 1999 wielded the sceptre of Great
Britain, was tossed off with gusto and enthusiasm by every living
American. England's true and sterling friendship to America in 1898
was still vividly remembered in 1998. The strong grasp of her hand
at a critical period in 1898, when her attitude became a matter of
vital importance to America, was still cordially appreciated.
Every American Governor in the South American States as well as those
of Central and North America, gave a sumptuous banquet in honor of
the day. At Rio Janeiro Gov. Day entertained no less than 9,000 at
his festive tables. Gov. Horace K. Depew, a grandson of the Senator
and ex-railroad magnate, entertained 30,000 guests in Washington,
(Mexico). In splendor, elegance and lavish hospitality even the
chronicles of the Middle Ages could furnish no parallel. Gov. Depew's
guests were banqueted and fêted in one of Montezuma's old palaces
which still retained much of its architectural beauty and was rich
in the memories of a glorious past.
High mass was celebrated in the cathedral of Mexico. Gov. Depew and a
brilliant staff attended the services. All public edifices [Celebrating
in Mexico.] and private houses were profusely decorated with garlands
and festoons of beautiful tropical flowers of the most gorgeous
dyes. Massive arches, embellished with medallions of Dewey, were
erected on all the principal streets and avenues. These were made of
verdant boughs, intertwined with the choicest floral creations of the
tropics. Martial music and a constant firing of ærial torpedoes kept
public interest at its keenest edge, from dawn to night. These festive
scenes in the State of Mexico were re-enacted all over the Americas
on the 1st day of May, 1998. The Dewey or Manila Centennial was a
tribute to the memory of the man who at Manila bay, electrified the
world and laid the corner stone of the United States of the Americas.
CHAPTER VI.
England's Valued Friendship.
The American Victory at Manila was also an English Victory, so
proud did our British cousins feel over it. Spain's bribe of the
Philippines. France and Germany beg England to remain Neutral
while they set out to thrash Uncle Sam.
If the reader is an American, the question will naturally arise, what
became of our transatlantic cousins in the "right tight little island"
in the year 1999? In what light was the stupendous fabric of the
United States of the Americas regarded by England in that year? Did
England view with friendliness and complacency the development of
the American Colossus? Surely the awakening of the Americas, both
politically and industrially, must have seriously challenged the
attention of England. Was England in 1999 the same powerful, cordial
friend of America that she so well proved herself to be in 1898?
During the year 1899 Admiral Seymour of the British Navy, while
cruising in Asiatic waters, paid Admiral Dewey a visit on the
Olympia. His parting words to the American Admiral were: "Your victory
at Cavité was also our victory." No words could better express the
fraternal and cordial relations existing in 1899 between England and
America and the Dreamer feels proud and happy to say that in 1999
these cordial relations were still in full force. Providence, it
would appear, had selected these two great nations to act as leaders
and standard-bearers among the peoples of the earth. Their spheres
of action in 1999 did not clash, hence no jealousy existed between
the two nations.
In 1899 America, while perfectly friendly to England and proud to
be her ally, was reluctant to enter into an offensive and defensive
alliance with her. The spirit of American independence, always
self-reliant, was slow and exceedingly cautious in the matter of
"entangling alliances." The only alliance possible would be one with
England, which nation is the parent of the Anglo-Saxon race.
England's wise and friendly course during the Spanish-American war,
had filled the [England our Firm Friend.] heart of every true American
patriot with gratitude. By her sagacious action the unpleasant memories
of 1776, 1812 and the Alabama episode, had been entirely obliterated,
root and branch, from every American breast.
Before the outbreak of hostilities in 1898, which culminated in the
Yanko-Spanko war, there existed between France, Germany and Spain a
secret, yet none the less tacit understanding, that in the event of
war, the two powers first named would come forward to the assistance
of Spain as against the cordially detested Yankees. France held the
bulk of Spanish securities and was vitally interested in the issue
of the conflict between Spain and America. The success of the Spanish
cause or its disaster, signified either the gain or loss of millions
of Spanish securities. Her sympathies, therefore, were given over to
Spain and the French government and people were quite ready to expend
chilled steel and smokeless powder against the bulwarks of America.
Germany, on the other hand, in her self-assumed rôle of general
meddler-in-chief of [Spain's Two Great and Good Friends.]
the so-styled "European concert," was spoiling for a fight with a
country that had taken from her hundreds of thousands of her best
citizens and whose industrial expansion was a thorn in her side.
For the first time since 1870, when the French tri-color was humbled
in the dust of Sedan, Germany and France were interested in a common
cause against America, and were actuated by the same selfish motives
against the American Republic. Both were ready in April, 1898,
to fly at America's throat and in unison with Spain, administer to
our American Republic a first-class thrashing. These two worthies
entertained the notion that the great American Republic would very
soon be humbled and be only too glad to sue for peace on bended knees.
In return for her valuable services in this delightful program,
Germany was to be rewarded by Spain with the gift outright of the
Philippine islands. This was the beautiful cluster of grapes which
tempted the cupidity of the German fox.
But, alas, in the language of the lamented Josh Billings, "nothing is
more certain than the uncertainty of this world." France and Germany,
(an ill-assorted and graceless pair,) had reckoned without their host.
Sorely against their wishes, with hat in hand, France and Germany found
themselves under the absolute necessity of calling at the office of
a certain pugnacious and only too well known gentleman by the name
of John Bull, whose home since the days of the Druids and William
the Bastard has been in the snug little island of England and whose
postoffice address is London.
They (F. and G.) came to consult John Bull on the very important
subject of their proposed expedition against America, with Spain
acting as a tail to their kite.
They explained to Mr. Bull the object of their mission; they set
forth in a very clear [A Very Anxious Pair.] light that Uncle Sam,
on the other side of the Atlantic, needed a sound thrashing, and
what was more, needed it very badly. France and Germany posed before
J. B. as champions of a weaker nation that they were both very anxious
to protect. They represented that they had no possible interest in
the outcome of a war between America and Spain. All they asked of
England was merely to remain neutral,--to keep quiet while the three
prize stars, France, Germany and Spain, proceeded to give Uncle Sam
a taste of their raw-hides.
Then it was that the British Lion gave a roar, and in clear,
unmistakable language informed both France and Germany if they
ventured to fire a gun against America in the defence of Spain,
England would not remain neutral, but would side with America and
lend her assistance on sea and land.
The British Lion is not to be trifled with. France and Germany knew
this only too well, and when the war broke out they decided to remain
home and wisely stay in doors while it rained. Spain went to war
alone with her powerful enemy and took her medicine, we were nearly
tempted to say, "like a good little man."
The era of fraternal love, inaugurated through England's wise
action in repulsing the advances of France and Germany, proved
the keystone to the greatness of America and England in 1999. Ever
after the Spanish-American war they remained loyal and true to one
another and their friendship and mutual interests ever increased
thereafter. Throughout the twentieth century England and America
stood side by side in every emergency. It was not necessary to
draw up legal documents with enormous seals and yards of red silk
ribbon to cement the alliance of true friendship that existed between
the two nations. Their hearts beat in unison in the common cause of
humanity. In the twentieth century England and America were invincible
in war and leaders in all arts of peace.
CHAPTER VII.
Our Foreign Relations in 1999.
Having clearly set forth in our earlier chapters the splendid
proportions and the commanding position on this globe held by the
United States of the Americas in 1999, it now becomes necessary in
order to determine the position of the great American Republic in its
international relations, to review, in brief, the condition of Europe,
and, more particularly that of England, in the twentieth century.
In the year 1999 the British and American flags protected over one-half
of the human family and before the close of the twenty-first century it
appeared certain that English would become the universal language. The
population of the world in 1999 figured at a trifle over 2,000,000,000
souls. The population of the United States of the Americas in 1999 was
rated at 531,000,000, while that of the British possessions figured
at about an equal amount, making a grand total population of over
1,000,000,000 people under the flags of the two nations. It is easy
to comprehend how, under two thoroughly enlightened governments,
[English the Universal Language.] with a good system of education,
free schools, and an enterprising press, English rapidly came to
the front as the universal language, and in the year 1999 it became
obvious and clear to all candid minds that the Anglo-Saxon race
already dominated the world.
The Arbitration Treaty between England and America was signed on
the 6th day of June 1910. By the provisions of this document it was
agreed that in the event of any dispute between the two countries
Arbitration as a settlement for all difficulties would be resorted
to. Public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic was sternly opposed
to any resort to war between England and the Americas. The Arbitration
Treaty was signed by her gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, who was
still seated on the British throne and was enjoying a fair measure
of health in 1910 at the venerable age of 92 years. This marvelous
and well-preserved lady still retained the homage and respect of
the entire world, and the indications pointed to a grand celebration
of her Majesty's centennial anniversary in 1918. But the world was
denied that privilege and honor. In the year 1912, the Duke of York,
(Victoria's grandson,) succeeded to the British throne, assuming the
title of Alexander I.
In 1999 radical changes had taken place in the map of Europe. The long
international [France Gobbled Up by Germany.] feud and bitterness
existing between France and Germany had been twice weighed in
the scales of war. The wound caused to French national pride by
the fall of Sedan, Metz and Paris, rancored long in the breasts
of all Frenchmen. It was a grief silently borne, but none the less
keen. In 1907 the French military party again shouted the battle cry,
"A Berlin," and in the brief but disastrous war that followed again
were the proud eagles of France trailed in the dust. France lost more
of her territory in the Franco-German war of 1907 and Germany saddled
on her an enormous war indemnity in the shape of $3,000,000,000.
This was a hard blow to French national pride. Russia, her ally,
proved false to her promises of aid and France was left alone to
determine the issue with Germany.
The terrible disaster of 1907 only added oil to the French fire of
hatred, and in 1935 France, for some imaginary cause, again entered
into another war of revenge, (guerre de revanche,) against Germany. As
a result of the war of 1935 France utterly collapsed. At the close
of that war Germany took possession of Paris and maintained German
garrisons in all of the forts surrounding that city for a period of
[Germans Hold Paris for Ten Years.] ten years, or until the year
1945. Germany determined, while holding possession of Paris, to reduce
the enormous military establishment of France, the maintenance of
which had greatly impoverished both countries. In order to suppress
and crush France, German garrisons were maintained in every province
of France. In this manner Germany kept her mailed grasp upon France,
ready at any moment to stifle her upon the least show of resistance. In
1999 France became practically reduced to the condition of a German
province.
Those who lived in the year 1899 will recollect only too well the
crying injustice [The Wrongs of Poor Dreyfus.] perpetrated upon the
person of an innocent French officer, Dreyfus, who suffered and was
humiliated in a manner which, fortunately, seldom falls to the lot of
man. France's lack of moral courage to grant justice to Capt. Dreyfus
for so many years, proved to the world that "la belle France," after
all, was merely a Dead Sea apple,--beautiful to the eye but rotten
to the core.
It is then no cause for surprise that France, the moral coward,
in 1935, had been transformed into a German province.
In 1999 Spain and Turkey had both been carved up, banqueted upon
and digested by [Adieu Spain and Turkey.] the political cannibals
of Europe. In the partition that took place in the twentieth century
England had been careful to secure for herself some of Spain's choice
side-cuts and joints and also secured her slice of Turkey.
Turkey had been an invalid for many long years, and its obliteration
from the map of Europe was merely a question of time. These
semi-civilized and blood-thirsty Turks with a hideous history
drenched in innocent blood, champions of lust and rapine, oppressors
of Armenia and violators of chastity, were finally driven out of
Europe in 1920, hurled back once more into the dens of Asia Minor
from whence they came.
Russia had long held a first mortgage upon the Turkish vagabond's
estate in Europe and possessed herself of a large share of the
vacated territory. But Russia, strange to relate, was kept out
of Constantinople in 1999. England, Germany, and what was left of
France, as well as Italy, were still fully determined that Russia
should never command the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The European
Powers were ready, as of old, to smash Russia and defeat her ambition
in that direction. They knew only too well that once firmly [Shut Out
of Constantinople.] planted in the Ottoman capital Russia would then
become the absolute master of Europe. In 1999 the Turkish territory
about Constantinople, on both banks of the Bosphorus, was recognized
as a neutral zone and was held in trust by the united nations of
Europe. No war vessels were permitted to anchor in the Dardanelles
under any pretence whatsoever.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Fate of Spain.
The Invention of ærial warships. In 1924 an International Congress
is held at Washington. Law passed prohibiting the use of ærial
warships. Spain is first to violate the compact. The penalty is
extermination from the face of the earth.
Spain, in 1999, was reduced to a mere geographical quantity. Ever after
the Spanish unpleasantness with America, in 1898, Spain's unhappy
history had been sliding down a greased pole. From the moment that
Columbus discovered America, Spain became a spoiled child of fortune.
In 1492 Spain had a population of 40,000,000 people,--frugal,
industrious and prosperous. In the arts and sciences they led the
world in those days. In military science and navigation none could
equal them. The discovery of America utterly ruined Spain in less than
three hundred years. Spaniards thereafter ceased to depend upon their
own energy and resources. Intoxicated by the brilliant discoveries
of Columbus, the dazzling conquests of Pizarro, Cortes and De Soto,
Spain has endeavored since the fifteenth century to enslave the New
World and live upon the sweat of others' brows.
The acquisition of sudden and prodigious wealth in the New World;
the steady flow [The Dangers of Sudden Wealth.] of money brought
into Spain by slave labor; the luxury and voluptuous ease of life
thus engendered, form important factors in the history of Spain's
decline. After losing all of her vast possessions in the New World, it
was left to America in 1898 to give the Spaniards their coup-de-grâce
and check their baggage for Madrid.
In 1942 Spain ceased to possess a government of her own. After a
devastating war, (une guerre à l'outrance,) Spain ended her official
existence and was parcelled out among the European nations. England,
with Gibraltar to start with, secured a generous slice of the Spanish
booty. In the twentieth century England was still well inclined to
make the best possible use of her opportunities, and America was
always glad to advance her cause, whenever it was practicable to do so.
The annihilation of Spain came about after the following manner:
In the year 1917 the world rejoiced at the prospect of a permanent
solution of the war problem. The new devices invented and perfected by
the deviltry of man, to be employed in the destruction of his fellow
men, had reached in that year such a degree of perfection that war
simply meant the wholesale destruction or total annihilation of those
who engaged in it.
In 1917 ærial navigation was practically solved, and a new and vast
element had [A New Element in War.] opened its possibilities to
the will of man. At the close of the nineteenth century the "blue
etherial" was wholly unobstructed in its vast extent and still defied
the skill of our best inventors. Prof. Langley and his disciples had
not yet solved the great question of ærial navigation. In 1899 this
most inviting and ever tempting field of research still remained an
unsolved mystery. The old fashioned balloon, with no will or control of
its own, subject to the whim or caprice of every breath of air, was the
best apology we could offer in 1899 for purposes of ærial navigation.
In 1917 the problem of ærial navigation had been practically solved
by Tesla, in [Ærial Navigation Perfected.] whose brain many profound
secrets of nature had long been harbored. With the aid and potentiality
of electricity, (the slave of the twentieth century), ærial navigation
had been perfected. One of the first devices invented for use in the
air was the ærial warship, operated and controlled by electricity.
Loaded with a quarter ton of dynamite, these deadly warships, without
anyone to navigate them could be made to hover over a city and threaten
its population with total annihilation. They were popularly called
"death angels." The sight of one of the warships blanched the cheeks
of the most intrepid, filling the city or town over which it hovered
with utmost consternation.
The human mind recoiled with horror at the thought of war with such
fearful engines [Simply Wholesale Murder.] of destruction. In fact
war carried on with ærial dynamite ships was no longer worthy of being
called by that dignified name, it was simply a wholesale destruction
of lives and property. With strange inconsistency, the world in
1917 appeared to be willing to wage war on the "retail plan." It
was apparently willing to sacrifice human beings in terrible battles
fought between powerfully armed vessels, with heavy rifles and rapid
firing guns. The world was willing to slaughter life by one method,
yet it held in abhorrence these "death angels," which accomplished a
wholesale instead of a retail destruction of life and property. With
an inconsistency peculiarly its own, the world in 1917 appeared quite
willing that 50,000 men should be destroyed in a single battle by
rapid-firing guns, which could mow down a whole regiment at a time, but
the proposition to destroy an army of 50,000 men with one of the deadly
ærial warships, was everywhere regarded with horror. By this decision
the world placed itself in the position of a man who was willing to
be killed by the shot of a six-inch rifle, yet strongly objected on
the score of humanity to being riddled by the shell of a 14-inch rifle.
War at best is but a relic of barbarism, and, be it waged with ærial
warships, or submarine torpedoes, with Mauser rifles or smooth bore
guns, it accomplishes the same end; nations are plunged into ruin;
the family circle is broken; widows and orphans are left disconsolate.
Be this as it may, in the year 1924, a Congress of the leading nations
was held in the city of Washington, (then situated in the State of
Mexico,) and, as a result of its deliberations a solemn compact was
entered into, signed by the Ambassadors of every civilized nation, and
a treaty of the most [Ærial War Ships Prohibited.] binding character
was ratified, in which it was stipulated that under no conditions,
named or unnamed, would the use of ærial warships ever be permitted
as an instrument or medium for waging war among nations.
It was furthermore agreed and stipulated between these nations that if,
at any future period, any nation on the habitable globe should ever
permit itself to employ a system of ærial warships for the prosecution
of war, the other signatories of the treaty would make common cause
and combine in an attack against the offender. They would proceed to
invade its territory, destroy its cities and monuments, lay waste its
plains, obliterate its flag and name from the family of nations. The
remaining property of the violator of the treaty must also be seized
and sold, the proceeds to be donated to charitable deeds.
It was further stipulated between the signatory powers that the
punishment meted out to any violator of this solemn treaty would
be in the same kind as its offending. In other words, a nation that
employed the use of ærial warships and practiced the horrible system
of dropping from great heights heavy charges of high explosives upon
cities, fleets or shipping, would be wiped out from the face of the
earth and annihilated by the same methods of destruction.
The first violator of the Washington Treaty of 1924 proved to be
Spain, the [A Bad Rascal Caught.] ancient home and abiding-place of
the Holy Inquisition, that reprobate among nations; the emaciated
and wasted offspring of priestcraft. To her in 1930 was meted out
the condign punishment which she richly deserved for her flagrant
violation of the Washington Treaty in prosecuting her war against
Morocco. During this war, in the year 1929, Spain had resorted to the
use of ærial warships and by employing a fleet of "death angels,"
she had utterly destroyed the ancient city of Fez, the capital of
that barbaric North African State, reducing the city into a heap of
ruins and causing the slaughter, in less than thirty minutes, of over
175,000 people. Tangier, on the northern boundary of Morocco, a city
of 75,000 population, had also suffered the same fate from the Spanish
"death angels." Tangier, with its inhabitants, was reduced to ashes
in less than ten minutes.
In order to chastise Spain for her wanton cruelty and open violation of
the international convention of 1924, a peremptory note was served upon
the Madrid authorities, signed by the Treaty Powers, with the names
of America and England at the head of the list. It was particularly
observed that the signature of the United States of the Americas was
underscored, as though to remind Spain that America had not forgotten
the wrongs of Cuba.
On the 21st day of April, 1930, (just thirty-two years after the
declaration of our [Hoisting the Storm-signal.] first war with Spain,)
notice was served upon the Madrid authorities that within thirty days
from date, the allied nations of the world would mobilize their ærial
war fleets and proceed to devastate Spanish territory. This ultimatum
included Ceuta, the Balearic islands, as well as the ever-faithful
isles of the Canaries.
This international ultimatum was dispatched in conformity to the
terms of the Washington Treaty of 1924, which demanded, irrevocably
and without appeal, the extinction of any nation that employed such
barbarous methods of warfare as ærial warships and the practice of
hurling gun-cotton, dynamite and nitro-glycerine from the skies upon
defenceless cities.
At last Spanish pride was humbled. With a terrible doom to face,
with no friend to counsel, succor or comfort her, Spain was at last
brought to the dregs of humiliation. [Spain Sheds Crocodile Tears.]
In vain did that unhappy country plead for leniency and mercy. Spain
was willing to sue for peace and safety upon any terms, but in vain
did that stricken nation wave the olive branch.
The countenance of the world was withdrawn from Spain. The Treaty
Powers were obdurate and Spain must suffer for the terrible slaughter
of Fez and Tangier. The world in 1930 demanded that an example should
be made. It was determined to settle, once and forever, the important
question of using dynamite and other fulminants as a weapon of war
thrown down from airships. It had been determined that any nation
employing such barbarous methods of warfare should be uprooted from
the face of the earth.
The object and purpose of the thirty-day notice was to allow the entire
population, men, women and children, ample time to leave the doomed
kingdom. The Treaty [Thirty Days to Leave Spain.] Powers, in seeking
to punish Spain, did not wish to sacrifice life. The punishment Spain
was to receive consisted in the annihilation of her kingdom and the
destruction of her cities and monuments. Like modern Jews, who had
lost their Palestine, they were thereafter to be scattered over the
face of the globe, with no country and no national ensign of their
own. Such was the fiat of the nations in 1930 and this decree was
fulfilled to the letter.
CHAPTER IX.
The Annihilation of Spain.
Arrival of the "Death Angels" over Spain. Spaniards cross the
Pyrenees into France. The doom of Weyler and his cohorts. "Remember
the Maine." Madrid and the principal cities of Spain in
ashes. Portugal's action applauded. No more ærial warships.
On the 21st day of May, 1930, a remarkable sight presented itself
over the Pyrenean range of mountains on the northern boundary of
Spain, dividing that country from her northerly neighbor, "la belle
France." High above the peaks of [Arrival of the "Death Angels."]
that natural barrier between those two countries, and visible to the
naked eye, could be seen what appeared to be a large flock of birds
of enormous size, moving swiftly and silently in a southerly direction.
Vast multitudes of Spaniards who were crossing the Pyrenees to seek
shelter in French territory, gazed with awe upon the ominous sight
presented by these "death angels" as they proceeded south on their
errand of destruction. They knew only too well the character of these
deadly messengers of war whose use had been prohibited in battle by
all civilized nations. In the case of Spain they were not used for
purposes of warfare but merely as instruments of punishment for her
wanton violation of the Treaty.
During the preceding thirty days the volume of immigration from Spain
into France had kept an unbroken stream. On the 21st day of May, 1930,
the appointed day of doom, a large share of the Spanish population
had found its way across the border into France, and some of the
provinces about Madrid, notably Segovia, Castille and Salamanca,
were as innocent of population as the desert of Sahara is of cascades.
On that memorable day of May, 1930, the cities of Spain might easily
have been [Spanish Cities Two For a Cent.] bought up for a song or
a jack lantern. Weyler and his ferocious cut-throats, (the same imps
who blew up our Maine and martyred 266 brave American sailors), were
the only beings who remained in Spain on that day of doom. The gang
had the run of the kingdom for a few brief hours and were probably
amusing themselves very much after the manner of rats who enjoy the
exclusive privilege of a sinking ship.
The Butcher and his satellites were holding high carnival in the
regal apartments of the Royal Palace in doomed Madrid, when the ærial
war craft of America, England and the Allied nations, silently stood
guard and floated over the city, veritable angels of death, fearful
to behold.
The cellars of the Royal Palace had been ransacked and wines of the
choicest vintage [Handwriting on the Wall.] were being guzzled
by the Weyler brigands. Amidst revelry and shouting, and the din
of rattling castenets, the mazes of fandangos were performed by
voluptuous and sinuous Castillian sirens, from whose wild eyes blazed
forth that baleful light, incited by wine and unholy passion. These
dark, olive-skin belles in their terpsichores before the Butcher
and his aides, were as innocent of habiliments as Madame Eve when
that exalted personage made her début in Eden. In the midst of this
debauchery, and while revelry was yet at its zenith, history again
repeated itself. Suddenly, like a prolonged flash of lightning,
the revelers saw distinctly the handwriting on the wall. It was an
inscription that carried terror and consternation into the hearts of
the Weylerites and read: "Remember the Maine."
At this critical and interesting part of the program, Capt. Sigsbee,
(then eighty-one years of age,) who in 1930 commanded the ærial warship
"Maine," and who had been especially selected for that mission, gave
the signal and from her kelson the ærial "Maine" dropped a little
surprise package containing one hundred and thirty pounds of dynamite
upon the Royal Palace of Spain. Weyler and his gang, one moment later,
were roasting in company with their forefathers. Such, then, was the
fate of Weyler, the destroyer of our noble "Maine," an [More Spanish
Mules Killed.] arch fiend whose cruel orders were blindly obeyed
by others of his ilk, carrying to unhappy Cuba a degree of misery,
starvation and death that shocked the entire world.
The British ærial warships, as well as those of Germany, Russia,
Austria, Italy, France, Holland, Greece and Japan, took their signal
from the first shot or discharge of dynamite dropped by the "Maine,"
and joined forces with the American ærial warships in the total
annihilation of Madrid. The scene of destruction that followed the
attack of these ærial warships baffles all belief. Indeed, naught
may come within the scope of human imagination that can depict the
horrors, wholesale slaughter and utter desolation that may be wrought
by ærial warships. Ships floating in the air [It's Murder in The Air.]
two miles over a city and dropping within its limits huge charges
of dynamite, are fearful engines of destruction. In the twinkle of
an eye they can turn stately churches, lofty buildings, beautiful
homes, hospitals, colleges, parks and pleasure resorts into ashes,
and still vastly more terrible would be the loss of life.
The bare thought that human beings with souls to save and a God to
answer to, might, in a flash, be hurled into eternity by these ærial
dynamite ships, without a moment's warning, and their habitations
turned into charnel-houses, is in itself sufficient to make one's
flesh creep.
The Washington treaty of 1924, forbidding forever the use of this
barbarous method of warfare and threatening with destruction any
nation that employed it, was a wise and humane compact.
Spain's flagrant violation of the international treaty in 1929, when
she wantonly destroyed Fez and Tangier, was universally condemned. On
the other hand, the destruction and razing of Spain in 1930, as a
punishment for her bad faith, received the warmest commendations of
the world. It was fully realized that Spain's chastisement fitted
her case as perfectly as the bark fits the tree that it encircles.
Yet, the razing of Spain in 1930 fills one's better nature with
sadness. The [Too Bad about Spain.] widespread destruction of a
kingdom replete with historic memories, rich in treasure-troves of
art and science, dotted with thriving cities, fertile plains, lovely
vales and teeming with beautiful homes, appeals to heart, as well
as imagination. Although richly meriting her fate in 1930, Spain's
doom in that year deeply stirred the hearts of all humanity, but the
lesson it taught was that the world would never tolerate the use in
war of ærial dynamite warships, and this lesson proved a salutary one.
From Cadiz to Saragossa, and from Alicante to Corunna, the deadly
ærial ships pressed on their way, sweeping destruction before them. The
chief cities of Spain, namely, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga,
Murcia, Cartagena, Granada, Cadiz and Saragossa, were all destroyed
in rapid succession, after the fate of Madrid had been decided. The
costly palaces of the Madrid grandees crumbled into dust from only
a few dynamite discharges of these air-ships.
Sad indeed it was to witness the destruction of the magnificent
paintings in the Royal Art Gallery of Madrid, containing as it
did in 1930 three thousand chef-d'oeuvres of the world's immortal
artists. The gallery contained the best examples of Titian, Raphael,
Rubens, Muerillo, Van Dyck, Veronese and Tenier, a grand collection
of rare paintings that were valued at $300,000,000, and that had
required several hundreds of years to collect.
Strange to say, in 1930, there was no cathedral in Madrid for the
air-ships to destroy. For some reason, unknown even to Spaniards,
their national capital had never enjoyed this luxury. It is a maxim,
old as the hills, that shoemakers are usually the ones who wear the
shabbiest shoes; the ill-dressed man in a community is very apt to
be the tailor; the most neglected man during sickness is oftentimes
the physician, and the man who invariably neglects to make his will
is the lawyer. Following in the line of this well-established rule,
it ceases to be a surprise that priest-ridden Spain, the first-born of
Rome, should find herself without a cathedral within the limits of her
national capital. If the cathedral of Madrid escaped the palsied touch
of the dynamite air-ships the reason therefor was simple enough. Madrid
never possessed one.
Portugal escaped the ravages of the dynamite air-ships, and in 1999
that kingdom [Ordered West by Portugal.] still proudly guarded the
western shores of the Iberian peninsula. In the spring of the year
1898, Portugal endeared herself to every American heart when her
government ordered Admiral Cervera and his squadron to sail away from
her possessions, the Cape de Verde islands, and "go west." Cervera had
to face the music, and it was with heavy hearts that the mariners on
board of the Oquendo, Marie de Teresa, Vizcaya, Colon, and the torpedo
destroyers, Pluton and Furore, weighed anchor and, like Columbus,
set their faces toward the Western Hemisphere, but, this time, with
the certainty that their noble vessels never again would plough their
prows in European waters.
The inglorious fate of Spain in 1930 ever after proved a warning to
all other nations. In 1999 air-ships navigated the "blue ethereal"
in every quarter of the globe. It was a safe, economical and swift
method [No More Ærial Warships.] of transportation, but after
the destruction of Spain, in 1930, ærial warships were put out of
commission and condemned. In 1999 so stringent were the international
laws against their use that the mere possession of an ærial warship
by any nation was likely to embroil others in a war of extermination
and on suspicion alone a most rigid investigation was instituted.
CHAPTER X.
Europe in 1999.
The Pope Casts his Lot in the New World. Complications in Europe
Rendered his Residence in Rome Undesirable. No Refuge in Europe
Available for his Holiness. Generous Offer of the Southern States
of the American Union. The Papal See transferred to Rio Janeiro
in 1945.
The relations of the United States of the Americas with Italy in 1999
were of a character that demand more than a passing notice, going
far to illustrate the political eminence that had been attained in
that year by the great American Republic.
In the year 1927, the long standing and severe tension that had
existed between the Papacy and the Italian government ever since
Napoleon III in 1870 withdrew his French garrison from the Holy City,
became greatly intensified and had reached an acute stage that proved
beyond human endurance.
The strained relations between the Vatican and the Quirinal had
reached a critical stage. The fierce struggle between Church and
State had attained a point of utmost tension. It became obvious,
even in that year, that the break and parting of the ways could not be
very distant. In 1927 the Popes of Rome had already been prisoners in
the palace of the Vatican for a period of over fifty years. Patience
in their case had ceased to be a virtue. Rome had long been a house
divided against itself and its rule under two kings could not always
endure. The delicate position of the Pope became a most unenviable
one. The insolence of the Roman rabble even found its way under
the glorious dome of St. Peter, where, on Palm Sunday, in the year
1923 Pope Pius X was insulted by a clique from the Roman slums. That
the Holy Pontiff, the spiritual ruler and sovereign of 328,000,000
Catholics, should experience insult in St. Peter's, his citadel of
strength and power, proved a scandal beyond belief.
Convinced that his temporal power was forever broken, Pope Leo
XIV in the year [The Pope Decides to Leave.] 1945 decided, after
consulting a Conclave of Cardinals, to abandon the city of Romulus
and Remus and to shake from his sandals the dust of ancient Rome. It
was at first thought that the College of Cardinals would check their
baggage and take the overland route to Avignon, in southern France,
an honor which many centuries before had already fallen to the lot
of that ancient municipality.
But it was otherwise decreed and great was the astonishment of the
world when its nerves were thoroughly startled by the startling news
that Pope Leo XIV had elected to remove the Papal See from Rome and
to establish it in the United States of the Americas. The world's
astonishment was akin to consternation when the news of this radical
change of base was first announced and it was learned that the Vatican
intended to cast its lot in the new world.
A proposition to transplant the Papal See from its ancient anchorage in
the Italian [It Startles One's Nerves.] peninsula into the new world
would have been scouted in 1899 with scorn and derision as the wild
phantasy of a babbling maniac. People living in 1899 might perhaps have
seriously entertained a proposition to remove the pyramids of Egypt
from their ancient foundations and transfer them to the sandlots of
San Francisco, to open up a Chinese laundry in the King's Chamber; a
proposition to dispatch an army of laborers with shovels to the crater
of Vesuvius and attempt to extinguish that volcano by shoveling in
sand, might, in 1899, have been regarded as a plausible undertaking;
the attempt of a delegation of Protestant ministers to personally
convert the Sultan of Turkey from Mohamedanism and induce him to attend
a camp-meeting, might have commended itself to all good citizens in
1899, but the startling proposition to remove the Papal Court from
ancient Rome to South America, appeared to all minds in 1899 as the
most improbable of all improbabilities, yet in 1945, (forty-six years
later,) the public mind was better prepared for this great change
and the removal of the Court of Rome in that year to Rio Janeiro was
entertained in better grace and in a more conciliatory spirit.
In 1945 the position of the Papacy in Rome was no longer endurable. The
[Rome Unsafe for the Pontiff.] sacred person of the Pontiff became
no longer safe within the precincts of the Eternal City. The Vatican
had been frequently violated by mobs from the banks of the Tiber and
the slums of Rome, over which the Italian government could effect
no control. The revered head of the church, like his Divine Master
while on earth, knew not where to lay his head.
Europe in 1945 had no refuge or shelter to offer to His
Holiness. Russia, the home of the Greek church, could offer him no
asylum, where one of his exalted rank might dwell in peace. Austria,
that steadfast and ever faithful son of the church, would gladly
have sheltered the Papal Court, assuring it permanent safety and
a splendor commensurate with its prestige, but, unfortunately for
Austria in 1945 that country was rent in twain, a shadow of its former
greatness. Hungary had long enjoyed her richly merited independence
and in that year had become a leading European power.
The eyes of the Papacy could not turn to Spain for succor in
1945. Spain in that year was reduced to a barren waste, having expiated
her crime of 1930, that of employing powerful fulminants from air-ships
to destroy two African cities. France in 1945 had no refuge to offer
the Pope. As a result of two unfortunate wars, she had passed into
the custody of Germany, occupying the position of a mere vassal.
Realizing the serious difficulties which environed the Papal See in
1945, the Catholic states of the southern tier of the United States
of the Americas, known as South America, made an urgent appeal that
the Court of Rome might be removed into their midst.
Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay,
Argentina, [The South to the Rescue.] Paraguay and Patagonia levied
contributions among the faithful and between them the munificient
sum of $500,000,000 was raised, to be placed at the disposal of the
Pope. Accompanying this gift offering was sent an earnest petition and
prayer that the Pope would consent to abide in the new world, where a
splendid reservation consisting of 17,000 square miles of choice lands
had been placed at his disposal in the neighborhood of Rio Janeiro.
In the petition of the South American States praying His Holiness
to acquiesce in this important project, it was pointed out that the
Pope would be domiciled upon the only continent which was catholic in
its entirety, with no creed to oppose, and, in removing the throne
of St. Peter to Rio Janeiro, the Pope would occupy the position of
a patriarch surrounded by his faithful children. The invisible, but
none the less galling fetters, that had enslaved the Pope since 1870,
making him virtually a prisoner in the Vatican, would be entirely
removed. In the State of Brazil he might rule a principality of no
mean proportions, far larger and immeasurably more wealthy than the
Papal kingdom of 1870 when Pius IX was yet King of Rome. The catholic
citizens of South America represented fully the many advantages of
removing the Papal Court from the old into the new world.
It will be recollected that in 1999 the total population of the
United States of the Americas amounted to 531,000,000. Of this vast
population at least 175,000,000 citizens residing in South America
were adherents of the church of Rome.
The liberal offer that came from the South American States received
the utmost [The Pope Accepts the Offer.] attention from the Papal
authorities. To withdraw from that ancient city seemed like the
uprooting of all traditions. The irreligious were prone to make merry
over the proposition, predicting with strange irreverence, that in
Rio Janeiro the Pope would feel like a cat in a strange garret. But
with such innuendoes we have nothing in common. Let history proceed
undisturbed in its course.
It required a heroic sacrifice to give up Rome, filled with the
most precious historic memories, a city in which lies enshrined the
dust of St. Peter's successors. This step meant the abandonment of
that magnificent cathedral, which in 1999 still formed an aureole
of glory about the Eternal City. But Rome in 1945 was no longer a
safe tabernacle for the Papacy. Its mobs were unbridled in their
license. The person of the Pontiff was no longer safe within the
walls of the Vatican. The Italian government proved to be an abettor,
if not an instigator, of these outrages.
With a dark, threatening cloud hovering over the throne of St. Peter
in Europe, and [All Headed for the West.] on the other hand, bright
skies and a most alluring and tempting prospect eagerly awaiting its
transferment to Rio de Janeiro, after long hesitation and endless
Conclaves, the Sacred College of Cardinals, (the Pope concurring,)
gave its official sanction in 1945 to the removal of the Papal See
to the Western Hemisphere, under the ægis of the great American
Constitution, the noblest document ever written by the fallible pen
of man, a charter which protects and defends all who are worthy and
they who seek its sheltering folds.
CHAPTER XI.
England's Domain in 1999.
England Rules Supreme in Africa in 1999. Electric Railroads
Built by American Engineers Cover the Dark Continent. France
Suffers Two Waterloos. England's Rule in India Unshaken in the
Twentieth Century.
In 1999 England was the ruler of Africa and her domain over the Dark
Continent was indisputable. From the Delta of the Nile to Cape Town,
from Abyssinia to Liberia, the British lion was free to roam and
roar throughout the enormous, heart-shaped African continent. From
Alexandria to Cape Town became, in 1999, a comparatively short journey
over the electric railroads which in that year traversed the entire
length of the Nile basin, with important stations at Berber and
Khartoum, Uganda, Zambo to Pretoria, thence to the Terminal of the
roads at Cape Town. This electric railroad through the Nile basin,
the lake regions and heart of the African continent, was completed
and in operation in 1930, after a sacrifice in its construction [It
Reduced the Census.] of 19,000 lives and an outlay of $152,000,000. It
proved to be, however, the backbone of Africa, the vertebral column
from which scores of other electric railroad branches reached out
both east and west, like the ribs of a mastodon.
The great presiding genius and leading spirit in African railroads was
Cecil Rhodes, the same who was regarded as being the most prominent
colonial Englishman. It was through his perseverance and untiring
energy that the great system of African railroads was created in
1930. Rhodes was a really great man. Thousands courted his favor
and smile, and tens of thousands trembled at his frown. Throughout
Southern Africa so great in 1899 was his power and influence that he
was called the "Deputy Almighty."
In the construction of these African electric railroads America played
an important rôle. Cecil Rhodes was at first inclined to award the
contracts for rails, copper wires, cars and general equipment to
English manufacturing firms but his worthy patriotic sentiments soon
vanished when it was demonstrated clear as sunlight, even early as
1898 that America could produce a far superior grade of machinery in
much less time and at much less cost. In 1901 Cecil Rhodes awarded
all his heavy contracts to American firms. In other words, England
furnished the capital and America practically built the entire system
of African railroads in 1930.
The first "eye opener" in the line of American competition against
British machinery came into prominence in the spring of 1899, when work
had already commenced on the north division of the great trunk line
through Africa. The Atbara bridge and the first lesson in industrial
economy that it taught, will not soon be forgotten. Bids were invited
from British and American [America Leads the World.] bridge builders
in April, 1899. It was represented to all competitors that the proposed
bridge must be completed in the shortest time possible.
When the bids were opened it was discovered that the English engineers
required seven months to complete the work, while their American
competitors guaranteed to complete and deliver the bridge in forty-two
days from date of signing the contract and the work was to be completed
for a much less sum than the price demanded by the English builders.
The lesson of the Atbara bridge was not lost upon the great "Deputy
Almighty" of South Africa and Cecil Rhodes became the [A Peaceful
Victory.] means during the first quarter of the twentieth century
of securing many million dollars to the American trade. Africa's
most urgent needs in 1900 were railroads and missionaries. England
supplied a very superior article of the latter, while in the railroad
field no country could equal the American output.
In the nineteenth century it had been the unpleasant experience of
France to suffer at the hands of England two Waterloos. [France Eats
"Humble Pie."] One was the great and only Waterloo, which drenched
the soil of Belgium with the blood of many brave men. Waterloo,
Jr., overtook the French soldiers at Fashoda, on Africa's soil
in 1899. When in that year England ordered France to leave Fashoda
without any further ceremony a victory was won by England, bloodless,
but none the less effective.
After the Fashoda incident France gradually lost her African provinces,
leaving England in undisputed sway over a continent that in wealth
and resources proved far superior to her great Indian Empire. In 1999
Alexander II, of Great Britain, ruled over a mighty empire. In the
nineteenth century British kings and queens were just plain, every day
royalties, transacting a legitimate business in that line and otherwise
enjoying the respect and confidence of their patrons. It was generally
understood that the "king can do no wrong." This was indisputable for
the simple reason they never did anything at all. But when great Africa
became a British province, it was then felt necessary to add still
another title to the British Crown and in 1999 Britain's Sovereign
became known to his chums and acquaintances as King of Great Britain
and Ireland, D. F., Emperor of India, Mogul of Africa and Right Bower
of the Americas, because, in 1999 none of England's important deals
were regarded as complete without a Yankee plum in the pie. Sometimes
England contrived, as the phrase goes, to "get her foot in it" but
cousin Jonathan across the salt pond, always managed to yank her out.
In 1999 England still held a firm grip upon India. The secret of
Samson's herculean [How England Holds India.] strength was due to
the fact that a lawn-mower had never tampered with his hair. But the
secret of the British lion's power in India did not consist in the
fact that the lordly beast cultivated a full mane.
India in 1999, as in the year 1899, still continued to remain the
world's most brilliant illustration that nations which are divided
among themselves must inevitably fall. In 1899 the question was
repeatedly asked, how can England with a mere corporal's guard, hold
together the vast, mystic India under her sway? How can a nation of
40,000,000 people, like England, hold under her sway a far distant
continent like India with its population of 350,000,000 people?
In 1999 India still remained a house divided against itself and England
was boss of the whole ranch. The eighty different principalities of
India, each one speaking a different dialect and governed by alien
potentates, fired by mutual hatreds which were fanned by fierce
jealousies and the immutable laws of caste, were still as far apart in
1999, in point of harmony and cohesive action, as the Himalayan peaks
are remote from the spice groves of Ceylon. [Cannot Hold Together.]
If at any period in the eighteenth, nineteenth or twentieth centuries
these principalities of India could have united themselves together
in a common cause and arisen in the might of their power against
British rule, England would be driven out of India in ten days'
time. India's 350,000,000 population represents an enormous mass,
but, as long as it remains divided into practically eighty different
nations, all of them animated by bitter hatreds and antagonisms,
England will experience no trouble in retaining absolute control of
her large but very acrimonious Indian family.
The power and stamina of the Anglo-Saxon race, which already dominated
the [Anglo-Saxons Rule the World.] world in 1999 through the vast
Republic of the Americas and the world-wide British Empire, exemplified
itself in a high degree in the British government of India. Only one
desperate struggle was ever attempted against British rule in India
and the disastrous failure of the mutiny in 1857 was yet fresh in
the minds of many in 1999.
The great, mighty India, the home of mysteries that baffle all reason;
the fount which holds the sacred Ganges and boasts of Benares' holy
soil, was still under the lion's paw in 1999 and bid fair to remain
under British rule for many centuries yet to come. Mystic India, the
land of the loftiest mountains, deepest jungles and broadest plains;
the home of Pharsee and Thug; the lair of lion, tiger, leopard and
elephant; the Eden of the deadly cobra, India, the world's vast
and mystic continent, remained a British province throughout the
twentieth century.
CHAPTER XII.
Back in God's Country Again.
A Grand Constitution that could Govern the World. The American
Flag must Rule the Western Hemisphere and None Save God can
Prevent this. America's Perilous Over-confidence. Our Great Navy
in 1999. England's Friendly Offices in 1898. America and Great
Britain Firm Friends Forevermore.
Having thus briefly reviewed the condition of Europe in 1999; the
changes that had been effected in the map of that continent; the
cordial relations existing between the American Eagle and the British
Lion in that year; the acknowledged supremacy of America and England
over the entire world; the obliteration of Spain in 1930; the fall
of France in 1935; the banishment of moslem rule from Europe and the
grandeur of British rule in Africa and India, let us again return to
God's own country, The United States of the Americas, which chosen
land, in 1999, became the wealthiest, most prosperous and powerful
of all nations upon this inhabitable globe. Having traveled abroad in
the preceding chapter to secure a glimpse of the world's condition in
that year, we gladly set foot again in the new world to examine more
closely and accurately into the status of the great American Colossus.
If there are any who believe that the great and infallible constitution
of the [It Could Govern the World.] United States of America is not
broad and strong enough to include in its scope and government every
country in our Western Hemisphere from Alaska to Patagonia; if there
are any Americans who believe that Central and South American Republics
can never be governed under our American Republic, employing the same
language and the same coinage, all sheltered under the noble flag of
Bunker Hill, to such unbelievers in the future expansion of America
we appeal in vain through these pages. They fail to understand that
America has a great duty to perform and is destined to become the
light of the world.
To any fair minded and candid student of history the conclusion
must come with force that America with [It is the Hand of Destiny.]
her forty-five states in 1899 was a mere local affair compared with
the certainty of all the other republics joining under one government
with ours in 1999.
America in 1899 was yet in the cradle of her infancy, occupying a
modest and narrow strip of territory extending from Maine to Florida;
fringed by Canada on the north and laved by the waters of the Mexican
gulf on the south.
Her position on this continent was that of a Gulliver by whose side
the other southern republics looked like Lilliputians. Providing
that the giant is gifted not only with strength and a stout heart,
but governed, also, by good principles, why should the Lilliputian
Republics of Central and South America fear? Would it not be better
for them to make common cause with their great American neighbor and
live under one flag?
In 1899 the tendency of the period was to consolidate; the "trust
epidemic" then [Uncle Sam's Big Trust.] raged at its height; the aim
of that period, at least in commercial affairs, was to gather together
the small concerns and unite them into a whole. The United States of
the Americas in 1999 was largely built on the trust principle. Uncle
Sam was running the biggest concern in the government line and the
little South American Republics had simply been gathered in by the
big fellow. They all were merged into one great American nation,
governed by the same constitution, and all lifted up their gaze with
patriotic pride to the Stars and Stripes.
At this juncture it might be interesting to learn by what means and in
what manner was this vast American Republic protected by sea and land
in 1999. Conscious of her vast resources and enormous strength, America
from the close of the Civil War in 1865 to the year 1885 remained
practically unarmed, keeping on hand a mere corporal's guard in the
shape of an army. Her navy up to 1882 consisted of an aggregation of
warships of more or less antiquity, mere washtubs with smooth bore
guns, whose ordnance, discharged against a modern battleship, would
have about the same effect as throwing boiled peas at a brick wall.
Twenty years after the close of the Civil War, in 1885, America had
commenced to [Uncle Sam Wakes Up.] rub her eyes and to awaken from her
perilous Rip Van Winkle siesta of two decades and to realize, at last,
that a strong navy had become a national necessity. Over-confidence
is a dangerous foe to national safety. America, a land filled with
liberty-loving patriots and master mechanics, set to work none too
soon to provide herself with a navy; fighting machines that in point
of speed and prowess would compare favorably with the output of the
best foreign shipyards. It became obvious to the veriest child that
if our national dignity at home or abroad were to be maintained, and,
if we did not proposed to be bluffed by small concerns like Chile and
Spain, the best thing to do about a navy would be to build it at once,
forthwith, "and on the word go."
Congress took spirited action in the matter, making liberal
appropriations for the construction of a first grade fleet of
modern warships, armed and equipped with best and most penetrating
rifles. This patriotic and sensible policy had been inaugurated none
too soon.
The month of January, 1898, found America in possession of a small,
but highly [Small but Powerful.] efficient navy and on the brink
of war. What we had in the line of war vessels was of the best, but
America could proudly boast of something immeasurably better than a few
fine ships and heavy guns. We possessed what no Congress or Parliament
could make to order or purchase by appropriation, and that was a keen,
patriotic sentiment throughout both the American army and navy.
"The man behind the gun," anxious to lay down his life by the side
of the powerful [The True American Hero.] breech-loading destroyer
he loved so well to train and groom; "the man behind the gun," who
loved and cared for his mighty weapon as a father would his child;
watching it by night and day, praying for the hour when he might belch
from its throat missiles of destruction into the enemy's ranks,--"the
man behind the gun," God bless him, is America's own true born. In the
hour of peril, at Manila, Santiago and at Puerto Rico, these heroes,
man and gun, did their duty right nobly and well. In 1999 the world
still rang with the valor of their deeds.
But America in 1898 found herself still unprepared. The war issue
was lodged with a power of the third magnitude. Left alone with
the Dons the tale would soon be told. Only one year before our war
with the yellow and red flag, an American gentleman summed up the
situation in a very concise manner: "When we get at the Spaniards,
they'll hold together just long enough to get kicked to pieces."
But Spain had other partners, two powerful nations, who, for selfish
reasons, would have been only too glad to give Uncle Sam a punch in
the ribs. Germany, having been fortified by a bribe from Spain for
her co-operation against America, having been promised by Spain as a
reward for assistance the entire group of the Philippines, was only
too eager to close the bargain. The Teutons were spoiling for a fight
with Uncle Sam, ostensibly in behalf of Spain, but more especially
for a grab at the Philippines. France, on the other hand, distinctly
recollected that she owned and held the bulk of Spanish securities
and if the Dons in their brush with America took "a header," these
Spanish securities would not be worth a last year's bird nest. And
now comes an important question: Was America prepared in 1899 to
clash in naval combat with the combined forces of Spain, France and
Germany? Josh Billings would have made short shift of his reply by
saying: "Well, hardly."
Spain's two unhappy partners, in their dilemma then turned their eyes
and steps [Called at the Captain's Office.] toward a little island
that lies slightly north of their territory. France and Germany heard
the growl of the British Lion and before they joined Spain in a war
against America, John Bull must be consulted. As a result of their
interview this ill-mated pair became well convinced that England
would put up with none of their nonsense and would not remain neutral
should they join Spain in hostilities against America. France and
Germany became converted to other views and very wisely decided to
remain at home, meek as lambs, while Uncle Sam was carving up Spain
to suit the queen's taste.
In 1999 our American patriots did not propose to get caught in
the trap of January, 1898, in which America found herself. In the
year first named America was able to meet in war any combination of
European nations that might hazard themselves in the field against
her. The unfortunate spectacle of a great nation like America, on
the eve of war, rushing around as we certainly did in March, 1898,
buying up odds and ends of war vessels and fairly begging to buy
smokeless powder at any price, will never again be repeated in this
great country. The lesson of 1898 was yet fresh in the minds of all
in 1999. Americans of the twentieth century were too shrewd to get
caught napping again in that manner.
In 1999 the United States of the Americas embraced eighty-five
states. Canada [The New American Navy.] had been divided into two
American States, namely, East and West Canada. The original territory
of the United States in that year consisted of sixty-two sovereign
states; Texas alone had been divided into three separate states. To
these were added the six states of Central America, namely, the newly
created American States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Salvador, Costa Rica,
Guatemala and Honduras. Next came the newly admitted American States of
Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay and Patagonia, making a grand total of eighty-five
states, which formed in 1999 the United States of the Americas.
By enactment of Congress provision had been made that every State
in the Union must build, equip and maintain at its own cost at
least one battleship of the most modern type and unrivalled power;
one armored cruiser of the highest speed, (35 knots per hour,) and
three submarine destroyers of the most approved pattern and of the
most enterprising character.
As a result of this wise policy the navy of the Americas in 1999
consisted of eighty-five (85) first grade battleships; one hundred and
seventy (170) of the swiftest and most powerful cruisers; two hundred
and [Five hundred and Ten Warships.] fifty-five (255) submarine
destroyers, popularly called in that year, "uplifters." Such was the
numerical strength of the American Navy during the closing period of
the twentieth century, on a peace footing. In the remote possibility
of a war, provision had been made to mobilize the American fleet upon
a far more formidable standard of efficiency. The total number of our
war craft of all classes aggregated in that year, five hundred and ten
(510) vessels.
When one reflects that the coast-line of the great Republic, along the
Atlantic and Pacific shores of the Americas, embraces fully 34,000
miles, every mile of which was entitled to our national defence,
it will be recognized that the American Navy in 1999 was barely in
keeping with the vast proportions of the Republic it had been created
to defend. Indeed, it was regarded as being a modest establishment
of its kind, judged by the standards of that period.
The question very properly offers itself, "If the United States of
the Americas in 1999 represented such a powerful nation, wealthy and
prosperous, potent in enterprise and industry, what use had it for
a navy of five hundred and ten warships?" This question is easily
answered by quoting an old and sterling axiom: "In time of peace we
must prepare for war."
The folly of March 1898, when America, on the eve of war with Spain,
rushed in [Not to be Caught Again.] breathless haste into every
European navy-yard to purchase any thing that could float a gun, and
offered haystacks of gold for smokeless powder, was not to be repeated
in 1999. It was recognized in that year that the best guarantee for
peace was to maintain an efficient army and powerful navy, to exact a
proper respect for a flag that protected 531,000,000 American citizens.
The big American Republic in 1999 did not propose to place itself, with
its vast population and interminable coast-line, in the humiliating
condition of China, a people who, though mighty in population,
remain helpless as infants in matters of national defence. America
did not intend to suffer the fate of China. Although her territory
was vast and her population reckoned by the half-billion, America did
not propose to permit European cormorants to pounce upon her coasts,
and, as in the case of China, steal a whole country under the guise
of civilizing it. In 1999 the Americas maintained a formidable army
and navy in order to impress the fact upon the world that we were
not like lambs, wholly without means of self-defense.
The perilous American policy, inaugurated after the Civil War, of
existing without any army or navy worthy of the name, was exposed
through our war with Spain. Americans cheerfully acknowledged the
fact that England's friendliness tended to bring that war to an early
close. Even Spain in 1898 professed to hold our army in exalted
contempt, regarding Americans as a nation wholly unfit for war,
at best, a nation of wheat raisers and pork-packers. Many Spaniards
honestly imagined that Admiral Cervera could sail his squadron into
New York harbor, land his marines at Coney Island and after bombarding
the clams and battling with lager kegs, march his men over the Brooklyn
Bridge and capture City Hall.
In 1999 Americans did not propose to again get caught napping, as
in the "good old [Eternal Vigilance in 1999.] days" of 1898. They
remained armed and ready for war on drop of the hat. No nation in
the former year would venture unaided to combat the great American
Republic. America in the twentieth century became invincible.
CHAPTER XIII.
Our Army and Navy in 1999.
Justice done to both Schley and Sampson. The American victory off
Santiago opens the eyes of the world. Emperor Wilhelm congratulates
himself. America maintains a vigorous Monroe Doctrine.
Long before the advent of 1910 every trace of the bitter
controversy that had so long disturbed American naval circles over
the Sampson-Schley quarrel, had fortunately been effaced. The hatchet
had been buried, or figuratively speaking, had been thrown overboard,
and in 1999 this unhappy feud, which tarnished the prestige of the
world's foremost navy, had been obliterated. In 1999, when all heat
or vestige of passion had passed away, this unfortunate episode was
regarded as being the one and only blot that associated itself with
the memory of a wonderful naval exploit, the brilliant engagement on
that ever memorable Sunday morning of July 3, 1898, when the Spanish
squadron steamed into the jaws of death.
Time accomplishes wonders. It tones [The Brave American Officers.]
down the angles; it dulls the keenest edge and can even render mild,
bitter animosities, which, alas, often sting sharper than serpent
fangs. Long before 1900 it was universally acknowledged that gallant
Admiral Schley had been persecuted. His tormentors, men of high
station, became heartily ashamed of persecuting a brave officer who
had committed what apparently, in their judgment, appeared to be the
crime of annihilating the Spanish squadron off Santiago.
Students of history in 1910 very naturally asked themselves: "If
Admiral Schley was so bitterly assailed at the close of a sweeping
victory, in what manner would he have been treated by these carping
critics had a portion of Cervera's fleet made good its escape?"
Admiral Sampson appeared to be willing [Sampson's Unlucky Absence.]
and anxious to secure credit for a victory that had been fought
and won during his absence. But the question arises, would Admiral
Sampson have been willing to shoulder the blame if Cervera's vessels
had escaped destruction or would he have saddled Admiral Schley
with the responsibility? The reader must form his own conclusions
in this matter. On the other hand, all impartial students of history
in the twentieth century cheerfully accorded to Admiral Sampson full
credit for his gallant services on blockade duty during that war. His
responsibilities were great and pressing, and he discharged his duties
with utmost fidelity.
A pathetic story indeed is that of the [The Ever Watchful Eye.]
"Man in the Iron Mask." None can read that page of French history
without being touched by the sad fate of this mysterious prisoner of
state, who was generally supposed to be a twin brother of the King of
France. He was treated by his attendants with the utmost deference and
courtesy. His raiments were of the costliest fabrics. The governor of
the citadel in which the "Man in the Iron Mask" was imprisoned, was
obsequious in his attentions to the distinguished prisoner. His wishes
were observed with the most scrupulous care and the Great Unknown
ever ruled his guardians with the sceptre of a king. The prisoner,
however, was obliged to wear his iron mask night and day. Any attempt
on his part to remove it, meant swift and certain death.
The feature of his confinement which, perhaps, directly appeals
to the world's sympathy, was the human eye that watched his every
movement. Through a hole in the door of his apartment, (which was
sumptuously furnished,) that eye never relaxed its vigilance. Night and
day its ceaseless vigil continued until death's kindly hand relieved
the distinguished sufferer from the terror of its unceasing gaze.
And so it was with Cervera and his squadron. The Spanish admiral
became the modern "Man in the Iron Mask." A prisoner behind the
lofty hills of Santiago, [Watched by Night and Day.] the eyes of
Sampson's fleet watched the narrow opening of that harbor night and
day, nor did their vigilance relax for one second of time. By night the
piercing eye of the electric search-light closely watched the harbor
entrance. The thoughts, the hopes and prayers of our noble America
were all centered upon Sampson and his brave men. He proved himself
to be an excellent fleet commander and in the twentieth century his
services were appreciated at their just value.
The glorious victory at Santiago bay, occurring only sixty days after
Dewey's target practice in Manila bay, amazed and electrified the
world. England felt a genuine [American Plymouth Rocks.] pride in
both of these achievements and pointing to America observed: "These
American roosters are from our own setting and their name is Plymouth
Rock." When the German Emperor heard the great news from Santiago
very few men in Europe were more pleased over it. His joy, however,
was prompted by feelings of self-preservation rather than from
exultation over the American victory. Wilhelm patted himself on the
back and shook hands with himself for at least five consecutive hours
when he reflected how narrowly he had escaped getting involved in a
war with America and the fortunate escape of his German fleet from
the fate that overtook Cervera's vessels. This is the reason why the
German squadron cleared out of Manila immediately after Dewey sent
his famous request to Washington to dispatch the Oregon to Manila,
"for political reasons." The "bulldog of the American navy" reached
Manila in due season but Admiral Von Deiderichs withdrew long before
the "crack of doom" had ploughed her way into that harbor. As for
France in 1910 she had not yet recovered from her surprise, while
to Spain these disasters proved a paralytic shock of a most severe
character. From 1898 to 1930 Spain was merely walking around to stave
off funeral expenses.
With a relatively strong navy of five hundred and ten (510) war ships
to patrol her coasts in 1999, the United States of the [Large Army
not Wanted.] Americas were not under any necessity of maintaining a
large standing army. It was fully realized that an efficient sea-power
must be maintained. With that arm of defence in her possession the
maintenance of a large standing American army can never seriously be
entertained. It has always been a popular belief in America that if
a foreign army of invasion were to land upon our shores, Americans
would give it a very warm reception, so spontaneous and effusive in
its character that a majority of the invaders would never find their
way back home again. Many of them might become permanent residents in
American soil, so deeply rooted that none but Gabriel's trump could
marshal them into line again.
Germany in 1899 held the world's medal [Germany's Splendid Army.]
for the finest and best equipped army, a magnificent engine of war,
ready to move within an hour's notice, and woe to the enemy that
obstructs its path. Without any doubt in the closing period of the
nineteenth century the General staff of the German army was justly
regarded as the highest authority in military science. Such a vast and
smooth working engine for the destruction of human beings was never
before known. If the sun had been good enough to stop twelve hours in
its course to accommodate Joshua's beggarly army, that luminary would
no doubt gladly stand still a whole week on request of the chief of
staff of the German hosts.
In 1899, with a population of barely 50,000,000, Germany possessed
an army of 2,500,000. France with much less population had fully as
many men under arms. Russia with a population of over 90,000,000 had
an army on a peace footing of 3,000,000 men. The burden upon Europe
was a most crushing one. In 1899 this drain was fast sapping the life
of those nations, robbing their industries and peaceful avocations
of the flower of their youth. This armed state in the time of peace
was fully as ruinous as war itself. No wonder that the Czar of Russia
urged a congress of the nations to convene and, if possible, devise
some system to reduce these huge armaments. For this well-meaning
attempt to relieve the military burdens of Europe the Russian Czar
deserves much credit but, unfortunately, the proposition proved to
be impracticable. The international conference at the Hague in the
summer of 1899 secured no definite results.
In 1999 America did not propose to fall [No Standing Army in
1999.] into the European snare of maintaining a huge standing
army. When America in 1899 was merely a small Republic, consisting
of only forty-five states and a few odd territories, the idea of
maintaining a large standing army, on the European plan, was scouted
with derision. In 1899 Americans scoffed at Europe's military
establishments as a symbol of Barbarism. In 1999 when the great
American Republic included the entire Western Hemisphere, military
rule became more unpopular than ever. In the twentieth, as in the
nineteenth century, America remained firm in her adherence to the
Monroe Doctrine. This wise policy will always prove one of the best
safeguards of our American Republic. Europe must be kept out of the
Western Hemisphere. America will always belong to Americans only. In
the twentieth century the Monroe Doctrine lost none of its force,
and for many centuries its principles will still remain a living issue.
With a Monroe Doctrine to maintain and defend, it is not surprising to
learn that in 1999 the United States of the Americas, with a population
of 531,000,000, maintained a small army of 150,000 men. The absolute
freedom of America from military burdens in 1899 and 1999 was the
glory of the Republic and the envy of a whole world.
The object of government is to guarantee the utmost allowance of
freedom to the citizen, and blessed indeed is the nation that can
govern itself without having to maintain a huge standing army to hurl
at any moment's notice at its neighbors. Such barbarism may answer well
enough for Europe, whose governments are founded upon wrong principles,
but in great, free America, we want none of it, nor never shall.
America always will be the land of the free. Her principles of
government are founded upon justice and equity. The voice of the people
is heard in the land and it is supreme. The government of the people,
by and for the people, is the gift of God to Man and the Almighty
has made America the custodian of that priceless jewel.
CHAPTER XIV.
Removal of The Capital.
When the Stars and Stripes floated over the Entire Hemisphere in
1990 Washington, the National Capital, was removed to Mexico. The
name of the new capital unchanged. Vera Cruz becomes the Seaport
of Washington. The Canal completed in 1915. The new location
proves eminently satisfactory to all. The future of China and
the Philippines.
When the good Lord created the earth He reserved the Western Hemisphere
for the exclusive use and control of the Yankees. They were not slow
to avail themselves of their opportunity. This comes from force of
habit; opportunities they allow to pass by unimproved are as scarce
as Swiss Admirals. Americans are warranted to take care of themselves
under any circumstances.
It will surprise no one to learn that in 1999 the Western Hemisphere
had passed in its entirety under the dominion of the Stars and
Stripes. Americans did not pounce upon and seize the continent, nor
did they even fire one shot to secure its entire control. Canada,
Central and South America simply gravitated towards the American
Union and became absorbed into one great Republic.
The smaller Republics of the Americas realized that the United States
in 1899 were a peace-loving nation. Although its army was a mere
corporal's guard, America had a population in that year aggregating
75,000,000. Such a large nation with an insignificant army could mean
them no harm. One by one they joined our American Union of their own
free will and volition, until in 1999 the great American Union became
an accomplished fact.
To attempt to rule such a vast stretch of country under any other than
the great [It could Govern the World.] Constitution of the United
States, would result in a signal failure. The American Constitution,
that masterpiece and perfect symbol of human liberty, is great enough
and broad enough to govern the entire globe under one flag. Indeed
as early as 1999 there were already strong indications that before
the expiration of three more centuries such might be the eventual
result. It already looked in that year as though the great American
Republic would ultimately gather under its wings, Europe, Asia,
Africa and the islands of Oceanica.
However, there is a limit to human ambition; there is a boundary to
all possibilities. Comparatively speaking, we are dealing [America
does not want the Earth.] only with a near future when we behold,
in 1999, the proud flag of America, that emblem of liberty which
never suffered defeat, floating over one vast Republic from Alaska to
Patagonia. Other dreamers may hustle for notoriety by claiming in an
aimless way that in 2999 the American flag will float over all the
continents of the world. They may even wish to annex a few of the
planets under the American flag, but heed them not.
Daniel Webster's eloquent words: "The Union, now and forever, one and
inseparable," reached a climax when the United States of the Americas
consolidated in 1999. Nor was there a discordant note in the grand
concert of eighty-five states. Mason and Dixon's line became a memory
of the past. The northern states from Alaska and Canada to Florida;
the middle states from Mexico to Costa Rica and the southern states
from Colombia to Patagonia, were all linked together in the bonds of
friendship and brotherly love. At last Webster's prophecy had been
fulfilled; the great Union had become "one and inseparable."
To the inquiring mind the question naturally offers itself: In what
manner was the great American Republic governed in 1999? Were the
commands of the Federal government still issued from Washington,
D. C., or had it been found more convenient to transfer the seat of
government to a locality better adapted and more central to the new
conditions of the greater Republic?
In 1990, by decree of Congress of the United Americas, and at the close
of a [Capital transferred to Mexico.] special national election held
for that purpose, both houses of Congress by a two-thirds vote, elected
to transfer the seat of our National government from Washington, D. C.,
to the city of Mexico, which in 1999, commanded a position midway
between the North and South sections of the great Republic. Although
transferred by act of Congress to the city of Mexico, our National
Capital in 1999 still retained the glorious name of Washington. The
name of Washington, D. C., was changed to that of Columbia.
Statesmen in 1990 wisely decided to retain the name of Washington for
the National Capital of the great Republic. A few were in favor of
retaining the ancient name of Mexico for the new capital but the vast
majority of our American voters in 1990 treasured with patriotic love
and tenderness the revered name of the Father of his Country. They
believed that no matter where the capital of the Republic might be
moved to, whether it were located in Brazil or in Alaska, the fame
of Washington must go with it and bear the honored association of
that name.
Washington, D. C., took the new name of Columbia, having become a city
of secondary political importance. The name of Washington belongs to
the national capital alone, the home of Congress, the residence of the
National Executive and forum of the Supreme Court of the Americas. The
hero of Valley Forge and champion of American Independence was still
near and dear to every heart in 1990, and may centuries yet unborn
honor his memory.
The city of Mexico became the Capital of the Americas for manifold
reasons, [Mexico a Natural Centre.] chiefly political, strategical
and commercial. To those, who, in 1899 had been accustomed from birth
to regard the United States as that narrow strip of country lying
between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, the announcement that the
capital of the Americas had been transferred to the city of Mexico,
must cause a shock of unpleasant sensation.
It is a human weakness to worship our idols. Woe to those who would
destroy them. Tradition must not be tampered with. Americans of 1899
had been taught that a small and beautiful city on the Potomac was
the capital of our Federal Union. To them it must come in the nature
of a shock to learn that in 1990 the name of that city had changed to
Columbia, and Washington, the National Capital, had been transferred
to the State of Mexico.
There are, however, other instances on record in which it has been
deemed advisable to change the capital of a great nation. If in the
year 1810 an intelligent Russian had announced to his countrymen that
the seat of government in Russia would be transferred in 1812 from
golden, sacred Moscow to bleak, cold St. Petersburg on the barren
swamps of the Neva, his prediction would have been laughed to scorn;
such a statement would have encountered a tempest of derision. Your
orthodox Russian would have raved at the mere mention of such an
eventuality. In 1810 any intelligent Russian would have regarded the
abandonment of ancient Moscow, the custodian of the Kremlin, for a
barren spot on the shores of the Baltic, as a positive sacrilege. Yet
it is historically true that in 1812 this very thing came to pass.
Instead of uprooting our National Capital from a spot hallowed
with sacred traditions [In Perpetual Sunshine and Flowers.] and
transplanting it into a cold, sterile region, as in the case of the
Russian capital, Washington, as a seat of government, was removed from
the banks of the Potomac into the splendors of a tropical region,--into
the domain of Montezuma and his brave Aztec warriors, where fruits
and flowers chase one another in an unbroken circle through the year;
a paradise where the gales are loaded with perfumes of the forests
in which birds of radiant plumage and exquisite song fill the air
with their delicious melodies.
Washington in 1999 was fast developing into a magnificent city,
worthy of its proud [An Earthly Paradise.] name and eminence as
the capital of the great American Republic with its population of
531,000,000 people. Built in the heart of the State of Mexico, it
was surrounded by magical charms of scenery such as only a tropical
paradise may develop. Its lofty domes and spires and stately public
buildings, many of them constructed of huge blocks of multi-colored
glass, were reared amidst a land luxuriant with the cochineal, cocoa,
the orange and sugar-cane.
The city of Washington in 1999 was hedged by nature's most subtle
art. Beyond the capital's limits were visible a gay confusion of
meadows, streams and perpetual flowering forests. From the centre of
the new Washington could plainly be seen the majestic outlines of
ancient Popocatapetl, rising as a sombre spectre whose rugged head
seemed to cleave the skies.
Stretching far away to the right, and clearly visible from the
observatory of the Executive Mansion might be seen, towering in its
solitary grandeur, the peak of the mighty Orizaba, with its eternal
shroud of snow descending far down its sides. How many centuries
this mighty giant of the Cordilleras has stood there, a sentinel in
the Garden of the Gods, none may tell. But ages and cycles of time
after the busy brains of 1899 shall have turned to dust, Orizaba,
with the Stars and Stripes adorning its summit, will still rear its
proud head and gaze down upon millions of American patriots yet unborn.
The transferment of the capital of the Americas in 1990 to the city
of Mexico, [Met with General Approval.] was generally regarded
as a master-stroke of policy. From a hygienic point of view alone,
the change proved eminently a desirable one. Its removal from the
malodorous swamps of the Potomac to the elevated plateau upon which the
Aztec race reared their ancient capital, with its balmy breezes and
tropical luxuriance, proved a most welcome change. It was generally
conceded in 1899 that the site of Washington on the malaria-breeding
banks of the Potomac, was not a happy selection.
In spite of great precautions several epidemics had devastated the
national capital during the decades from 1900 to 1940. Among other
pestilential attractions of the Potomac swamps, great prominence
was given to a fierce and aggressive tribe of mosquitoes, called
"Swamp Angels," which in 1920 increased and multiplied greatly, to
the absolute terror of the Washingtonites. It is related of these
aggressive and dangerous pests that in 1925 a swarm of them actually
carried away a sheep while the animal was grazing upon the White
House downs.
But aside from its favorable hygienic considerations the central
position of the city of Washington in the State of Mexico commanding
the main avenue between North and South America, gave it great
political and commercial importance as the capital of the Americas
in 1990, one that was enjoyed by no other rival.
The capture and destruction of Washington, in the State of Mexico,
could not have [It Became Impregnable.] been effected in 1999 or
at any subsequent period. The city in that year became impregnable,
so rendered by a vast system or chain of fortresses from the city
proper to Vera Cruz, its seaport, a distance of about two hundred
miles. The mountain passes and rugged defiles between Washington and
Vera Cruz frowned with heavy ordnance. Dynamite guns were ready on
every hand to scatter their deadly missiles for the edification of all
invaders. From Washington to Vera Cruz, great sentinel forts stood in
the path of the invader, an unassailable chain, many of them being
hardly visible to the eye. Fortifications were constructed upon the
high table lands of the Cordilleras, also upon the apex of precipices,
and from these dizzy summits shrinking eyes might gaze down two and
three thousand feet and admire the bewildering beauties of tropical
vegetation. It was estimated by leading engineers in 1999 that with
its line of defences to the coast the capital of the United States
of the Americas was impervious to the assaults of the world.
The port of Vera Cruz, only two hundred miles east of Washington in
a direct line, had been permitted to retain its original name when
Mexico became a part and parcel [Washington's Outlet to the Sea.]
of the American Union. This concession was made in honor of Cortes,
the conqueror of Mexico, the boldest and most intrepid of all warriors
of the middle ages, who founded the city of Vera Cruz and destroyed
his fleet of vessels so as to compel his followers to wrest from the
sway of Montezuma, the city of Mexico. It was at Vera Cruz that Cortes
founded the first Spanish colony on the American mainland. In honor
and memory of the valiant Spanish commander and his daring exploits
in 1520, it was deemed a point of courtesy to retain for that city
the baptismal name Cortes had endowed upon it.
In 1999 its spacious harbor was taxed to its utmost capacity
to accommodate the world's commerce while en route through the
Nicaraguan Canal, which was opened to navigation in 1915, having
cost its American investors $195,000,000. The proximity of Vera Cruz
to the canal rendered that city an available port, bringing to it a
wonderful volume of trade and commerce, and as Vera Cruz in 1999 was
merely the ocean outlet of Washington, it will be readily appreciated
that the opening of the Nicaraguan Canal and the volume of traffic
it diverted in that direction, added materially to the importance
of that region as the seat in 1999 of our national government. The
completion of the Nicaragua Canal in 1915 was a triumph to the
American science of engineering, yet so tardy in conception and
execution that it reflected at best only an uncertain honor. It
should have been constructed and opened to navigation as early
[Importance of the Canal.] as 1885. It was a case of sheer neglect
on the part of America. As soon as the Panama bubble exploded and
Frenchmen discovered that they had been hoodwinked by speculators,
America should have lost no time in constructing the Nicaragua Canal.
The lesson of the Spanish War has taught America the value of an ocean
canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With the possession
of the Philippines and an enormous Oriental trade the operation of
this canal became a factor of the highest importance to America.
An American fleet of warships in the spacious bay of Vera Cruz,
only two hundred miles away from Washington, was enabled in 1999
to steam through the canal into the Pacific in only a few hours'
time and proceed to Hawaii and the Orient in short order. This was
a great improvement on the "good old days" of 1899 when war vessels
and transports, leaving New York to go to Manila, had to crawl around
the tempestuous Horn or travel via. Suez.
The construction of the interoceanic canal added greatly to the
importance of the new location for our National capital in the State of
Mexico. Vera Cruz became the rendezvous of the world's commerce. The
central location of Washington in the State of Mexico, midway between
the two great continents, proved an advantageous and commanding one
and was eminently satisfactory to all sections of the great American
Republic in 1999.
In considering the vast importance of ocean canal navigation to
the Americas, it is well to ascertain what became of the Philippine
Islands and China in 1999.
In that year of our Lord, the world was practically governed by three
great powers. [Three Great Powers in 1999.] The first and greatest of
the trio was the vast American Republic, which in that memorable year
extended from Alaska to Patagonia. Next came Great Britain, whose
sway was undisputed over the vast continents of India, Africa and
Australia, along with valuable islands of the seas, like the articles
of a traditional auction bill, "are too numerous to mention." The
third great Power in 1999 was Russia. The ruler of all the Russias was
not only Czar of the European and Siberian domains, but he was also
crowned at the sacred Kremlin as the Emperor of China. A glance at
the map of the world will show that in 1999 Russia was in possession
of nearly one-fourth of the globe's real estate. Not satisfied with
this, Russian ambition had designs upon India, intending to employ
China as her base of operations. England, however, was always alert
and ready to frustrate her designs.
When the nations of Europe in 1898 were carving up China, (even Spain
and Italy joining in the scramble for pieces of China-ware,) Russia,
her nearest neighbor on the north, was careful to secure the biggest
share of the booty. In 1895 Russia saved China from the clutches
of Japan, for the philanthropic purpose of doing the stealing act
herself. After appropriating China's best provinces on the north,
and profiting by the completion of the Trans-Siberian railroad in the
year 1905, Russian influence at the court of Pekin, overshadowed all
others. The Chinese, like all other Orientals, believe only what they
see. Russia had long been their only neighbor in Siberia but when
the great Russian railroad was completed to Port Arthur, in a very
short period an army of 450,000 well drilled Russian soldiers was
bivouacked near the great wall of China, within rifle shot of Pekin.
Once firmly seated on China's neck, Russian [The Russian Emperor of
China.] diplomacy moulded the Middle Kingdom as clay in the potter's
hand. Its enormous population obeyed implicitly the Czar's ukases, and
in 1999 China became a Russian province as completely as the Crimea.
Russia, however, had always entertained a warm friendship and
cordial regard for the United States of America ever since the
rebellion of 1860-65 and her good wishes were reciprocated on the
part of all Americans. Russian respect for America became firmer and
more binding as the young American Republic attained its enormous
dimensions. Russia, great herself, realized that she had a right to
be regarded in the same class as our noble country. As an evidence
of Russian esteem for America, during the period from 1920 to 1999,
Russia granted to Americans special trade privileges in China in
which other nations were not permitted to share.
As a result of these generous concessions to Americans our trade with
China in 1999 attained gigantic proportions and nine-tenths of it
passed through the Nicaragua canal. So important did our Oriental trade
become in the twentieth century that the inter-oceanic canal would
have been built even though it had been necessary to pave its channel
with bricks of gold and silver. American wheat had largely supplanted
rice as the staple food of China, and in 1999 the American export
of wheat to China was estimated at a value of $95,000,000. America
monopolized nearly the entire Chinese trade in farming implements,
electrical machines, cotton goods, dyes and chemicals.
As to the Philippines, the trade with that [Peace and Prosperity
Restored.] archipelago was entirely controlled by America. After the
proud flag of America had floated one century over those islands, the
transformation scene was wonderful. The Filipinos had long learned,
after the fall of Aguinaldo, that the American Constitution was
broad and big enough to amply protect and to give them that measure
of liberty to which all nations are entitled. Long before 1920 they
became a docile, patient and laborious people and prospered in an
amazing degree. Their exports of hemp, rice and tobacco attained
immense proportions and the culture of sugar-cane became so profitable
that the Philippines were famed in 1999 as the "Sugar Bowl of the
Pacific." America proved a Godsend to those islands. The names of
Dewey, Otis and Lawton were held in high esteem for many centuries
after Dewey's great victory, which awakened America, electrified the
world and gave birth to the grandest Republic the world had ever seen.
CHAPTER XV.
Ærial Navigation Solved.
Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue." Ærial navigation
perfected in 1925. The name of New York city changed to that
of Manhattan. Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the
centre of all airship or ærodrome lines. The fascinations of
ærial navigation. From Manhattan to San Francisco in thirty-six
hours, with stops at Chicago, Omaha and Denver. Terrible mid-air
accidents. An air train cloud bound.
The Dreamer, thus far, has invited the attention of the reader to the
political conditions extant in 1999. In the preceding chapters we have
contemplated with feelings exultant, national pride, the superb growth
of the United States of the Americas, from a comparatively narrow strip
of territory in 1899 to a magnificent Republic in 1999, consisting
of eighty-five sovereign States, extending from Alaska to Patagonia,
and embracing in one Republic the continents of North, Central and
South America. In order to arrive at a lucid comprehension of the
political status of the great American Republic and its relationship
towards the world in 1899, we have reviewed the conditions of other
nations of that period. We must now pass on to the consideration
of other social and economic conditions which were prevalent in the
American Republic during the twentieth century.
Do not imagine for one moment that in the brief compass of a century
human nature [Human Nature Remains The Same.] had changed in any
perceptible or appreciable degree. In the year 1899 the traits of
humanity were identical with those which were known to the world in
the days of the Cæsars. The ebb and flow of human passions, love and
hatred in the days of the Pharaohs differed in nowise from those of
1899. If forty centuries did not change our human tendencies, it will
not surprise the reader to learn that in 1999 the human family was much
the same in its tastes and inclinations as in the nineteenth century.
The eighteenth century was an era of oak and sails; the nineteenth
century proved to be an age of iron, steel and steam, but the twentieth
century witnessed far greater strides of improvement resulting from
the solution of the ærial navigation problem and the conquest of
electricity. The solution of these two great problems alone rendered
the twentieth century the most marvelous age of all since the birth
of Christ.
Ever since humanity has trodden upon this green, fruitful world of
ours; ever since the gaze of man has turned upward and penetrated
the skies, from the days of Adam and perhaps ages before that first
settler made his appearance on earth, the problem of ærial navigation
has agitated human breast and brain. To solve this difficult secret
has long been the acme of human ambition. In 1899 we knew very little
more about ærial navigation than did Noah and his family in the days
when Mt. Arrarat was first used as a dry-dock.
Quite certain it is that ærial navigation ten thousand years hence will
be limited to [A Limited Field After all.] a moderate elevation from
the earth. Never as long as the world endures will human beings with
breath in their nostrils and blood in their veins reach or travel at
an altitude of over six miles above the earth's surface. We know this
because death would overtake every venturesome traveler who soared
into those higher regions. A thousand years hence the laws of nature
will still remain immutably the same.
But the ambition of mankind is to control the air at a reasonable
distance from the earth's surface and to navigate an element that is
entirely free from all obstructions. The aim is to so control an ærial
machine that it will not drift before every wind, but cleave the air
and move along its course in defiance of the storm. To this must be
added a guarantee of safety that the public is certain to exact before
embarking upon an ærial voyage. Ærial navigation, no doubt, offers
vast attractions but while sailing through the air, with the ease and
grace of a bird, it might prove very inconvenient for passengers to
fall out at a height of a mile or two and land through the roof of
some peaceful, happy home or find themselves while unceremoniously
falling securely hooked in the fork of a tree. Such little mishaps
in ærial navigation had to be guarded against.
Ærial navigation was perfected about the [The First Airships.]
year 1925. After repeated failures of the Langley system from 1896 to
1920, the learned Washington professor changed his plans. Instead
of endeavoring to lift flat-irons with wings from the ground,
and watching turkey buzzards at anchor in the air over the Potomac
river, Langley finally created an ærial machine that was operated
by electricity and moved by a large, swiftly revolving propeller,
somewhat resembling those employed in steam navigation, but with
blades at a more abrupt angle.
The flying machines which were constructed from 1920 to 1999 on
the Langley plan, were built of Nickalum, an alloy of aluminum,
crystalized, within a magnetic field. The specific gravity of Nickalum,
as employed in the manufacture of ærodromes, or flying machines,
was .512. It was lighter than a thin strip of pine wood, malleable
as gold and impenetrable as steel. Ærodromes could not have been
successfully manufactured in 1920 if Nickalum had not been employed
in their construction.
This new property was one of the marvelous products of the twentieth
century. It was employed in nearly everything which required strength
and elasticity. It was so malleable that waterproof garments, overcoats
and shoes were manufactured of Nickalum as early as the year 1912.
With this wonderful and cheaply manufactured metal, ærial navigation
became a [Ærodromes of Nickalum.] possibility. The old fashion
days of silk balloons drifting helplessly on air currents, had long
passed away. These pre-Adamite curiosities belonged to the period
of the nineteenth century, when man was yet living under primitive
conditions, though by no means in a state of innocence.
Ærodromes constructed of Nickalum were largely employed for traveling
and commercial purposes between 1920 and 1925, while in 1999 they had
reached a high stage of perfection. Ærodromes weighing four hundred
pounds only, in 1925, could easily carry ten persons and cleave their
way like an arrow through a high wind. Small ærodromes carrying four
persons, weighed only one hundred pounds.
If the wind were favorable on their regular trips, the high grade
express ærodromes [Some Fast Traveling.] in 1999, belonging to the
popular Sky-Scraper line, could easily make the trip from Manhattan
(formerly New York) to Washington, in the State of Mexico, a distance
of 1,949 miles in a direct air-line, in fifteen hours, making brief
stops for meals at Columbia, D. C., (formerly called Washington) and
at New Orleans. From the Crescent City it was only a short run across
the deep, blue gulf, to Vera Cruz, then followed a short spurt of two
hundred miles west of Vera Cruz to the national capital, Washington,
then built upon the site of the ancient Aztec City of Mexico. In 1999
this was regarded as a neat, breezy little trip.
The name of New York city (always a meaningless and unpopular one),
had been [The Great City of Manhattan.] changed in 1912 to the more
appropriate one of Manhattan. Its population in 1999 had increased
to 25,000,000 souls. Although the largest metropolis of the world,
Manhattan in 1999 had reached its zenith.
The consolidation of the republics into one vast American Union,
from Alaska to Patagonia, and the removal of Washington as the seat
of our national government, from the little District of Columbia to a
more central and appropriate location in the State of Mexico, as well
as the opening of the Nicaragua Canal, were the leading factors that
contributed to the commercial detriment and undoing of Manhattan. The
star of destiny shone brightly over Mexico as the conspicuous centre
of the new and great American Republic and the volume of the world's
trade passed through the Nicaragua Canal, diverting millions of
freightage that otherwise must have entered the port of Manhattan.
The great air-ship or ærodrome building centre in 1999 was the city
of Manhattan. Upon the Palisades, opposite Grant's tomb and about one
mile east of the lofty Dewey monument, were stationed vast workshops
for building these beautiful and graceful ærodromes. It was ever a
fascinating sight to the men and women of 1999 to see one of these
flying machines starting out of the shops on its trial trip. The
body of the ærodrome was resplendent in brilliant colors and the new
airships always appeared in the bravery of bunting and silk flags.
By act of Congress all ærial navigation companies were obliged to
adopt a certain color and number. The big express lines running from
Manhattan to Rio Janeiro and Mexico, each adopted a prismatic color
along with their official number. The object of this was to enable
people to distinguish at sight an approaching ærodrome and at once
recognize by its color the ærial line to which it belonged.
The U. S. of the A. ærial express ships alone were permitted to
use white paint on [Uncle Sam's Favorite Color.] the hull of their
ærodromes. Thousands of them were employed in the government service
and conveyed troops to all points in the great American Republic. It
was, however, strictly forbidden, under severe penalties, to carry
any munitions of war or any explosives or chemicals upon any ærial
ship whatever. The color of black was employed only on funeral
occasions. The ærodrome, which filled the functions of an ærial hearse
in 1999, was painted all black, hull and sails as well. When the eye
could discern floating in the air and moving swiftly in one direction
a long line of black ærodromes, it became known that one more poor
mortal had entered into rest, and his remains were speeding through
the air to their last resting place, namely, the nearest crematory;
burials of the old style having been prohibited by act of Congress
in 1947 throughout the United States of the Americas.
It was a really thrilling sight to see the large ærodromes in their
brilliant colors sailing through the air with such swiftness and
graceful ease, each one carrying over its stern the flag of the
great Republic with its eighty-five stars. Like beautiful phantoms
they flitted by, gracefully, noiselessly, swiftly cleaving the air
without the least apparent effort. It was an inspiring sight.
Bridal couples in 1999 were frequently married in an ærodrome as it
rested on a [Airship Wedding in 1999.] city square or in a modest
village green. Standing around the airship, which was always decorated
with multi-colored flags and floral designs, were invited guests,
friends and spectators. After the ceremony was over and congratulations
exchanged, the minister, as well as the nearest relatives alighted
from the ærodrome, which immediately commenced to ascend amidst the
hand-clappings, hurrahs and Godspeeds of the gathering. As the ærodrome
gracefully arose about ten feet above terra firma, a few handsful of
rice were thrown at the happy pair, who retaliated by throwing roses
and other flowers at their friends below. When the ærodrome attained
a height of about one hundred feet, the navigator steered the ærial
ship in the direction required and the journey then commenced.
The trip across the continent in an ærial ship was always, in pleasant
weather, a delightful experience. A voyage from Manhattan (formerly
New York), to San Francisco, was a matter of about thirty-six hours,
with stops at Chicago, Omaha and Denver. Sailing through balmy summer
skies, with a continent at one's feet, was an experience never to be
forgotten. It was exhilarating to glide unchecked, without noise or
friction, dust or smoke, over lakes, valleys, plains and mountains. All
sense of danger or fear was banished from the mind.
At night the ærodromes were compelled by law to travel at halt speed,
with two searchlights, fore and aft, in constant operation. The
port lights of all ærodromes were red, and the starboard lights were
green. These precautions were rendered necessary in order to avoid
mid-air collisions. Some disasters in 1999 filled the [Ærodrome
Collisions in Mid-air.] country with alarm. In 1940 a terrible
mid-air collision occurred over Rio Janeiro. Two swift ærodromes,
attached to the Mercury Limited express, collided about 2,000 feet
over that city causing a serious loss of life. Collision in mid-air
was always the nightmare and dread of ærial navigation. People in 1999
had not yet become fully reconciled to the delightful sensation of
dropping out of the clouds and getting their clothes torn on church
steeples and lightning rods. When they made a start for heaven they
were better prepared to make it from earth as a starting point,
rather than making a break for paradise starting from the clouds.
Accidents, unfortunately, were of frequent occurrence. In the columns
of the Hourly Journal, published in the city of Manhattan, (old New
York,) under date of Thursday, July 17, 1984, we find the following
harrowing narrative:
MID-AIR COLLISION!
The Comet Express Collides with the Milky Way Ærostatic Express.
Twenty-five Passengers Dashed to Earth.
Many Saved in the Descent by Using the Air-Life Preservers.
Manhattan, N. Y., 2 p. m., July 17, 1984.--A mid-air collision
resulting in the death of twenty-five persons, and injuries to
many others, occurred at 11 o'clock this morning at a distance
of 2,500 feet over the city of Binghamton, N. Y.
The Transcontinental Comet Express, San Francisco to the eastern
coast, which passes Denver at 10 p. m., takes its easterly flight
and passes over Binghamton about 11 o'clock on the following
day. The west bound Milky Way Express is due over Binghamton at
about the same hour.
A heavy fog arising from the Susquehanna prevailed at the time and
this, added to the fact that a propeller-blade of the Comet Express
was disabled, caused the collision, which collapsed the ærodrome
of the Milky Way, capsizing twenty-five of the passengers, many of
whom fell in the Court House green, being buried in the sod under
the terrific velocity of the fall. One passenger from Cobleskill,
who had just started for a trip to the Yellowstone Park, fell on
the statue of Justice on the dome of the Court House. At noon
his legs had not yet been extricated. The city is plunged in
gloom. Among the killed were five passengers from Sidney, Unadilla
and Bainbridge. The details of their death are too shocking for
recital. The bodies were taken to the Binghamton crematory and
burned. The ashes will be forwarded to-morrow to the relatives.
On the Comet Express from San Francisco, the passengers were more
fortunate. The navigator calmed the fears of the passengers,
many of whom were ready to jump overboard and take a short cut
into Binghamton, frenzied as they were through fear. Those who
jumped were careful to adjust the air life preservers before
leaping. The Comet Express passengers landed in Binghamton safely.
Gen. Burgess had both legs so badly broken that they will have
to be amputated. The surgeons will supply new electrical limbs
that will prove fully as serviceable as the natural ones.
Terrible accidents like the one above described, taken from the columns
of the Hourly Journal, under date of July 17, 1984, were not by any
means the only class of accidents caused in the twentieth century
by ærial navigation. Under the influences of sighing breezes, an
invigorating atmosphere and a mild, genial sun, nothing could be more
delightful than a mid-air excursion on board of an ærodrome. Nothing
could exceed the pleasant sensations one experiences while noiselessly
gliding over tree-tops and church spires.
In 1999 courtships were no longer conducted in the locality of the
much abused garden gate. Love's trysting-place was often transferred
to the roof of the paternal house, where the coy damsel frequently
awaited with anxious heart for the arrival of her lover on an airship.
But, with all its bright attractions, ærial navigation had dangers of
its own, obstacles and difficulties. Here we have another illustration
of the perils of ærial navigation. We copy the following article
from the columns of the Sidney Record, under date of Jan. 15, 1999,
which goes to prove that ærodromes, like all mortals here below,
had troubles of their own:
CLOUD-BOUND.
The Utica Ærostatic Train Delayed by a Mid-air Storm.
Sidney, N. Y., Jan. 15.--There is a cloud-blockade on the line of
the Oregon & New York Ærostatic Transit Co., and the air train
which left Vancouver last evening is stalled at a point 3,000
feet above Norwich, with little prospects of getting away for
several hours.
Cloud-plows have been sent up from Syracuse, but so dense is the
raging ærial snow that the plows have been unable to reach the
stranded train. The storm is the most severe one known in years
in this locality and came on at 8 o'clock last night. It raged
over the city of Sidney all night, although no snow fell.
The Weather Bureau in Washington, Mexico, pronounces it one of the
familiar mid-air storms and places its lowest point at 3,000 feet
above Sidney and its highest at 5,000, making a storm stratum of
2,000 feet. The clouds are banked for a distance of thirty miles
and are almost impenetrable.
The conditions are such as to make telepathic messages to the
conductor of the air train difficult to deliver. A message,
however, was received saying that all are well on board and the
etherize heating apparatus working well.
In the same edition of that paper, on the first page, was published
another account of a serious accident, in which an air-ship soared
too high and broke away from the attraction of the earth's gravity. It
read as follows:
AIR SHIP MISSING.
The Pontiac Ten Days Overdue at Vera Cruz.
Washington, Mexico, Jan. 14. 1999.--The Transoceanic air-freighter
Pontiac has been overdue at Vera Cruz for ten days. It is feared
the ship has got snarled in the upper ether currents. As she has
not been spoken by other air-ships it is probable she has drifted
away from the influence of the earth's gravitation, and drawn
into the orbit of some neighboring planet. It may land in Mars.
Ærial navigation in 1999 was not merely confined to large express,
passenger and [Everybody in the Air.] freight ships, but also came
into general use by the public. The Ærocycle of the twentieth century
was an ærial bicycle that skimmed through the air with admirable ease,
being operated like the old-fashioned bicycles suffering mortals
in 1899 used to jump over hills and rough roads, straining muscle
and nerve to the utmost tension, and frightening horses with their
"bicycle face." Two or three of the bicycles of 1899 were kept
as curiosities in a glass case in 1999 in the war department at
Washington, Mexico. They were regarded as instruments of voluntary
torture, relics of a species of refined barbarism. The invention of
the Ærocycle sealed the doom of bicycles.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Age of Electricity.
Ærial navigation shunned by many people in 1999. The great Age
of Electricity. The Passing of the Horse. The noble beast loses
its fetters and becomes a Household Pet. Steam engines a relic
of the past. No more smoke in railroad travel. Tunnels lighted
bright as day and filled with pure air. Single-rail electric
roads all the go.
It must not, however, be imagined that people in 1999 passed away their
whole lives traveling in the air. Millions could not be induced under
any consideration, to plant a foot in any ærial ship. They hugged old
Mother Earth with a true devotion worthy of a better cause. Many people
in the year 1899 were to be found who entertained strong antipathies
against traveling on water, but in 1999 the opponents [Old Earth Good
Enough for Them.] of ærial navigation outnumbered them one hundred
to one. For this and other more important reasons, the genius of the
twentieth century applied itself assiduously to the perfecting of
electrical and compressed air machines of every conceivable character.
The twentieth century saw the coup-de-grâce, or death blow, given
to sails for propelling ships, horses used for traction purposes
and steam in mechanical engineering. Electricity, drawn directly
from coal, as well as the air, was procurable in inexhaustible
quantities. Electricity long before 1999 was stored with the utmost
ease and economy, and shipped all over the world for lighting,
heating and motive power. The partnership existing between the
old-fashion steam engine and electric dynamos was dissolved forever
in 1920. Electricity conducted the business alone and in its own name
after steam and its clumsy accessories withdrew from the firm.
One of the first to feel the effects of the [Good-bye Mr. Horse.]
change was that greatly admired and beloved creature, the horse. In
1999 plenty of horses were yet to be found in the haunts of
civilization. They were generally kept as pets, gentle, graceful
and docile creatures, reminders of past centuries in which their
progenitors had so laboriously served the ends of man. Occasionally
in 1999 some old-fashioned swell, who had been acquainted with horses
and their ways in 1930, would occasionally harness up a pair to a
curious looking vehicle with shafts and take a short drive, but in
1999 such antiquities were regarded with the same curiosity Noah might
have experienced could he have seen an ærodrome circling around the
ark. Out in the country, in remote districts and mountain regions,
horses were occasionally seen doing farm work, but the sight was an
unusual one, invariably attracting much attention. It was estimated
in 1999 that in about one hundred more years the horse in cities and
country towns would become as rare as the buffalo.
In 1930 when the horse had already ceased to be a beast of burden,
epicures openly accepted its flesh as a highly esteemed dish. Indeed
it became quite the fad for fast swells to dine on trotter steak. The
dray and carriage horses were the first ones to disappear, but the
racers held on pretty well. In 1942 the turf and paddock were still
popular, though rapidly declining.
The competitors that drove the horse from its field of labor were the
electric and compressed air horseless vehicles. As early as 1899 the
horseless carriage was rapidly striding into popularity. In 1920 they
were common sights everywhere. In 1950 they had crowded the horse to
the wall and in 1999 horseless vehicles for business or pleasure were
exclusively employed everywhere.
Horses in 1999 were no longer beasts of burden in the great American
Republic. [Emancipated by Electricity.] They had been emancipated by
electricity and compressed air. In remote sections of the American
Republic, like the pampas of the State of Brazil and the mountain
regions of the State of Peru, horses were frequently to be seen,
but seldom employed as beasts of burden. It took many centuries to
wipe the equine race from the face of the globe. The history and
achievements of the noble brute had been for many centuries linked
to that of man. In 1999 the Arab still loved his faithful charger,
guarding it as the apple of his eye. The noble animal still shared his
tent. In his estimation a wife or two were of little worth compared
with the swift, graceful animal that so often carried him from danger
and left his pursuers in the rear. It would have been sad indeed for
the world, so early as 1999 to lose an animal endowed by nature with
so much intelligence, an animal that again and again had decided
a thousand fields of battle and had braved all dangers by land or
sea. But from the thraldom of labor, the horse in 1999 had been
emancipated and this tribute was one worthy of his peerless fame.
Even the reindeer of the Polar regions felt the touch of twentieth
century genius. The Laplander had no further use for the dog-power of
his ancestors. His sleds glided along the fields of ice, propelled
by electricity, of which inexhaustible supplies were drawn from the
aurora borealis.
In 1999 automobiles required only three days to traverse the distance
from Montreal in the American State of East Canada to Washington,
our national capital in the State of Mexico. The roads throughout the
Americas had reached a high grade of perfection and travel on electric
automobiles [Good Roads Everywhere.] became a pleasure even in all
the Southern States of the American Union, such as Venezuela, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. Uncle Sam's farm in 1999 was a big
one and was covered with good roads. Horses and steam engines were
altogether too slow for the twentieth century.
The exclusion of steam from all railroads in 1999 proved a great
boon to travel. Railroad smoke was a drawback to steam roads, while
sparks, cinders and live coal were a constant danger to property. When
a happy bride and groom took their departure on a train for their
honeymoon in 1899 their friends pelted them with rice, while the old
fashion steam engine attached to the train rounded the compliment by
pelting the newly wedded pair with cinders and soot. Dense volumes
of black smoke [Delights of Steam Travel.] poured into the railway
coaches, filling every crevice and corner, rendering the human face
unrecognizable. Travelers in these old-fashioned cars, clad in the
bravery of fashion, in their silks and fine raiment, would journey only
a short distance when they would become almost unrecognizable from
the torrents of black soft-coal smoke that pierced their cuticle and
darkened their lives. It was hard to determine at the end of a brief
journey of a thousand miles whether the white man who bought a through
ticket in New York was a Caucasian or an Ethiopian when he landed in
Chicago, so dense was the smoke through which he had traveled.
The delightful atmosphere of a tunnel formed one of the great
attractions of steam travel in the good old days of 1899. Our unhappy
American travelers while journeying on these steam roads would
suddenly be rushed into a black hole, the damp and foul air of which
was enough to kill a salamander, filled with smoke and asphyxiating
gases. The marvel is that one-half of the people ever pulled through
a tunnel alive.
In 1999 these monstrosities of steam railroad [The Single Rail is
King.] travel were entirely done away with. Not a steam engine was
anywhere to be found. The single rail electric railroad was monarch
of all it surveyed, and there were none to dispute its sway. It ruled
the universe. The new-born electrical power drew its forces from the
air. Electricity was greater than light itself. Its rule was felt by
day as well as by night.
In 1999 when an electric train dashed through a tunnel, its arch was
aglow with electric fire, rendering the passage light as at noon time
in a blazing sun. A touch of the button turned on every light in the
coaches. The air of the tunnel, instead of being black with smoke
and noxious vapors, was pure as the open air. Travel was rendered
delightful in these swift-speeding trains on the single-rail electric
railroads, which easily maintained a speed of two miles per minute. In
point of speed they were easily outwinged by the ærodromes, but for
all that, grass did not have much time to grow under the gearing of
any electric car in 1999.
These single-track electric railroads covered the Americas like a
network of cob-webs. They were much safer than the two-track system
of railroads peculiar to the old period of 1899, when steam engines,
going around curves at two miles per minute, were liable to lose
their heads and lay down in the ditch to try and figure out where they
were at. The single rail upon which the electric car was balanced in
1999, was built about three feet above the track. The cars were so
constructed that [Two Miles per Minute.] the wheels ran along their
whole length, the sides of the car being built to a point about two
feet below the rail. The trolley wire overhead gave more steadiness
to the car. It could not upset.
Through lines from Chicago to Washington, in the State of Mexico,
attained high speed, as well as the electric lines that crossed
the isthmus from the State of Mexico to Rio Janeiro. It frequently
happened that strawberries gathered at the base of Mt. Orizaba,
in Mexico, were delivered in Chicago in season for supper the same
day. Fish of highly esteemed flavor that were swimming in the bay of
Vera Cruz at break of day were frequently placed on ice and reached
Manhattan in time for dinner at seven p. m. the same day.
CHAPTER XVII.
Electrical Navigation.
Strange and novel uses to which electricity was applied in
1999. Hydrophobia banished from the earth. The relations of
Creditor and Debtor greatly improved. Electrical ocean, river
and lake navigation. The ocean ablaze with electric lights. Ships
navigated by wireless telegraphy.
It has always been the conceit of every age that its own era is the
most progressive and the most enlightened of all. In 1799 any man
who could have stood on the deck of Nelson's flagship "Victory" and
informed that gallant sailor that in 1899 warships would navigate
without sails; that powder would be used that made no smoke; that
heavy rifles would hurl a ton shell fourteen miles, would have been
dropped overboard as a monumental liar.
The age in which we live is always a conceited one; always ready to
scoff at innovations. [The Bump of The Age.] Every age had a bump
of its own. How these precious bumps are smoothed down one by one,
is really interesting. The stage coach was king in its day. As men
gazed upon the lumbering, six miles per hour coach, the bump of the
period made them believe it was the swiftest and most luxurious mode
of travel the world would ever see. Steam came and reduced the stage
coach bump. When men saw steam locomotives drawing fast trains and
covering the country with villainous smoke, they really believed it was
the swiftest mode of travel the world ever would employ. Electricity
then appeared and reduced the steam bump.
In 1999 electricity became a mighty monarch and an obedient slave. It
ruled and [A Lively Customer.] it obeyed. This lively king of the
twentieth century was a hustler. Sixteen distinct trips around the
globe it could make in just one second's time. Electric railroads and
flying machines could not reasonably hope to make sixteen separate
trips around the globe in one second's time. The age of 1999 was a
very rapid one, but its joints were too rheumatic to attempt any such
gait. A traveler hustling around the world at the rate of sixteen
times per second would hardly have time to visit and shake hands
with friends.
In the twentieth century electricity, the servant-king of the
world, was harnessed [All Done by Electricity.] to everything
conceivable. Everything was done by merely pressing a button. Houses
built in that period had no stairs. Every private house had its
elevator. Press a button and up it went. Houses built in that period
had no chimneys. All heating and every bit of the cooking was done by
electricity. If you wanted heat, press a button; more heat wanted,
press two. Locks and keys also became relics of a past age. No one
in 1999 ever locked his house. Every house was provided with an
electrical outfit. Those who desired to leave the house for a few
hours attached the electric gongs and alarm bells. When connection
was made no one could leave or enter the house without raising a
pandemonium and sending an alarm to the central police station.
The uses of electricity in 1999 were carried to even absurd
lengths. Man's most faithful, but, alas, uncertain friend, the dog,
was in evidence throughout the twentieth century. He wagged his tail
vigorously as ever in token of kindnesses received. He was as ready
as ever to sacrifice his life for that of his master, as well as to
plant his teeth into the calf of his leg. The Hindoo charmer is never
really safe until he has extracted the fangs of the reptile.
And so it was with the twentieth century dog. Nothing can be more
violent than death by hydrophobia. The bite of the dog may prove
more terrible than that of the cobra. This scourge was effectually
removed. In 1999 dogs over one year old had their teeth removed by
electricity. Their mouths were then fitted with a false set. During
dog-days, while Sirius was in the ascendant, the false teeth were
removed and all canines were kept on a vegetable diet. Hydrophobia
became one of the lost arts.
Another peculiar method in which electricity was utilized in 1999
tended to rob [Electrical Dentistry.] dentistry of some of its
terrors. There was one feature of dentistry in 1899 that often tested
the best nerves, and that was the peculiar odor common to all dental
chambers of horror. This peculiar odor settles like a cloud upon the
stomach and seldom appeals in vain to one's nerves for sympathy. For
this reason an electrical machine was invented in 1999 which enabled
the patient to remain at home while an offending tooth was tendering
its resignation. The dentist, during the operation, remained in his
den, enjoying a monopoly of its odors. If a tooth ached all one had
to do was to call up a dentist, on the telephone, and ask to be placed
on the line. The victim, in the seclusion of his back parlor, adjusted
the electrical forceps and signalled to the dentist, five blocks away,
to touch it off, then the festivities commenced. These private tooth
extracting séances became very popular. No profane eyes were there
to witness the agony of the victim, as in a public dental office. If
he shouted loud enough to make a hole in the sky or tried to kick
the plaster off the ceiling, no one was any the wiser for it. But
in a public dental office (especially with ladies in the adjoining
room), while the victim is being harpooned, his eloquent groans must
be stifled and no attempt must be made by the victim to kick at the
chandeliers. The new system of home electrical tooth extracting proved
very popular. It was one of the things that had come to stay.
In 1999, through the medium of electricity, the relations existing
between creditors and debtors became closer and more binding. [Sure
Cure for Dead Beats.] In 1899, for some reason or other never fully
explained, a debtor who had a long standing account, was liable to
dodge into some nook, corner or side street, if he caught a glimpse
of his creditor coming down the road. The relations existing between
creditor and debtor in the nineteenth century were not as cordial
as they should be. If the debt were of long standing there lacked
a certain warmth in their greeting which was perhaps difficult to
account for.
In 1930 creditors and debtors adjusted themselves in better harmony,
at least they kept in closer electrical touch with one another. If
the sum due was $50 or over and of long standing, the law allowed
the creditor to connect his debtor with an electrical battery. The
object of this wise law was to keep the creditor in constant touch
with his debtor. If the debt was over three months due, the creditor
was allowed to occasionally "touch up" his debtor without having to
hunt him up and dun him. The creditor always had him "on the string"
so to speak. It was further specified by law that creditors must
employ only as many volts as there were dollars due on account in
shocking a debtor. These electrical shocks were merely reminders,
intended to refresh the memory of the debtor. A man owing $200 was
liable to receive two hundred volts until the debt was satisfied.
This plan for the collection of bad debts worked very successfully. In
1999 no [Worked Like a Charm.] debtor could tell when his creditor
might touch him up. The shock reminding him of his old debt might come
during the night and disturb his pleasant dreams. Perhaps while seated
at the family table, or perhaps even while engaged in family worship,
an electric shock might come that would raise him three feet off the
floor. Such little occurrences were rather embarrassing, especially
if the debtor was talking at the time to some lady friend. A man
owing $500 was in danger of his life. His creditor was liable to dun
him by giving him a shock of five hundred volts. Such sensations,
certainly, are not as pleasant as watching a yacht race, with your
boat an easy winner.
A curious illustration of the operation of this new condition between
creditors and bad debtors, by which the former had an electrical
control of the latter, came to light in a parish church on the banks
of the St. Lawrence. It appears that the village school teacher, who
was also choir-master, was busy with a Saturday evening rehearsal. The
members of the choir were in their places, while the professor stood
near the communion-rail, facing the choir, with his back turned
towards the empty pews. He was speaking, when suddenly his red hair
stood on end, his whiskers straightened out at right angles, while
his eyes looked big as door knobs. He then gave a leap in the air,
turned a somersault backwards and cleared ten pews before landing
again on his feet. It appears that he owed his landlord an old board
bill of $120 and the latter had just given him an electrical dun. The
choir was astounded at the professor's performance. The latter excused
himself and merely said it was a slight attack of grip.
In 1942 any one who used the word "steamship" was immediately rated
a back number. A few of them, it is true, still fouled the ocean with
their villainous smoke, but in 1999 the electrical ship ploughed the
briny waters. It was a grand sight to see a magnificent ship nine
hundred feet in length propelled through the waters at a [Electrical
Ocean Navigation.] rate of thirty-five knots per hour by an invisible
power, a mighty giant encased in the interior of the ship, a power
that labored silently yet swiftly, with no perceptible vibration
to the vessel and without emitting volumes of black smoke. These
swiftly moving electrical ships were strange and striking in their
appearance. Those constructed in 1975 by the Cramps had no masts,
and they, of course, had no more use for funnels than a hen has for
teeth. To the people of the old school of 1899, the ocean electrical
ship looked strange indeed. The spectacle of a large steamship of
28,000 tons burden cleaving the ocean waves at the rate of forty knots
per hour, with no masts and no smokestacks, looked strangely to men in
1975 who had been accustomed in their youth to old fashioned steamships
like the City of New York, Campagnia, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Fürst
Bismarck, Teutonic and others of that class. In 1975 the hull of the
electrical ship retained practically the same old lines. An electrical
ship, like the Great Republic, built in the year last named, plying
between Manhattan and Liverpool, was a trifle over nine hundred feet
long, with only eighty-two feet breadth of beam. From stem to stern
was built a swell body roof which covered the entire deck of the
vessel. This covering was supported by ornamental iron columns from
the bulwarks and usually stood about twenty feet above the deck. The
only object that arose above the deck-roof was the captain's bridge, in
which was stationed the steersman, who steered the leviathan by merely
pressing electrical buttons on a small disc in front of him. With the
masts and funnels removed from an electrical ocean ship, much valuable
room was thus secured, adding greatly to the comfort of the passengers.
Electricity was pressed into every conceivable service. That wonderful
element [Lighting Up the Atlantic.] was man's best and most faithful
servant. There was no duty in the twentieth century too menial for it
to do. It transformed our ocean, lake and river craft into a blaze
of light by night. Collisions after dark were unknown to navigation
in 1975. At a distance of ten miles out at sea an electrical vessel
looked like a solid mass of moving flame. Electricity drawn directly
from the air and extracted from coal, costs practically nothing. The
chief item of expenditure was to maintain the electrical machines in
repair. In 1899 sailing ships moved along at a snail gait and during
night time a small green and red lamp on the port and starboard
sides of the ship was all that enabled other vessels to note their
presence. It was always the marvel of that age that a hundred
collisions did not take place every night on the Atlantic. But in
1999 not a sail or steamship was anywhere to be seen, on ocean,
lake or river. Electricity was cheaper, swifter and more reliable.
In 1899 so backward was the age that small boats, called row-boats,
were still propelled with oars. In that year those primitive people
still employed the old methods of propelling a boat that were in vogue
in the days of the Phoenicians and Vikings. They still rowed a boat
in the manner of the Greek galley slaves. In 1930 seamen had no more
use for oars than a sperm whale has for paddle-wheels. Everything
that could float, from a wash-tub to a man-of-war, was propelled
by electricity. Even toy boats, sold for $5, were propelled by
electricity. The winds still raged in 1999. From zephyr to cyclone
that element ruled over the surface of the globe, but man had little
use for it. Even the staid Hollander harnessed the wind no more. His
mills were run by electricity, while the same agency was continually
at work pumping out his dykes.
Through the agency of electricity navigation in the twentieth
century was rendered much safer. The ocean by night was dotted
with electric buoys, which tossed and bowed with every wave. On
these buoys signal-lights were placed, and passing vessels could
read the latitude and longitude in which they were in at any time
of the day. The figures were plainly marked on each buoy. By night
the Atlantic ocean between Sandy Hook and Daunt's Rock was dotted
with bright electric arc lights of 8,000 c. p. The eye never wearied
gazing upon the picturesque beauty of the scene.
The effect of these brilliant lights on the broad bosom of the ocean,
especially during [A Scene of Thrilling Beauty.] a storm, was grand
beyond the power of pen to describe. A distant wave could be clearly
seen approaching one of these electric, mid-ocean buoys. On it sweeps,
a tremendous current that no human power could stem. The rugged blue
wall of the great wave glistens in the dazzling electric light as its
huge side and foaming crest reaches the electric buoy. It seems as
though the light and buoy must be swept to destruction and buried from
sight. As the great wave sweeps over the light, all becomes dark for
a few seconds, but when the mighty billow has swept on, the electric
arc again blazes forth in the trough of the sea bidding defiance to
Neptune's frowns. These mighty mid-ocean scenes, viewed from the deck
of an electric ocean greyhound, were thrilling in the extreme.
Along the great chain of coast-line of the United States of the
Americas, from the State of Maine to the States of Venezuela, Brazil
and Patagonia, also on the Pacific slope from the States of Chile,
Peru and Colombia to the States of West Canada and Alaska, every
rock or promontory dangerous to navigation, was ablaze with electric
beacons. Electricity was common as air. Oceans and continents were
made more habitable to man. It became in 1999 the world's sun by night.
The perfect and absolute control of electricity by the scientists
of the twentieth century benefited both ærial and ocean navigation,
in furnishing the motive power. But these were benefited in another
and hardly less remarkable manner by the perfected Marconi system of
wireless telegraphy, which in the nineteenth century was comparatively
unknown and in its early experimental stage. In ærial and ocean
navigation wireless telegraphy proved an invaluable aid. The bright,
young Italian inventor became a benefactor of the human race.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Wireless Telegraphy.
The great advantages of wireless telegraphy in navigation. Ships
are enabled to communicate with shore during voyages. Messages
received and sent at any time en route. Collisions at sea reported
at once. Belated steamers cause no anxiety.
In the old-fashioned days of sails and steam, when a vessel
left port and passed out of sight, she instantly became a whole
world in herself. Communication had been severed with the outer
world. The condition of a sailing vessel during a calm was a
picture of helplessness. Steamships were more self-reliant--they
at least controlled their own course. But both classes of ships,
whether propelled by sail or steam, once out of sight of land, were
temporarily shut out from the busy world.
During these enforced absences upon an ocean voyage, great events
frequently happened of which passengers, officers and crews were
necessarily ignorant of. At the [Shut Out of the World.] termination
of a long or short voyage, the first news could only be obtained from
the pilot-boat which met the approaching vessel far out at sea. War
might be on the eve of declaration as the vessel left port, battles
might be fought, the enemy might be vanquished and even peace declared
and a knowledge of all these events would only reach the tardy mariner
upon the arrival of the vessel at her port of destination.
Such a condition of affairs, often the cause of the deepest anxieties
on the part of ocean travelers, might answer well enough for the
days of the Crusaders, when kings of Great Britain went to Palestine
to battle for the Cross, and never again heard from home in three
or four years' time. When Napoleon, that meteor of the nineteenth
century, left the shores of la belle France for the rocky desolation
of St. Helena, it was over a year before he received any news from
Paris. The same conditions ruled in 1899. Steam had rendered ocean
voyages shorter and more punctual. But the main difficulty still
existed. Passengers on our ocean-liners during a voyage knew as
little of occurrences at home as those who traveled in the days
of the Vikings and Crusaders. In this respect (as in many others),
the world in 1899 was no better off than in the days when the Roman
legions landed on the shores of Britain. The nineteenth century and
the centuries before Christ were upon equal footing in this respect.
Many splendidly equipped steamships, with colors flying and bands
playing left port in the old days of sails and steam, with multitudes
waving their adieux and heartily wishing them God-speed and were never
again heard from. No communication was possible in those days between
land and vessels at sea. Sometimes they were [Into the Jaws of Death.]
doomed in the cold embrace of an iceberg; an occasional collision sent
hundreds of souls to their final account; fire, always dreaded on the
ocean, caused many to suffer the horrors of thirst and starvation; the
ocean claimed its victims in many dreadful forms and no tidings ever
reached home of the fate of loved ones, because communication between
ship and shore in the "good old days" of 1899, was impossible. This
supreme difficulty had not yet been overcome in 1899, and the defect
was universally regarded as being a most deplorable one. The only
communication ever maintained between vessels in mid-ocean and the
main shore in the nineteenth century was done by cable-ships, while
actually engaged in laying an ocean cable. The Great Eastern was
the first steamship to lay claim to this distinction, when in 1867,
her officers fished up and brought to the surface the broken Atlantic
cable and the great news was flashed from ship to shore.
Vessels in these days of the nineteenth century only too often
left port never again [A Very Backward Age.] to be seen by mortal
man. Loved ones plunged into a watery grave, locked in each other's
embrace, and none survived to tell the fearful tale. Communication
with shore was unknown in the vaunted civilization of the nineteenth
century. The fate of the Naronic, of the White Star line, looms up in
evidence. Not a whisper was again heard of her after she left port. The
City of Glasgow in 1854 sank in Neptune's pastures. Four hundred and
eighty souls went down in that brave ship. No hint, however slight,
was ever heard of her. The Ocean Monarch, the Pacific of the Collins
line, and the ill-fated City of Boston, all suffered fates that none
but the day of judgment can reveal.
This confession of weakness, this serious drawback of the nineteenth
century, which added to the terrors of those "who go down into the
great deep," was fortunately not shared by the advanced sciences
and arts of the twentieth century. Wireless telegraphy contributed
almost as much to the comfort of ocean and ærial navigation as
electricity. Telegraph poles that rendered hideous some of our most
beautiful avenues and the antiquated ocean cables were entirely
relegated into oblivion. The former went into the scrap heap, while
the latter found their way into Davy Jones' locker.
Long before 1999 wireless telegraphy was employed on all vessels
on ocean, river and lake. Instant communication was at all times
maintained between ship and shore. [It Opened a New Era.] War vessels
at foreign stations made their daily reports in 1999 to the Navy
Department in the State of Mexico. All other navies of the world
enjoyed the same facilities. Relatives telegraphed to their families
and friends from vessels in mid-ocean. It was quite common to receive
a brief message from an Atlantic liner two thousand miles east of
Sandy Hook, as follows:
On board Electrical Ship Manhattan. }
Latitude 50 N., long. 30 W. }
Dear Henry:--Got over being seasick. Baby and nurse doing
nicely. Had strawberries and cream for dinner. Dodged an iceberg
and struck a whale, yesterday. Love to all. Will wireless from
Paris.
Ethel.
Overdue vessels in 1999 gave no anxiety in that era of progress. If
a shaft broke the home office was at once notified that the vessel
would be several days behind her schedule time in arriving at her
destination. If caught in a fog or obliged to move at half speed,
the information was immediately lodged on shore. In fact it even
became possible to navigate vessels from the shore.
In 1982 the strange experiment was made of navigating a large ocean
electric ship [Sailed his Ship from Land.] from Manhattan (old N. Y.),
to Queenstown. The name of the vessel was the City of Sidney. After
the pilot had dropped off at the Hook, Captain Sherman, of the Electric
Belt Line of vessels, remained in his private office in the forty-third
story of Anti-Trust building on 59th street, Manhattan, and issued
his commands by wireless telegraph to the first officer of the City of
Sidney. Reports reached the captain every six hours, giving the exact
latitude and longitude and the ship's course was directed from the
captain's private office on 59th street in the city of Manhattan. In
other words it was the city of Manhattan that kept the City of Sidney
on the move, so to speak. The ship's course, conduct of the crew, the
health of the passengers, the reports of passing electrical vessels,
the velocity of wind and other details of navigation, were communicated
to Captain Sherman, whose orders were given and obeyed as readily
as though issued from the bridge or deck of the City of Sidney. When
that vessel arrived off Queenstown to land the U. S. of the A. mails,
Capt. Sherman in 59th street ordered half speed and finally stopped
the electric engines. Of course, while navigating his immense vessel
across the ocean and remaining seated in his office at home, Captain
Sherman could not assume his place in the saloon at the head of the
table. Wireless telegraphy could not, with all its ingenuity, satisfy
one's appetite at the sumptuous dinners served on board the City of
Sidney. But this demonstrated to the world in 1982 that with wireless
telegraphy commanders could remain in their office on shore and sail
their ships to foreign ports in perfect safety. This was done in 1982
just as easily as the old style train dispatcher controlled far away
trains in 1899 while seated in his own office.
The Marconi system of wireless telegraphy, when perfected in 1920,
employed the Hertzian magnetic waves, which are identical with the
waves of light. Whenever an electric spark is made to leap from one
electrode to another, one of these waves is created. The Marconi
instruments for sending and receiving are tuned to each other and
are then invulnerable to the attack of waves of different lengths.
These rays of electricity are reflected and directed in a given
direction like rays of [A Marvelous Invention.] light. An electric
circuit with a key, gives the basis of the Marconi system. This
circuit runs through a spark coil with an oscillator to produce
continuous electric sparking so long as the circuit is kept closed
by the key--and from this the sparking wires run out of doors to the
pole from which the messages are sent.
One end of the wire is placed in the earth and the other is elevated in
the air. The height to which it is carried determines the distance to
which the messages may be sent. The operator presses his key as in
ordinary telegraphing, making his alphabet in dots and dashes. As
the waves shoot out and reach the distant station, the filings
in the tube cohere and the current passing through them draws up
the armature of the relay magnet. This closes the circuit of the
recording instrument. It is broken constantly by the tapper and
instantly re-established by receiving waves.
The towers employed in 1920 for the transmission of wireless messages
were very high. The manifest advantages of the system were apparent
and long before 1930 wireless telegraphy came into general use. The
new system proved the death-knell of telegraph poles, as well as
ocean cables. Old telegraph stock faded in value like the morning
mist. The supreme importance of communicating with vessels while at
sea alone guaranteed the success of the wireless system.
Wireless telegraphy proved to be one of the crowning scientific
achievements of the twentieth century, but the ambition of scientists
[Chatting with the Boys in Mars.] in 1969 knew no bounds. In that
year they were busy sending messages to Mars, utilizing starbeams for
that purpose. For thirty long years they repeated the same messages or
signals to Mars every night. In 1999 the canalers up in that bright
Yankee planet had not yet responded but hope was still entertained
that some sign of recognition might yet be secured from the Martians.
Telescopes in 1999 had been vastly improved. The network of canals in
Mars became far more distinct to the human eye. The moon, our nearest
neighbor, looked as though only one mile away. Neptune, the giant of
the heavens, grew on more intimate terms with our mother Earth, but
on Mars was centered the greatest attention. Fervent were the hopes
that Martians would acknowledge the ceaseless signals sent from earth.
The growth of the electrical machine industry in 1999 was enormous. The
United States of the Americas led the world in their manufacture. The
dawn of this vast industry was already manifest, even in 1899. The
capital invested in electrical industries in that year was as follows:
Invested Capital.
928 electric railways, aggregating 14,850 miles, $883,000,000
2,838 electric light central stations, 335,486,518
25,000 private electric lighting plants, 87,500,000
Power transmission (750,000 motors in use), 150,000,000
Electrical apparatus in mining, 125,000,000
Telegraph, telephone, &c. 600,000,000
--------------
Total, $2,180,986,518
In 1999 nearly a third of the entire capital of the vast American
Republic was invested in electrical interests of some form or
other. The export trade of American machines became stupendous. The
world demanded only the American make; no substitutes would answer.
American pluck and brains proved the lever that Archimedes, the Greek
mathematician, so long sighed for. American brains moved the world.
CHAPTER XIX.
Cremation Becomes a Law.
No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old
style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about
Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals
discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in
the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously
treasured. "Rented graves" and other burial abominations of the
nineteenth century are forever banished.
The great innovation of the twentieth century which long rankled within
the human breast, but finally uprooted and conquered prejudice, was
cremation. The [No More "Earth to Earth."] old traditions and forms of
Christian burial were difficult to eradicate, but reason and a general
sense of public safety finally broke down the barriers and traditions
of ages. Cremation for many years shocked public sensibilities. The
terrors of the hidden grave, nameless and horrible, were eliminated
by the new and only safe process of disposing of the dead. In the
contention which prevailed during the first half of the twentieth
century, many were reluctant to accept cremation as the true mode of
burial. By degrees, however, public opinion settled down and adjusting
itself to the new conditions, accepted the quicker and safer methods
of burial.
Cremation in 1999 became the only legalized form of burial. Every
cemetery was [Cremation Became a Law.] provided with a crematory
long before 1950. Electricity was employed in reducing the body to
ashes. Grave robberies that so often disgraced the nineteenth century,
became impossible. A rich man was at least sure of a safe burial of
his ashes after cremation, while the poor man's body, which formerly
was thrust into a Potter's field, was safe at last from medical
students and professional body-snatchers, who often robbed graves to
[Rich and Poor on Equal Footing.] secure a skeleton. Millionaires in
the twentieth century enjoyed after death the same degree of safety
vouchsafed to the poor man. Their dust was on equal footing.
The old graves were left undisturbed in 1999. Graves in that year,
in the manner of their occupants, gradually passed into decay. In
the centre of every cemetery was constructed a fine mausoleum, a
pantheon in which the ashes of the dead were carefully deposited in
vaults or family receptacles. Cremation having become in 1999 the only
mode of burial authorized by law, [The State pays for All Burials.]
these mausoleums were built at the expense of the town. Each vault was
owned by a family in perpetuity. Those who were too poor to purchase
a vault had their ashes placed in a common burial plot in the ground.
These large mausoleums were built of white marble in a style of
architecture appropriate to the solemnity of their purpose. The
interior was well-lighted and ventilated and on the door of each
vault was carved the family name. All mausoleums were built about on
the same plan. From the centre of the structure arose a high dome
of beautifully chiseled white marble, while light poured from the
top into the circular floor of the structure. The vaults used as
receptacles for the ashes were stationed about in a large circle,
in several tiers, one above another. The ashes of the cremated body
were deposited in a small metallic box, 9 ×18 inches, and four inches
deep. On the cover was engraved the name, age, date of death and
cremation of the deceased. Each family vault was capable of holding
thirty metallic cases, or burials.
It was universally conceded that cremation was the only safe and proper
mode of [It Looked Heathenish to Them.] disposing of the dead. In
1999 people wondered how the ancient form of burial had so long
been practiced by civilized nations. When in 1999 cremation became
the only legal form of burial, they looked with feelings of horror
upon the ancient form of interment. How people could lay away their
loved ones in the cold ground to remain for years the companion of the
worm, could not be understood in the days of cremation. All arguments
brought against burials in the ground were unanswerable. It was an
offense against the laws of humanity, and the practice was maintained
even as late as 1965, but public opinion became firm against it. The
revolt against burials spread rapidly, once inaugurated.
In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was
regarded not only [Guarding the Bodies of Rich Men.] as a back number
but with feelings of aversion. The question arose in the minds of
many if they really could love the memory of their departed one and
place the body where it was liable to be stolen or desecrated; where
it became the food of vermin. People in 1899 often had to even place
strong guards over the tombs of rich relatives for fear that vandals
might steal the body and retain it for ransom. Long after death bodies
of men had been drawn from their tomb and hanged by a mob. When in
1899 Lord Kitchner, the Sidar of the British forces in Egypt, subdued
and captured Khartoum, [Nineteenth Century Practices.] he permitted
his men to violate the tomb of the Mahdi. The body of the Prophet was
torn from its resting place and its head was decapitated. And this,
note well, was done by British soldiers in 1899, to avenge the cruel
death of Gen. Gordon.
In 1999 desecrations, robberies and violations of graves became
impossible. The world was no longer shocked by such atrocities. Hyenas,
both biped and quadruped, were thrown out of business. Cremation,
the purest and swiftest mode of reducing the body to dust and ashes,
was universally declared to be immeasurably better than the ancient
mode of burial. The dead were not permitted to pollute the ground and
to infuse germs of diseases, deadly microbes, into living springs of
water. It matters [Everything For and Nothing Against It.] little,
in 1999, whether the cemetery were situate on top of a hill, in a
valley or in the midst of a crowded city. The ashes they contained
could pollute neither water, earth nor air. A mausoleum or cemetery in
1999 was often built in the most crowded or most fashionable section of
a city. Cremation was acknowledged to be a clean, wholesome method of
burying the dead. Boys in 1999 were not under the painful necessity
while walking past a cemetery at night to whistle to keep up their
courage.
In 1899 the popular idea about cremation was erroneous and was largely
the cause of prejudice against this method of disposing of the dead. A
vast number of people believed in that year that bodies which were
cremated were literally roasted or reduced to ashes over a fierce
fire. When people, however, began to learn the truth of the matter,
that cremated bodies were placed in the retort of a crematory and
were reduced to ashes by an exceedingly high temperature and not
touched in any manner by fire, then prejudice let down the bars and
cremations soon became common.
As a result of cremation and the law of 1999 which compelled
its adoption as the only legal method of burial, undertakers
[Undertakers Wear Long Faces.] were deprived of large revenues
they often derived from the sale of caskets. Caskets were no longer
in demand because, as a wag in 1985 observed: "There is nobody to
bury." A seven foot casket of the 1899 pattern, however gorgeous,
would have been absurdly too large and meaningless to enshrine the
ashes of a departed relative. Such contrivances were good enough in
the backward age of the nineteenth century. Burials in 1899 were made
under ground, while in 1999 they were all made above ground. In 1899,
immediately after death in a family one of the first duties was to
purchase a casket and arrange with an undertaker for the funeral. In
their unhappy frame of mind, with hearts bowed in grief, undertakers
often made terms their own way with mourners. Few mourners are in a
state of mind to drive a bargain in such moments, and they too often
yield to the blandishments of the suave casket-broker accepting any
terms he may offer. Cremation did away with this, and unscrupulous
undertakers had to come off their perch.
Hearses were not abolished in the days of cremation. The style of
the hearse entirely changed. In the place of the pompous affair of
1899, bedecked in its towering plumes, rich in silver appointments,
massive [The Twentieth Century Hearse.] structures covered with plate
glass, driven by an awe-inspiring individual perched on a high seat,
the hearse of 1999 was a far less pretentious affair. It weighed no
more than a light, racing sulky. It had four wheels. In the centre
of the vehicle, which, of course, was propelled by electricity,
was constructed a small platform about three feet square, the sides
of which were elaborately trimmed in gold and silver ornaments. The
platform was covered by an open canopy supported by four elaborate
silver pillars. The metallic case containing the ashes of the
deceased seldom exceeded 9 × 18 inches, 4 inches deep, and weighed
about four pounds. These metallic cases were of exquisite designs,
usually in highly burnished silver or gold. Those which contained
the ashes of the wealthier classes were often covered with precious
stones and brilliant gems, presenting a most artistic and attractive
appearance. These burial cases looked like jewel-boxes of an elaborate
pattern. In looking at them death was robbed of its terrors. A
beautiful jewel-case, 9 × 18 inches, containing the ashes of some
loved one did not strike one's imagination with the horror of a long
burial casket with its inanimate tenant.
There was everything about cremation to appeal to loftier ideals. The
light, portable character of the little cremation cases became more
popular than the heavy casket. The heart-rending accidents that too
often occurred under the old system of burials, became impossible
in the brighter and better days of cremation. In 1899 it sometimes
happened that in lowering a body into the grave the bottom of the
casket gave way. The rest can better be imagined than described. It
sometimes happened that [Sample Horrors of 1899.] while a funeral
procession was on its way to the cemetery, the hearse team got
frightened. In the thrilling runaway that followed the casket fell
out of the hearse and breaking open the corpse rolled out on the
ground. The horror-stricken relatives and friends would remember the
sad scene through life, mentioning it only in whispers.
These horrors of the old-style, so-called Christian burials, were
rendered impossible in the cremation regime. Not that alone, but
cremation removed from earth the most horrible experience that can be
endured by mortal man and that is premature burial. The practice of
burying bodies is a relic of barbarism. Its horrors and possibilities
are without limit. No civilized community should tolerate it. Custom
and tradition are the forces that maintain it. It does not possess a
single point in its favor, while, on the other hand, there are scores
of sound arguments against it.
No person who ever spent a minute in the fierce temperature of
a crematory ever [Can't Bury them Alive.] lived to tell the
tale. The ancient method of burial is not so certain--many cases
have come to light where people, supposed to be dead, revived
after interment. Imagine the horror of the situation. Can any human
experience be more dreadful than this one? Many cases have come to
light in the nineteenth century proving beyond a shadow of doubt that
unfortunate men and women had been buried alive. In graves opened many
weeks after burial the scratched face, torn hair and imprint of terror
upon the features told only too plainly what had happened and of the
final anguish of the unfortunate one. Such horrors were not possible
in the cremation process. If there is anything the world appreciates
it's a "sure thing"--and that salient feature of cremation did not
escape its attention.
On the day following the death of a person, after the remains had
been viewed for the last time by relatives and friends, the body was
taken by night to the crematory where it was immediately reduced to
ashes. These were carefully deposited in a small metallic burial
case and returned to the [No Hurry for the Funeral.] mortuary
residence. The date of the funeral was agreed upon and notices were
sent out to the public. Sometimes it was deemed desirable to hold the
funeral one or two months after death. In cremation funerals everything
passed off in the most leisurely manner possible, accompanied with
the highest effects of art. A funeral could be held a week, a month
or a year after death. There was ample time to make arrangements,
or to postpone a funeral on account of the weather. On the day of
interment when the ashes were to be deposited in the family vault in
the mausoleum, at the appointed hour, friends and relatives gathered
at the mortuary residence. The small metallic casket containing the
ashes of the deceased was usually placed in the centre of the room,
resting upon a light bamboo stand, covered with black velvet. The stand
was usually surrounded with choice flowers and floral designs. The
tiniest caskets used in the old burial days were double in size of
the beautiful silver and gold cases sometimes holding the ashes of
a person who might have weighed, during life, over three hundred
pounds. The absence of the large casket used in old burial days and
the substitution in its place of a small jewel-size case containing
the ashes was an agreeable innovation. Otherwise, all funeral
services in 1999 were substantially the same as in 1899. Although
the surroundings were far more pleasant, the grief of the stricken
ones was none the less profound. When funerals in 1999 were held in
a church, the exercises were about the same as in the days of the
old burial system. Instead of six bearers, only one became necessary.
There was a marked contrast between the funeral processions of 1899 and
those [Funeral Procession in 1999.] of 1999. The great, cumbersome
hearse had disappeared, and in the line of carriages that followed
the small, light electric hearse, no horses were to be seen. All
mourners' carriages were propelled by electricity. The automobile
containing the minister, led the procession, then followed the hearse
and carriages of the mourners. In 1999, when a funeral passed by,
people on the streets at the time were always careful to remove their
hats as a mark of respect to the ashes of the deceased. This was a
concession to common decency almost wholly unknown in the days of
burials. People living in 1899 should not be too severely criticised
in their lack of respect for the dead in the matter of uncovering
as a funeral procession passed by. The entire system was a relic of
barbarism and people were hardly to blame for denying this mark of
respect to such an objectionable mode of burial.
It was at first thought that cremation would destroy the sacred
memories and observances [Memorial Day in 1999.] of Memorial or
Decoration Day. In a few years, however, it was discovered that these
fears were unfounded. People in 1999 were loyal to the sacred memory
of departed ones, and on Memorial days the interior of the mausoleums
and doors of the vaults were garlanded with flowers, presenting a most
beautiful appearance. The old graves of the nineteenth and preceding
centuries were still cared for by loving hands.
These were decorated as in the good old days of 1899 and were not
in anywise neglected. Many families in the twentieth century took
up the remains of their ancestors and caused them to be cremated in
order that their ashes might rest in the same vault. It was conceded
that the ashes could never perish in a vault and another supreme
advantage in favor of the cremation system arose from the fact that
they required no care.
The abominations of the old fashioned burials were apparently without
limit. Under that barbaric system of the 19th century, it might truly
be said that after death a man had no where to lay his head. [Ejected
for Non-Payment of Rent.] One would think that after death a person
had severed his connection with the living world. Such was not the
case. It often happened that men were taken out of their graves for
non-payment of rent. That is, the lease or care of the ground not
having been satisfied or paid, the ground or cemetery lot reverts
to the Association, who dislodge the body of the tenant and offer
the cemetery lot for sale to other parties. In the 19th century,
especially in European cities, it was a common practice to lease a
grave for five years, at the expiration of which period the grave
was opened and the skeletons deposited in underground catacombs or
left to the tender mercies of medical students. The barbarity of such
practices, sanctioned by the civilization of the 19th century, need
not be dwelt upon. Cremation removed the stigma of such unholiness
from civilized nations. The ashes of the dead required no material
space and were easily disposed of. No grave rentals or purchases were
required in their case.
Last but not the least of the advantages of cremation was the
death blow it gave to [Spoils the Ghost Business.] the ghost
industry. Superstition tottered when in 1999 graveyards had been
abolished by law, as well as custom. The stately, white marble
mausoleum which held the ashes of departed ones did not possess the
gruesome appearance of the old fashioned cemeteries of 1899, with
mounds and graves scattered in every direction, some of them in a
condition of shameful neglect. There was something about a graveyard
which was naturally repellent to the living. The ones who scoffed
the loudest at ghosts, and were really very brave at noon time, were
never favorably impressed with the idea of spending a few hours alone
at night in a cemetery. When graveyards were abolished and bodies
were promptly reduced to ashes after death, superstition began to
weaken. Many people who would have been terrified at the suggestion
of keeping a dead body in a house any unusual length of time, did
not hesitate in many instances, to keep the ashes of several cremated
members of the family for years, in their parlor. Cremation removed
the sting of death, robbing it of its terrors. It was a blessing to
the world and was thereafter ever sustained by enlightened ages.
CHAPTER XX.
Newspapers in 1999.
They are still progressive and enterprising as ever and constitute
one of the bulwarks of American liberties. The Pneumatic tube
postal service and swift delivery of mails. Four daily deliveries
of mail between Manhattan and San Francisco. A Submarine Railway
Accident. A Marine Spider Crippled. Returns to Babyhood. Buying
up Titles.
It is the proud boast of America that as a nation it possesses a
larger per centage of people who can read and write than any other
nation on the habitable globe. Our excellent system of free schools
and the avalanche of newspapers that find their way into every home, at
a mere nominal cost, have vouchsafed a general diffusion of knowledge
throughout our great Republic, filling every branch of art, industry,
and every profession with men and women of brains and intelligence.
The force and power of the newspapers in America in 1899, the perfect
liberty of [Safeguards of Liberty.] the press, were regarded in
that year as guarantees of public safety, mighty levers in forming
public opinion. In 1999 the newspapers of the period had lost none
of the prestige and influence they enjoyed in the old days of sail
boats and steam engines. They were still handled in many instances
with consummate skill and wielded a power that built, as well as
shattered, governments.
In current topics and in the chronicles of events, there existed
a marked difference between the newspapers of 1899 and those of
1999. New elements and conditions had come into play which were
unknown in the period of the nineteenth century, and as a natural
result the newspaper of the twentieth century contained some curious
and interesting articles.
In 1899 the daily that got out a morning and evening edition was
regarded as an up to date affair in every sense of the term, but
in 1999 the newspaper world moved much faster. In a large daily
office four complete editions were issued every day or once every
six hours. The news poured into these daily offices with marvelous
speed. Wireless telegraphy and ærial navigation annihilated space. On
the other hand, newspaper and letter mails in 1999 were conveyed
through much swifter channels.
The postal pneumatic tube system constructed by the American government
was [Very Rapid Mail Deliveries.] a marvel of the twentieth
century. There extended from Washington, (Mexico), a network of
underground and overground pneumatic tubes reaching throughout the
Americas, penetrating all the Northern, Central and Southern States,
from the State of Alaska to the State of Argentina. Mail deliveries
made through these pneumatic tubes were exceedingly rapid. No
electrical transit or any method of ærial navigation could equal the
rapid delivery of the pneumatic tubes. The mail pouches were forced
through these large tubes and delivered at all the principal cities
in a very short space of time. Mails from Manhattan to Washington, the
seat of the national government in the State of Mexico, traversed the
distance in less than two hours. From Mexico to the State of Argentina,
as well as the Southwestern American States of Peru and Chile,
the mail transit in 1999 required but a few hours in delivery,--in
1899 it was a question of weeks. Even ærial navigation in 1999 was
found too slow to convey and deliver the mails. The pneumatic tube
system was even swifter, and with such facilities at hand it is not
surprising that people in San Francisco received four daily editions
of the Manhattan journals, although the distance between Sandy Hook
and the Golden Gate is a matter of 3,600 miles.
The subjoined clippings from the Electrical Times, of Thursday,
August 20, 1999, [The Editorial Blades of 1999.] will give the
reader a general idea of the newspapers style and matter of that
period. It will be observed that the noble race of beings known as
editors and newspaper reporters was by no means extinct in 1999. The
subtle art of telling wonderful stories and the science of making
American newspapers the foremost in the world, had been inherited by
the children of 1999 from their lively ancestors of 1899.
In 1899 Yankee genius and enterprise was conspicuous in the newspaper
line. It led the world. The latest and the best always found their
way into American print.
FAILED TO BEAT THE RECORD.
How the Glimmerglass Failed to Cross the Atlantic in Two Days.
Liverpool, Eng., Aug. 20, 1999.--The new electrical ship
Glimmerglass arrived here at 12:30, having made the ocean trip from
Manhattan (formerly known as New York) in two days, eight hours
and thirty-seven minutes, within twenty minutes of the swiftest
time ever made by a wholly equipped electrical vessel. But for
a storm of twenty hours out, the record would have undoubtedly
been beaten. Owing to a break in the wind-counteracting engines,
the storm in the locality of the ship could not be stilled and
for over an hour the passage was very rough. The counteractors
were finally put in motion and the Glimmerglass regained several
lost hours, but the odds were too greatly against it. An attempt
will be made to break the return record.
SUB-MARINE RAILWAY ACCIDENT!
Wreck of a Train in the English Channel Tube-way.
London, England, Aug. 20, 1999.--Passengers on the Dover & Calais
Sub-Marine Electric railway train No. 44, arrived at Dover in a
state of decided fright this morning. The sub-marine system runs
directly under the English channel, the trains on the line of this
company running through huge cylinders. At a point midway in the
channel one of the inverted rails, owing probably to defective
mechanism, had snapped in twain and the train, which was going
at a high rate of speed, flew from the track.
Two carriages were overturned and the engineer was killed by
being thrown violently from the cab. The passengers were forced
to remain in the tube for an hour. Several in the overturned
carriages were injured but none seriously.
MARINE SPIDER CRIPPLED.
Four of Her Legs Broken En Route to South Carolina.
Charleston, S. C., Aug. 20, 1999.--The marine spider, Nautilus,
arrived here in bad shape from Brazil to-day, one of her fore
legs having been broken. The Nautilus is one of the fleet of the
South American Importing and Exporting Company, and was built
at Charleston two years ago. The boats in this fleet were built
on the principle of an insect, it being an established fact that
a body can be carried over water much more rapidly than through
it. The spiders were fashioned after the manner of a centipede,
the feet being bell shaped and connected with a superstructural
deck by ankle-jointed pipes, through which, when necessary, a
pressure of air could be forced down upon the enclosed surface
of the water. The locomotion is like that of a pacing horse and
great speed can be maintained. The marine spider had for its
inventive source a treatise on its possibilities written by John
Jacob Astor as early as 1894.
AMERICOMANIACS.
They Cause Much Distress in the Loyal British Heart.
London, Aug. 20, 1899.--Americomania is to far prevalent in
this city that the deepest resentment is aroused in every loyal
British heart. Since the widespread abolishment of titles and the
very general purchase of historic castles and country seats by
wealthy Americans, the foreign element has been a serious menace
to English society, which has been for fifty years controlled by
the descendants of United States heiresses who married titles.
London swells are adopting the early western custom of wearing
their trousers in their boots as a distinctive touch to their
morning costumes and the sombrero is also being sold by leading
hatters. Young debutantes are cultivating the unaffected manners
of American girls, and many ambitious mothers are going so far
as to send their daughters to Manhattan, Denver and San Francisco
boarding schools.
MESSAGE FROM MARS.
Alarm Lest the Americans Shall Gain a Foothold There.
Galveston, Texas. Dec. 21.--The meteoric message which has been
expected from the planet Mars for several days, and which the
astronomers located on Pikes Peak, Colorado, left Mars over two
years ago, dropped in the bay off here to-day, striking the water
with a sizzling sound. It was still quite hot when picked up and
the metallic covering had to be broken up with an oceanic pile
driver. The message was written on asbestos paper in non-fading
ink, and a crude translation of it conveys the information
that the high ruler of the combined continents of Mars died of
gastronomic fright two years ago last November while watching an
American Thanksgiving day celebration. He predicted before his
death, that if the Americans ever got a foothold on this planet,
they would ruin the incomparable digestion of every resident by
the introduction of cranberry sauce, mince pie and plum pudding.
AIR SHIP MISSING.
The Star Chaser is Ten Days Overdue at Tokio.
Tokio, Japan, Aug. 20, 1999.--Transoceanic air ship Star Chaser
has been overdue at this port for ten days. It is feared that
the ship has been caught in an upper ether current and carried
many miles above her course.
As she has not dropped to earth anywhere, there is a strong
probability that she has risen beyond the influence of the earth's
gravitation and been drawn into the orbit of some neighboring
planet. Anxious friends of the passengers are besieging this
office for tidings of the Star Chaser.
RETURNS TO BABYHOOD.
Tragic Transition of an Aged Spinster to a Drooling Infant.
Miss Imogene Elyria of No. 678,431,222 Four Hundred and Sixty-first
street, took an overdose of Florida Age Regenerator this morning,
and was instantly reduced to a squalling infant. Miss Elyria was
a maiden lady 45 years of age, and a few days ago she sent to
Florida for a bottle of the regenerator to take for her complexion
and to reduce her age a few years.
She did not, unfortunately, follow the proper directions, and
one of her sisters, entering her bedroom this morning, found her
reduced to the age of 1 year and crying for her breakfast. She
will be taken to the Oregon age-producing springs, where, it is
hoped, the unfortunate lady may at least recover enough of her
lost years to make her a blushing debutante.
A tragic feature of the affair is the fact that Miss Elyria was
engaged to a wealthy widower, who is heart-broken at the terrible
contretemps.
BUYING UP TITLES.
Extravagant Sums Paid to the Old English Nobility.
London, Aug. 20, 1999.--The English government to-day purchased the
title of Lord Algernon Percy Augustus Dunraven for a mere song,
the consideration being £10,000. This removes one of the oldest
titles existing in modern times and only about twenty remain in
England. Since the law passed by Parliament providing for the
purchase of old titles held by the descendants of the members of
the peerage, as it existed under a monarchy, over £800,000,000
have been spent in buying up these remnants of a semi-civilized
form of government. The highest price ever paid was that for the
abolishment of the name borne by the duke of Argyle, £1,000,000.
Sir Tom Lipton, who will be henceforth known by the republican name
of Thomas Timothy Tubbs, has been reduced to poverty by reckless
expenditures entailed in his enthusiasm for air-yachting, and
it is said that he has spent £40,000 in trying to increase the
speed of his defective atmospheric racer, the Shamrock.
IT STILL INTOXICATES.
Colonel Washburn of Kentucky Prefers Death to Non-Alcoholic Liquor.
Frankfort, Ky., Aug. 20, 1999.--"Foh one I shall not vote to
destroy my Gawd given ancestral privilege to consume liquor,
sah. They may call us uncivilized barbarians, if they will, sah;
they may call down upon our degenerate heads the unbottled wrath
of the universe, but, as for me, sah, give me good old Kentucky
bourbon, or give me death!"
With these words Colonel Henry Clay Washburn concluded his
speech in the upper house of the legislature to-day on the bill
to suppress the alcoholic liquor traffic in Kentucky. For years
the annual legislative battle has centered on this issue.
Gradually state after state has abolished, what many considered
an evil, and in most localities the effects of alcoholic drinks
were destroyed by the chemical discovery which, when applied, made
them non-intoxicating. But the Blue Grass state has remained firm
as a rock, although in modern art and science it has no superior
in advancement in the union. The bill under consideration to-day
was defeated by an overwhelming vote.
The following advertisements, taken from Sidney Record, October 15,
1999, will interest our readers:
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS.
==================================================================
INDESTRUCTIBLE FOOD--Our odorless rubber oysters are all the rage;
cheap and durable; especially adapted to use in restaurants and
at church fairs; will always wear; we refer by permission to
the Ladies' Aid Society of the Church of the United Brotherhood,
which purchased sixteen gallons of our oysters five years ago,
and is using them still; will remain in a stew five hours without
corroding. Perennial Bivalve Company, 149th street.
------------------------------------------------------------------
LOST--From the upper deck of a suburban airship, a lady's picture
hat; the hat was caught in a whirlwind and is believed to have
landed somewhere near Fort Collins; its return in good condition
will insure a generous financial acknowledgment to the finder.
==================================================================
MISCELLANEOUS.
==================================================================
DON'T GO TO CHURCH--Have one of our kinetophones placed in your
house; connects with all leading churches; you can shut off sermon
whenever you wish. LONG DISTANCE RELIGIOUS COMPANY; factories in
Denver and Brooklyn.
------------------------------------------------------------------
GENTLEMEN--Buy our Breath Deodorizer; fumes of Bourbon, old
rye and lager removed instantaneously: splendid thing for those
contemplating attending evening parties or the theater.
------------------------------------------------------------------
LADIES, READ THIS--Cinderella Shoes will make a No. 6 foot that
requires an E last look like a narrow No. 1; comfortable and
durable; each pair has a patent hypnotizing attachment that
deceives even the most envious and spiteful women who catch a
glimpse of the shoes when worn.
------------------------------------------------------------------
NO HOUSEHOLD COMPLETE WITHOUT ONE--We absolutely guarantee that our
Electric Equalizer will dissipate any domestic storm and insure
harmony in families; so simple that a child can operate one;
so delicate in adjustment that the first angry word sets free a
soothing magnetic current; for sale by every drug store and dry
goods shop. Manufactured by the Anti-Divorce Mercantile Company.
==================================================================
It is not to be supposed that farming, the greatest of all American
industries, had not [Farm Hands at a Discount.] made any progress
during the twentieth century. Probably in no other field of labor was
electricity employed to better advantage. Farm hands in the nineteenth
century were as unreliable in some cases as balky horses. The farm
owner's distress and nightmare in 1899 was the farm laborer. But
in 1999 the "farm hand" was practically done away with. Horses and
farm laborers were no longer employed in the cultivation of the
land. Electricity was on tap in every part of the farm. Even the
milking and stable cleaning was done by mechanical means. In 1899 a
farmer who hired all his work done and lived along comfortably on
the proceeds [The Dignity of Labor.] of the property, was called
by the absurd title of a "gentleman farmer." The farmer who rolls
up his sleeves and toils is none the less a gentleman. A gentleman
is not always the one who spends a life of leisure and lives on the
toil of others. The hard working farmer in many cases proves to be
the real gentleman; he dignifies labor and commands the respect of
his neighbors.
In 1999 all agriculturalists were "gentleman farmers." Their great
slaves were the electrical machines. They never groaned, complained
or knocked off work in the busy season to go on an excursion. The
electrical farming implements could work all day without sitting under
a shade tree, with a jug of cider and a corn-cob pipe. They labored
patiently and faithfully and performed their tasks with great accuracy.
CHAPTER XXI.
Twentieth Century Inventions.
The Wonderful Automatic Valet,--a faithful servant and
silent friend. A Balloon-car Accident,--twelve thrown out and
killed. Excursion to the Moon. Woman Worship in France. Ready
Digested Dinners. Highly nutritious pellets for noon lunch. Ice
cream pills become popular; also delicious fruit pellets.
If some wide-awake American genius in 1999 had invented an electrical
breathing machine his invention would have been well patronized. By
the use of electrical appliances, manual labor had been reduced to
a minimum. The electric automobiles, ærodromes, ærocycles, electric
bicycles and hundreds of mechanical appliances used as labor saving
machinery, really invited laziness. If a breathing apparatus had been
invented in 1999 its sales would have been phenomenal.
In support of this statement we reproduce, herewith, an article taken
from the Scientific American, under date of May 28, 1999, as follows:
THE UNIQUE MECHANICAL FIGURE THAT DOES EVERYTHING BUT FEED
ITS OWNER.
Some years ago the need of a machine which would dress persons on
arising from bed, make their toilet and prepare them for breakfast,
or a stroll on the street, was generally felt.
Several attempts were made to supply this want, but nothing
was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of
his automatic valet. This machine was shaped very much like an
ordinary man, except that it was built on an absolutely square
plan. There were two upholstered legs, on which reposed a heavy,
square chest, and above the chest was the head, also square and
resembling a block.
Mechanism of the Valet.
The machinery was directly in the center of the body-chest,
controlling the movement of the legs and arms, the latter being
round, four jointed and twenty-seven inches long. Instead of a
face, the head bore a dial, on which the hour was depicted. The
whole valet was wound up by a small crank in the back. If a man
wished to be aroused, at, let it be said, 8 o'clock in the morning,
he adjusted the alarm button on a small dial on the face of the
large clock at that hour.
Promptly at 8 o'clock the alarm in the head of the valet exploded,
waking the sleeper. The first movement on the part of the valet
after the alarm had sounded was to move quickly but noiselessly in
the direction of the bath-room, where, by automatic stoppers, the
water is set running, stopping instantly on the tub being filled.
An Automatic Bath.
After turning on the water the valet moved back to the bed, threw
the covers aside, and with one of its automatic arms gently lifted
the man from his resting place, conveyed him to the bath-room,
laid his night robes aside and immersed him. The bath completed,
the valet drew from its chest-cupboard two fresh-towels, with
which it briskly rubbed the bather, and then again lifting him up
carried him back into the bedroom, where it proceeded to dress him
in clothes which had been laid in a certain place the night before.
From its automatic chest the valet took comb, brush and whisk
broom, and in less time than would be ordinarily consumed in
telling about it, the toilet was completed. A feature of the
invention, as perfected by Pantalon, was the arrangement on the
time dial by which the speed of the valet could be regulated,
and a man could be dressed quickly or slowly, as he preferred. For
busy men, M. Pantalon has invented valets that do the business in
less than three minutes, including bath. The chief value of these
valets is that, not being human, they cannot gossip, and every man
may become a hero to his valet, provided the valet is automatic.
In 1999 the mania for saving time and obtaining rapid results
simply knew no bounds. It is a wonder that the inventive genius of
the Yankees was not applied to the perfection of some machine that
would compel the universe to rotate more rapidly upon its axis. So
great was the rush of human affairs that people found little time
[Nutritious Pellets for Lunch.] to eat. The feverish, mad rush of
the age was intense. No better proof of this can be found than in the
success of a peculiar enterprise, which in 1899 would have proved
a flat failure. In the good old days of 1899 people at least took
time to eat, but in 1999 a big company was capitalized to manufacture
and sell Ready Digested Dinners. In order to save time, people often
dined on a pill,--a small pellet which contained highly nutritious
food. They had little inclination to stretch their legs under a table
for an hour at a time while masticating an eight-course dinner.
The busy man in 1999 took a soup-pill or a concentrated meat-pill for
his noon day lunch. He dispatched these while working at his desk. His
fair typewriter enjoyed her office lunch in the same manner. Ice-cream
pills were very popular,--all flavors, also the fruit pellets. These
the blonde and brunette typewriters of 1999 preferred to the bouillon
or consommé pellets.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Fine Arts in 1999.
The art of Color-photography perfected in 1920. The world's
great artists witness the death-knell of art. The doom of cheap
chromos. Nature paints her own matchless pictures. The sculptor's
art remains supreme in 1999. No machine can ever chisel a Venus
de Milo. No substitute found for the human voice.
Painting, in 1999, had become a lost art, doomed, alas, never to
revive. The glorious canvases of the old masters were still highly
treasured. There still existed artists who threw their entire souls
into beautiful paintings, superb creations of their artistic minds,
true in every detail to nature. Although painting as a high art
still existed in 1999, yet, as a profession and a means of obtaining
a livelihood, it died very much after the manner of wood engraving,
when the half tone process was perfected and had come into general use.
In the year 1912, after many struggles and disappointments,
Prof. Deweyton, of the Montpelier, (Vt.) University, perfected the
process of color-photography. This coveted secret, at last, had been
wrested from nature. For centuries her beauties had been admired
but never had she consented to transfer her own original colors on
photographic plates and canvas.
When the art of color photography was perfected, the world then had
little use for [The Passing of the Artist.] easels, palettes and
painters. Nature became the Artist of the world and none dared to
dispute her sway. At first it was with a feeling of sadness that
the world parted with the art profession and its devotees, men and
women who had imparted to canvas the world's historic scenes, the
portraits of the world's great men, enchanting, noble women. The
works of these great artists had delighted the children of men for
many centuries. Raphael, Titian, Michael Angelo, Correggio, Guido,
and other famous artists, had bequeathed their glorious treasures
of art to a grateful world, and even color photographic pictures
done by nature's own hand cannot rob these eminent artists of an
iota of their fame. It was sad to think that after the discovery of
color-photography great artists would lose their prestige, for none
can rival nature in her own art.
This new process of Nature painting rendered to the world an invaluable
service by [The Chromo Affliction Subsides.] driving out of the
market a flood of cheap pictures and chromos of the most inferior
class; pictures that had crept into many homes simply because they
were cheap. These afflictions, too often paraded with flash moulding
on the walls of our homes, were driven out by color-photography. In
1950 the old-style chromos were rare; they quickly disappeared from
the habitations of men.
Through the specially constructed cameras of Prof. Deweyton, life
size pictures [Glorious Sunset Views.] were secured, large landscape
scenes, magnificent marine views, were reproduced with the exact
colors of nature. Superb sunset views, in a matchless wealth of color,
a revelry of gold and crimson, were transferred to canvas by natural
process in 1920. This process became the great art triumph of the
twentieth century. No human hand had ever attempted with any hope
of success to reproduce on canvas the bewitching and mystic effects
of the gloaming. Nature with her master hand, dared to reproduce, on
canvas, this most difficult of all artistic studies. Michael Angelo,
the supreme chief of all living or dead artists, never attempted to
reproduce on canvas Vesuvius in active eruption. No human power could
do the faintest justice to such a scene and no master of the art ever
cared to risk his reputation in the attempt. But in color-photographs
Nature reproduced the exact colors of the seething flames as they
belched forth from the quivering crater. In 1930 a magnificent picture
of Vesuvius, Ætna or Stramboli in active eruption could be purchased
for the pitiable sum of $50. So perfectly natural were the volcanic
flames that the effect was startling. The lava [Could Almost Smell
the Sulphur.] running down the mountain side apparently threatened
to set fire to the very walls of the room. A picture of this kind,
a feeble representation painted by some eminent artist, would cost
over $10,000.
The process of color-photography proved invaluable in reproducing
human features and expression. Nothing could exceed the perfection the
art attained in 1935. Photographic studios were crowded with work. No
skill of man had ever transferred to canvas the maiden's blush, that
emblem of purity, a shade Divine which mantles the brow of innocence
only. The cameras of 1935 proved equal to that delicate task. The maid
caught blushing in color photography blushed on, alas, forever. In
detecting criminals, the new art proved invaluable. The Rogues'
Gallery was soon filled with studies in life and deviltry, so natural
that one's first impulse was to reach out for a pair of handcuffs.
Although painting, in 1999, and long before that date, had received
a severe blow, the sculptor's art remained unchanged. The sculptor
was still supreme in his domain. No machine had yet been found that
could take a block of pure Parian marble and carve out a Venus de
Milo. Nature had invaded the artist's studio and robbed him of an
honored profession, but nature, great and mighty as she certainly
is, had not yet, in 1999, found a way to fashion a block of cold
marble into a thing of beauty, an exact image of life. Statuary was
still regarded in the twentieth century as the acme of true art. The
sculptor had not yet been dethroned; it is doubtful if he ever will
be. The new and most ingenious machines of the twentieth century met
their Manila on statuary. No machine can ever [Limits to Inventive
Genius.] be built that will reason or think. It requires thought,
judgment and artistic taste to create a statue. As the artist beholds
a perfect model, he becomes thrilled with the love of his art. His
heart and hands are guided by fires of ambition and his work excites
admiration. The human brain is often duplicated by machinery, but the
equal of the human heart, with its subtle emotions, must ever remain
a Sealed Book to cold, unfeeling mechanism.
The same might be said of the human voice. In 1999, that peerless gift
of God to man, that wonderful channel through which all emotions
are expressed, had not been uprooted by mechanism. The Pattis,
Nordicas and Melbas of the twentieth century were still held in high
esteem, commanding princely stipends. The domain of all mechanical
music, however, had been invaded to a large extent. Pianos, organs,
orchestral and metallic instruments, which had attained a high degree
of perfection in the nineteenth century, were generally discarded
in the twentieth century. The tendency of the age favored mechanical
music. The automatic musical instruments, which in 1889 had already
attained a certain degree of perfection, were greatly improved. In the
navy cornet bands were discarded and were substituted by large musical
machines that played operas, marches, quicksteps, waltzes and patriotic
airs with wonderful accuracy, with a volume of sound surpassing the
best efforts of efficient brass bands. In the army, the brass band
always held its own. The men who composed the band could march and
fight, while no automatic substitute could be made to do this.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Improvements of The Age.
The advantages of Electrical conveyances. No fire departments
required and Insurance companies lose their grip. Tobacco chewing
and spitting prohibited in public places. Cigarettes are condemned
by law. Moderation in the use of wines. Great advancement in
medical science. A purified stage. Religious toleration becomes
more universal. Jews give Jerusalem the "marble heart."
The changes in our social system that signalized the period of 1999
were marked and contrasted very favorably with the conditions extant
in 1899.
Street noises that rendered city and often village life unendurable,
in 1899 were entirely [Uproar of Vehicles Abolished.] abolished in
1999. The clattering of horses' hoofs became unknown in city life. Milk
wagons, enormous furniture vans, the brewery wagon with its pyramid of
beer kegs, rattling express carts, mail delivery wagons and thundering
omnibuses no longer tortured the human ear in 1999. Automobiles had
sent the clattering hoofs to Tophet and electricity, with pneumatic
tires, was exclusively used in transportation.
It was a curious sight in 1999 to observe the life and animation of
rapidly moving, yet noiseless, vehicles in city streets. Shouting,
whistling and all loud noises were strictly prohibited on all public
avenues. The jingling of bells, the yells of street Arabs, the thunder
of wagon wheels over pavements and the pandemonium that reigned on
all streets in 1899 became memories of a strange past.
The black pall of smoke that hovered over manufacturing cities
and darkened the [Havanas Cent Apiece.] lives of all men, had
disappeared. Electricity drove smoke back into Hades and kept it
there. Manhattan, (formerly New York) the largest and grandest city
in the world in 1999, was no longer troubled in this manner. The only
smoke that was ever seen in city or country life curled up from Havana
cigars, of the best grades raised on American plantations in Cuba and
retailed in Manhattan for one cent apiece. Pipes were occasionally
used but had lost much of their former popularity. Workmen and the
poorest classes could enjoy a fragrant Havana for one cent and pipes
were no longer used on the mere pretence of economy.
In the 20th century the tobacco chewer's life was not an enjoyable
one. In many States of the Americas, in 1999, notably Brazil, East
Canada and Argentina, it became a penal offense to chew tobacco
in public. In 1999 tobacco chewing was everywhere regarded in the
United States of the Americas in the same light as opium smoking. It
was considered a filthy practice, one that must not be tolerated
in public. It was regarded as a danger to public health for men
to spit chewing tobacco on the street walks. Ladies in 1999 made
up their minds that they had got through stepping on tobacco quids
on the streets. Indeed, spitting had been prohibited in all public
places. The habit was filthy and dangerous, causing the spread of
disease germs. In 1980 it frequently happened that the city police
raided chewing tobacco joints and hauled the offenders before court
for fine.
But, perhaps the worst form of smoking was the diabolical cigarette. In
1899 it [Arrested for Smoking Cigarettes.] was already sapping the
youth of America, filling our hospitals with the sick and our State
asylums with imbeciles. Great fears were already entertained in 1899
as to the outcome, but public opinion did not realize the danger to
the national safety until 1912. In 1921 Congress passed a law making
the sale, importation or manufacture of cigarettes a felony. Every
inducement was extended by National and State Legislatures to encourage
the growth of the purest Havana and Manila tobaccos. The object was
to place a good, harmless cigar within the reach of everyone and to
discourage the chewing and cigarette practices.
In 1999 moderation in the use of wines and beverages became almost
universal. Even in the State of Mexico and other tropical States
of the Americas, drunkenness became almost unknown. In fact, it was
regarded as a deep disgrace and a penal offense to be caught drunk
in public. A drunken man was regarded in 1999 as a moral leper and
was isolated from his fellow creatures for a period of one year and
forever after was debarred from holding any public office. The law
was sternly administered in every case which carried conviction.
The vicious laws of 1899 which allowed the government to collect an
enormous [Drunkenness Very Rare.] revenue on spirituous liquors and
permitted manufacturers to poison their victims with noxious liquids
were greatly ameliorated. The National government took up the work
of purification in the matter of manufacturing all liquors. A much
purer and safer article, much less liable to injure one's health
and to intoxicate, was placed on the market. It was recognized that
the government could not regulate the appetites of people, but it
determined to regulate the purity of the liquors they drank. This
wise course produced a decided change for the better. Drunkenness was
reduced to a minimum and homes were made happier. Although men still
"drank" in 1999, none but an abject sot ever lost his mental balance
and disturbed public peace.
In 1999 vast strides of progress had been made in medicine and surgery,
and disease had been eliminated to a very large extent from our social
system. Science attained a complete mastery over the hitherto unknown
[Triumph of Mind Over Matter.] field of organisms. Man's mastery over
these agents marked the greatest stride ever made in the conquest of
mind over matter. All classes of bacteria were held under perfect
control. In 1999 contagious and infectious diseases occurred only
in sporadic form. The chief ills of life were those attendant upon
old age.
Specific organisms, namely those of construction and destruction,
were created at will in that year, and were made to work with certain
and perfect results. In this manner disease was easily combated.
Fire departments in the city lost much of their old-time importance. In
1999 only ten fire stations were required in the great metropolis of
Manhattan. In 1899 the population of New York was 3,500,000 and the
number of its brave firemen ran up in the ten thousands. In 1999 the
population of Manhattan was nearly 25,000,000 souls, and its fire
department required only three thousand firemen to operate it. The
reason for this is very simple. In 1899 fire was used everywhere;
while in 1999 very few houses had any use for that element. Electricity
had completely abolished fire as a domestic agent or motive power. In
1999 people never ceased to marvel how their predecessors got along
with so much fire, in one form or other, burning in their houses.
The sufferings of the poor in crowded city tenements during the fierce
heats of summer, with a coal stove in their room, [Very Little Fire
Used.] were recalled. The frightful heat took away all energy and
appetite. Then the burning kerosene lamps were called to mind. Furnaces
with roaring fires of coal, wood and oil, gas jets, matches, all
helped to increase the percentage of danger. Fire departments were
in great demand in the good old days of 1899, and insurance companies
amassed fortunes by the side of which Monte Cristo was a mere Lazarus.
In those days fire not only constantly threatened the destruction
of property, but many thousands of valuable lives were destroyed
every year by that element. In 1899 women still clung to their long,
dangerous and unhealthy skirts, long dresses that impeded their
movements and exposed them to constant danger from fire. Fearful
tales on land and sea were told of horrible sacrifices by fire. In
1999 all this was banished, never to return. Fires were extinguished
everywhere. A safer and better element had taken its place. The
Pharsees of India were, perhaps, the only people in 1999 who still
"worshipped" fire.
Theatres in 1999 were extensively patronized, but so rigid were the
laws against immoral displays that none ventured to violate. The
cause of morality generally had made strides of progress in the
20th century. The world grew brighter and better and became more
humane. Vice and immorality were suppressed, not so much by operation
and fear of the law but by Christianizing methods. As the world grew
older it became more manifest that crime and immorality must make
way for purity and honesty. Theatrical performances in 1999 were more
chaste, more attractive and entertaining. The exhibitions of nudity,
so [No Seeley Dinners in 1999.] common in 1899, became unknown to
the stage in 1999. Electricity was very successfully employed in all
scenic stage effects. Some spectacular performances were beautiful
visions of fairyland. Public entertainments carefully suppressed
all that appealed to the baser passions. In 1899 our churches and
theatres were still apart, but in 1999 so marked was the purity of
the stage and so lofty its ideals, that church members were not afraid
to acknowledge that they attended the theatres.
Churches, on the other hand, became more Christianized in 1999. The
envy, wrath and jealousy which existed between the denominations
and religions lost much of their acrimony in the 20th century. The
hatred and contempt that the Mohammedan [An Era of Fraternal Love.]
entertained for the Christian, had greatly softened. The Roman
Catholic, the Greek and Protestant Churches, followers of the same
Saviour, regarded each other with more fraternal feelings and became
more tolerant. As education became more generally diffused, humanity
broadened the heart. Children in 1999 could not comprehend the infamy
of a nation that could perpetrate the horrors of the Inquisition under
a pretext of serving the cause of a gentle Christ. Their minds could
not understand how in the 17th century both Protestants and Catholics
burned, pillaged and destroyed one another's property; burned men,
women and children at the stake and committed nameless horrors,
all under a sacrilegious pretext of serving a Divine Master. These
persecutions and the unfriendly feelings between opposing religions
almost disappeared toward the close of the 20th century. The acrimony
of the past was buried to a very large extent.
In 1899 the leading religions of the world, in point of numbers,
were Buddhism, and the followers of Confucius, who in that year
numbered 485,000,000 followers. Next in force of numbers at the
close of the nineteenth century ranked the Christians, who numbered
454,729,151. The Mohammedans numbered in 1899 about 170,000,000,
Brahmanists 139,000,000, and Pagans or Heathens 220,000,000.
Christians were by far the most enlightened, most powerful
and progressive religious [Christianity the Light of the World.]
element at the close of the nineteenth century and were firm believers
in the cause of education. Through their influence in the twentieth
century education became widely diffused. Turkey felt the force of
the movement, and the dense ignorance of its population became more
enlightened and less cruel. In 1999 the Christians of Armenia were
no longer held in bondage. The horrible massacres of 1894 which so
deeply stirred the hearts of all nations were memories of the past. The
Sublime Porte had ordered that education be made compulsory between
the ages of ten and fifteen years. Through English influence the cause
of education was also generally diffused throughout Africa. Where
education gained a foothold superstition was uprooted.
Christianity made rapid advance in the world in 1999, and Christians
outnumbered all other religious beliefs. The sublime gospel of the
Cross dominated the human family in that year, inspiring more love
and gentleness among men. The vital force of Christianity, perhaps
little understood in the nineteenth century, became a mighty lever for
good in the following century. At the close of the twentieth century
indications pointed to a general christianizing of all peoples of
the globe. The three leading powers of the world, the United States
of the Americas, Great Britain and Russia, and in fact the whole
of Europe, except Spain, which country was obliterated in 1930,
as already described, exerted a mighty moral force upon the other
nations. Even Japan was rapidly coming under the banner of the Cross.
In 1940 the ancient city of Jerusalem was delivered over into the
keeping of a Christian power. All the territory about that ancient
city, including the seaport of Jaffa, Bethlehem, the Mt. of Olives,
and other localities made sacred by the Mantle of our glorious Saviour
while on earth, were transferred by the Ottoman government into the
safe keeping of the German people.
The Jews never returned to Jerusalem to rule again in that
city. Centuries of persecution had driven them into every corner of
the globe and under the protection of every flag. They had no use
for Jerusalem in the twentieth century and nothing was farther from
their minds than the re-establishment of the Jewish hierarchy. Their
business had long been established all over the world and under no
consideration could they be induced to return to the land of their
forefathers, merely on a point of sentiment. Should the Messiah ever
again return to earth, they argued, it mattered little whether they
were huddled together in Jerusalem or scattered over the globe.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Arbitration.
It was not a complete but only a partial success. Certain
international questions cannot be adjusted by arbitration. The
losses of the American Civil War. Europe's terrible war record
during the nineteenth century. The Great American Republic in
1999 has no use for arbitration.
In the twentieth century many bloody wars were averted by the peaceful
offices of arbitration. The Great Dream of Universal peace, however,
had not been fully realized in 1999. In the political life of all
nations controversies arise that cannot be left for adjudication
to arbitration. Were it not so all disputations might be entrusted
to the decision of the arbiter and the world would gain immensely by
the abolition of the savage methods of war. A majority of the disputes
between nations can be settled by arbitration, but not all. No tribunal
of arbitration could have decided the issue in 1898 between America and
Spain. It was a question of tyranny. Spain was determined [Questions
That Cannot Be Arbitrated.] to maintain a hell at our very doors in
Cuba. That nation could not conquer Cuba and had proved, after over
four hundred years, her utter inability to govern that island. In the
face of wanton persecution, tyranny and merciless outrage perpetrated
by Spain, would America have been justified in leaving its contention
to arbitration? Certainly not.
When, in 1870, Count Beneditti, openly insulted the King of Prussia
at Ems and aroused the indignation of all German subjects, what
could Prussia do, leave the matter to arbitration? Impossible. After
Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba and returned to France in
1815, ought the other nations of Europe which he had overrun with fire
and sword, to have consented to arbitration as a means of quieting
Europe? Certainly not. When in 1860 the Southern States of America
seceded from the Union, declared their right of self government and
privilege of perpetuating slavery, what tribunal of arbitration could
have decided the issue between the North and South? None.
Human passions and ambitions did not change in the twentieth
century. International [It Commanded Universal Respect.] quarrels
arose in the nineteenth century which could not be submitted to
arbitration and war became the final resort. At the same time the
world's call for arbitration, and the efforts made to enthrone Peace
instead of War, never ceased to occupy the minds of twentieth century
statesmen. The history of the world for centuries had been written
in blood. The enormous standing armies of Europe were fast sapping
the vitality and energy of those nations. Something had to be done
to avert catastrophe and financial ruin and the Czar's call for a
Peace Congress at the Hague, justly commanded the respect of the world.
War is a dreadful stain upon humanity. It is cruel, barbarous. The
twentieth century was not equal to the task of entirely substituting
peace for war, but made great progress in that direction.
In the nineteenth century the North spent $4,800,000,000 during the
American [Cost of the American Civil War.] Civil War, and the South
spent $2,300,000,000. The number of casualties in the volunteer and
regular armies of the United States during this war were as follows:
Killed in battle, 67,056; died of wounds, 43,012; died of disease,
199,720; died from other causes, 40,154; total number of deaths,
349,944. The number of soldiers in the Confederate service, who died
of wounds or disease, was about 133,800.
The world's plea for arbitration in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries was indeed a forceful one and the Peace Conference at
the Hague in 1899 deserved absolute success. It has been estimated
that 40,000,000 human beings perish in war every century. Since
the Trojan war (about 3,000 years ago), it is estimated that
1,000,200,000 men have perished (up to the close of the nineteenth
century) in battle. The population of the world in 1899 was placed at
1,500,000,000. If all who had been killed in battle since the Trojan
war could be ranged on a field and the entire population of the world
also enumerated, the numbers of the killed would nearly equal those
of the living.
In the 19th century in no direction was so much human energy wasted
as in preparation for war or in the process of actual warfare. It
was stupendous folly and a crime, a blot upon civilization. With such
terrible figures before them the advocates of universal peace might
well take heart at the sight of a Peace Conference, gathered in 1899
to adopt measures to reduce European armaments. During the last half
of the 19th century the following great wars were waged:
War. Cost. Losses.
Italian (1859) $300,000,000 45,000
Austro-Prussian (1866) 330,000,000 45,000
Crimean, 1,700,000,000 150,000
Russio-Turkish, 1,000,000,000 225,000
Franco-Prussian, 2,500,000,000 210,000
Zulu and Afghan, 300,000,000 40,000
American civil war, 7,100,000,000 800,000
--------------- ---------
Totals, $13,230,000,000 1,515,000
These figures are frightful but they represent only a fraction of the
losses of life and treasure through war, during the last half of the
19th century. The above figures do not include scores of other wars
that occurred during that period. The Chino-Japanese war did not
reduce the population of the Celestials to any appreciable extent
but in loss of treasure it proved a costly struggle. The war between
Spain [A Story only Half Told.] and America, commencing April 21st,
and ending October 26, 1898, must also be reckoned in this list. The
ceaseless tribal wars of Asia and Africa, also the French colonial
wars in Madagascar, Tonquin, Siam, and the endless struggles between
savage races of Borneo, Sumatra, the Zulus and head-hunters of the
Philippine islands must all be included in the list of mortality from
warfare during the last half of the 19th century.
The plea for arbitration and the cessation of war was a noble effort
and a just tribute to the civilization of the closing days of the
nineteenth century. America lent her voice in the cause of Peace at
the Hague Conference. In the interests of humanity this was the proper
course to follow. America at this conference represented 75,000,000
of the most intelligent, brave and industrious people on earth,
whose army was a mere corporal's guard.
In the twentieth century, however, the great United States of the
Americas, with [America a law Unto Herself.] its magnificent sweep
of territory extending from Alaska to Patagonia, and its national
capital built on the site of the city of Mexico, had little use for
arbitration. In 1999 the vast American Republic had become a world in
itself. It had long passed the period when it had become necessary to
consult other nations on international questions and abide by their
wishes. America in 1999 was a law unto herself, and had very little
use for arbitration in the disposition of her international affairs.
Arbitration answers very well providing that the arbiters are just
and impartial and prove themselves able to arrive at a decision in
perfect justice and equity. But America in the twentieth century,
on account of her enormous expansion and world-wide commerce, had
excited the jealousy as well as cupidity of every other civilized
nation, with the one exception of Great Britain. In any court of
international arbitration in which America might appear either as a
plaintiff or as a defendant, the chances were largely in favor of a
decision being rendered against her.
America was denied justice in these international courts of
arbitration. Left to the [Europe Becomes Jealous of America.]
decision of European arbiters her case was invariably lost. Even in
1898 Europe's jealousy was ill-concealed. Germany and France would
have been glad indeed to have assisted Spain in taming the Yankee
and the rest of Europe, England excepted, would have applauded their
interference. Because of England's firm stand Germany and France
decided that prudence was the better part of valor, and those two
nations declined to have their navies blown out of salt water by the
combined navies of England and America.
If, as above evidenced, Europe regarded America in 1898 with feelings
of envy and malice, imagine then the European condition of mind towards
the great American Republic in 1999 when it contained a population of
over 500,000,000 citizens, inclusive of a territory that represented
nearly one-fourth of the habitable globe.
European nations in the twentieth century (always excepting Great
Britain) would have been very glad, at any time, to attack and humble
America, but so great was the power of our noble Republic in that
era that even the combined assaults of the world could not have
accomplished this feat.
As a natural consequence of this unfriendly feeling on the part
of Europe, which grew in strength as time rolled on, America in
the twentieth century withdrew from the International Court of
Arbitration. America became big enough, strong and willing enough to
take care of herself. In other words, throughout the twentieth century,
Uncle Sam ran his own ranch and had things pretty much his own way.
CHAPTER XXV.
Improved Social Conditions.
Kissing prohibited in the twentieth century. The curbing of the
tongue. The National punishment for wife beaters. The passing of
the tramp. New methods of salutation. Vegetarians remain true to
principle. Horse flesh as an article of food. Schools for training
housekeepers. American hotels in 1999 still lead the world.
Kissing as a fine art was on the wane in the twentieth century. In
the nineteenth century the Japanese had long banished that custom as
one dangerous to health and as a medium for communicating infectious
diseases. In that remarkable and highly progressive country no kisses,
or salutation with the lips, are exchanged between husband and wife,
parent and son, brother and sister.
The custom, without doubt, is an unwholesome one, yet one in vogue
for so [Kissing Strictly Prohibited.] many centuries, even in the
days of the Romans, that it became a second nature. In the nineteenth
century one might as well attempt to scale Mt. Rainier with a ladder
as to endeavor to convince the mother of a new born babe that kissing
is a dangerous habit. The lover in his rapturous mode expresses in
a kiss the acme of his devotion. It seems cruel to destroy idols
before whom we have bowed down and offered incense during a whole
lifetime. Custom, tradition and education are hard task-masters. They
cling to us through life like limpets to a rock.
Kissing, however, never came under ban of the law in the twentieth
century, but the practice was discontinued on purely hygienic
grounds. The mode of salutation in 1999 that was regarded as being the
most tender expression of love, consisted of a gentle patting of the
cheek. The advanced reason of the age broke the barriers of custom
in this case; lips were seldom allowed to touch lips. A pressure
of the hand became ample compensation for the most ardent lovers,
while the matchless language of the eyes left no room for doubt in
a lover's breast that his love was reciprocated.
In the twentieth century men began to acknowledge the absolute folly
of the [The Cursing Habit.] cursing habit. If any excuse could ever
be offered in palliation of this vicious habit it might be made in
the case of a man whose mind was disturbed by angry passions. In an
outburst of passion a slight pretext might be offered for the vigorous
use of unwritten Anglo-Saxon. But the twentieth century very properly
turned its face against the practice of verbal profanation. This
reprehensible habit was made punishable, in every instance, by a
heavy fine and imprisonment.
In the nineteenth century laws against profanity already existed,
but they were a dead-letter on all of our statute books. In those days
men might quarrel in public or in private; they might hurl epithets at
one another by the hour or by the day, so long as neither one of the
belligerents raised a hand against the other, society and law took no
cognizance of the unhappy occurrence. Men might exchange the vilest
expressions and fill the air with their sulphurous maledictions;
they might insult the public ear with a riot of profanation, no breach
of the peace occurred in the eye of the law until blows were given
or exchanged.
In the twentieth century it was finally discovered that the tongue
was often a more offensive disturber of the peace than a blow of
the fist. It was then recognized that vile expressions, particularly
those which attacked innocent members of a family, were more cruel
and cutting than blows delivered by hand or weapon. Society and law
in the twentieth century determined to uproot and severely punish
the offending of a vile tongue.
Wife-beaters in 1999 were speedily brought to time. These
degraded specimens of humanity finally received their just dues
on conviction. The lash which the State of Delaware wields to such
excellent advantage in many criminal cases was generally regarded as
inadequate punishment for such brutes. It was felt that wife-beaters
should be made conspicuous examples before the community.
Every town in the Americas, from Alaska to Patagonia, was provided
with a large [Punishment of Wife Beaters.] derrick, erected upon a
solid stone foundation on the edge of some body of water. On the day
and hour appointed for the execution of the sentence, the culprit was
taken from the town jail or lock-up by the sheriff of the county. A
large concourse of citizens usually gathered in the locality of the
derrick to witness the "water cure." Arriving there, the sheriff
adjusted two belts around the prisoner, one under his arms and the
[A First-class Water Cure.] other about his loins. The belts were
connected by a broad strap over the back, in the center of which was
firmly fastened a large hook. This hook was fastened to the chain or
rope of the derrick. Upon a given signal the prisoner was hoisted to
the top of the arm of the derrick, which was then swung over the sheet
of water. The windlass of the derrick was let loose and the prisoner
plunged, usually a distance of twenty feet, into the water. He was
then hoisted up again, and the dose repeated three more times. When
the punishment was over the prisoner was properly cared for by the
sheriff and his possé. He was conveyed in some vehicle back to the
jail, where his ducking suit was removed. Attendants were on hand,
who rubbed him dry and helped him put on his own clothes. He was
then given refreshment and a cup of strong coffee and admonished to
go forth and do better.
In the by-gone days of the eighteenth century, highwaymen, Dick
Turpins, Jack [Highwaymen and Pirates.] Shepherds and the robber
element, held high carnival, flourishing in their plenitude and
zenith. The old stage coach days greatly favored the success of
their profession. The appearance of steam ruined their avocation. The
same fate befell the pirates of the high seas, marine highwaymen who
thrived and carried on their nefarious trade in the days of sailing
ships. When steam came into general use it became impossible for them
to ply their trade. A steam pirate ship could not very well carry on
operations. Frequent coaling and repairs to machinery soon revealed
their identity.
The highwayman and his confrère, the pirate, were children of the 18th
century. The conditions of that period favored their existence. They
who would pursue the highwayman must have the swifter horse, otherwise
pursuit became futile. The sailing man-of-war that would overtake
the pirate must have a swifter keel or lose the race. But when came
the days of steam these marauders by land and sea were driven from
their lairs.
These were products of the 18th century, but it was in the 19th century
that the tramp, a degenerate son of the bold thieves above mentioned,
first saw the light [The Great American Tramp.] of day. The tramp of
the 19th century, (an exclusive exotic of that era,) was a compound
mixture of loafer and robber. He led a life of leisure. The law of that
period rather encouraged his existence than otherwise. After roaming
over the country during the open summer weather, as the first flakes
of snow fell, the tramp, with the utmost ease, contrived to secure a
six months' sentence in some county jail. Once safely ensconced under
the sheriff's wing for the winter months, he congratulated himself
as a most favored [A Tramp's Paradise in 1899.] mortal. He was sure,
above all things, of not having any work to do. That supreme misfortune
having been averted, the tramp was at peace with the world. Work and
soap were his deadly enemies; could the jail save him from these,
come what might, his serenity of mind remained undisturbed. He had
a warm bed, three regular warm meals daily, with the privilege of
playing cards, smoking and reading as suited best his fancy. What
better could any tramp ask for? The county jail was to him a haven
of rest,--a paradise.
This delightful condition of affairs, however, rapidly changed in
the 20th century. Society grew tired of turning county jails into
tramp colleges, from which, after a very pleasant winter's rest,
the tramp graduated in the spring and was again let loose upon the
community. Tramps were compelled to work or starve in our county
jails long before 1910. They were given plenty of stone to crush
under suitable sheds, and the product of their labor contributed
to better roads. After a few years, the new law had its effect. The
tramp rapidly disappeared and monuments of stone were raised in every
county jail to the memory of an extinct species.
The twentieth century method of exchanging salutations in public places
was in marked contrast with the custom that obtained in the nineteenth
century. During the latter period on meeting friends or acquaintances
in public places, it was a custom established from time immemorial,
when ladies and gentlemen met, for the gentleman to uncover by raising
his hat. [New Style of Salutation.] This was a graceful as well as
a distinct act of courtesy. The lady, however, in nine cases out of
ten, acknowledged the salutation, by merely looking in the direction
of the one who had just saluted her. The lady occasionally added
a smile in cases that were warranted by ties of friendship. These
courtesies were graceful but in the twentieth century the ladies
were the first to acknowledge that their method of salutation was
ambiguous and indefinite. It was not as pronounced and distinctive as
the salutation accorded them by the sterner sex. Suspicion crept into
the public mind that there was room for improvement in the exchange
of salutation on both sides.
About the period of 1925 a radical change was effected. Upon meeting
in public places, it was no longer customary for the gentleman to
uncover, or for the lady to cast a glance in acknowledgment of his
salutation. The mode was simplified. Ladies and gentlemen saluted
one another in precisely the same manner. Each one, upon approach,
raised their right hand in military salute, touching the hat, and by
a quick movement, letting the hand drop to the side. This new custom
placed both sexes upon equal and exact terms.
Whenever, in the twentieth century, a gentleman addressed a lady, after
the usual military salutation, it was his duty to uncover and hold his
hat in his right hand, regardless of the weather. Failure to do this
would result in non-recognition on the part of the lady. The respect
due to the fair sex perceptibly increased in the twentieth century
and so must it ever increase as the world's civilization advances.
Man may be classed as being a carniverous animal. Vegetarians hold a
different theory. They banish from their tables the flesh of beasts
or birds that have been killed, eschewing meats of all kinds. It is
the privilege of the vegetarian to live up to the dietary standard
which he has adopted. Two-thirds of the human family take issue with
the vegetarian on this subject. The vast majority are in favor of
meats of all kinds as an article of food. In the nineteenth, and,
in fact, in all the preceding centuries, the delicacies of the table
most highly esteemed were those in which rare viands of every variety
were included.
A model nineteenth century table reveled in such dishes as turbot à
la cardinal, mutton [A Standard of Food.] chops, pork cutlets, lamb,
spring chicken, selle-de mouton, ham, tongue, roast partridge, roast
duck with sage dressing, turkey and cranberry sauce, braized mutton,
deviled crabs, meat fritters, sausage, cold boiled ham. These savory
meat dishes invariably played leading rôles at the tables of rich and
poor. Vegetables and desserts were regarded as adjuncts to the feast.
Vegetarians regard such food as alien to the human system and
unnecessary to its sustenance. Added to this the vegetarians entertain
a sentimental view of the meat-food question. They claim that man has
no right to kill beast, fish, bird or fowl, to secure food supplies,
and that all flesh food should be eliminated from the human system. A
vegetarian's table was garnished with delightful dishes, such as sliced
oranges, buttered toast, baked quinces, quaking omelet, shredded wheat
biscuits, dates with quaker oats, fried hominy, stewed prunes, macaroni
and cheese, stewed fig with whipped cream, French-fried potatoes,
oyster plant and rice muffins. These dishes are clean and wholesome,
although decidedly tame from certain points of view.
Vegetarians in 1999 were more emphatic in their views than their
brethren of 1899. [Vegetarians Refuse to Wear Shoes.] They still
enjoyed peanut sandwiches, fried egg-plant steak, health crackers,
nut biscuits, spiced beans and other delicacies dear to the hearts
of those who have foresworn eating the flesh of "suffering, sentient
things." In 1999 vegetarians refused to wear leather shoes. It came
hard at first but shoes had to be sacrificed to principle. They refused
to eat meat because it necessitated the killing of beast or fowl. On
this account also they refused to wear shoes of leather because the
beef must be killed in order to procure the leather. For the same
reason vegetarians in 1999 refused to wear silk of any kind because
its manufacture cost the lives of the dear little worms. They also
refused, for the same reason, to carry alligator skin pocket books. It
was so wrong to kill the poor alligators. Vegetarians claim that flesh
is from ten to twenty times more expensive than fruits or cereals,
and that it is unphilosophical and unbusinesslike to pay the larger
sum for inferior food. Neither justice nor benevolence can sanction
the revolting cruelties that are daily perpetrated in order to pamper
perverted and unnatural appetites. Vegetarians in 1999 were horrified
at the practices of the nineteenth century, when butchers would take
innocent little lambs, the most harmless and pitiful creatures, and
cut their throats in the slaughter house. The seas of blood that flowed
through Chicago slaughter pens had no attractions for vegetarians.
In 1999 the world was by no means converted to any single theory or
idea on the food question. A delicious cold ham sandwich or slice
of turkey with truffles still delighted the palates of millions
in that year. The savory hot bird, washed down with a cold bottle,
still held captive many epicureans in the closing days of the twentieth
century. The birds of the air and beasts of the field still contributed
to the world's gastronomic pleasures. In 1999 the vegetarian remained
faithful to his creed. Plum pudding, peaches in wine, haricots vert,
and other delicacies held the place of honor at their tables.
But in 1999 the world became more liberal in its views on the meat-food
question. In the nineteenth century no argument could shake the
prejudice existing against the consumption of horseflesh. Anyone in
1899 who could champion the use of [The Prejudice against Horseflesh.]
horseflesh and advocate its sale in open market on the same counter
as hogs and poultry, would be regarded in the light of a barbarian
or a person of unwholesome practice.
Such is the utter blindness of custom and prejudice that in 1899
the daintiest maiden, who might faint at the sight of a mouse, would
occasionally smell the stench of a pig-sty, yet, without the least
compunction, would sit at table and enjoy a pork chop, pork stew,
pork roast, in fact pork in any form. At the mere mention of a horse
roast or horse stew, the same delicate young lady would manifest
her disdain, and if such dishes were set before her, her indignation
might turn into riot. This was in 1899.
In 1999 people acquired more "horse sense." Education, in time, broke
down [Cleaner Than Hogs or Chickens.] the barriers of pure prejudice
and senseless custom. In that year it became recognized and fully
acknowledged that the cleanest member of the animal kingdom, the horse,
was fit food for human beings who had the strength of stomach to eat
the hog, one of the filthiest, filth-devouring animals known to man,
an animal whose flesh was regarded with horror by many branches of the
human family, animals into which our Savior did not hesitate to cast
devils. In 1999 it was the universal belief that people who could
stomach pork and take their chances in contracting trichinæ, could
well afford to digest the clean, wholesome flesh of horses. No animal
has any cleaner habits, or more wholesome food than the horse. Such is
custom, habit and prejudice. If our ancestors had taught us from the
days of the Cæsars to eat horse flesh and to shun pork and poultry,
it is more than probable that a man caught eating the latter would
have been driven from any community as a disgrace to his kind.
Prejudice and custom are hard task masters. In 1925 it became
a custom to eat [Eating Raw Fish.] raw fish. The fish in such
cases were carefully cleaned before serving. The head, entrails and
other parts were removed and the raw flesh was served with salt and
pepper. Even this simple process required an education. Many with
capricious stomachs revolted at the treatment. They could not digest
raw fish that had been killed and nicely cleaned before eating, but
they would readily eat any quantity of raw oysters from the shell,
also clams, and eat them while the bivalves were still alive.
The "servant question" reached a very satisfactory solution long
before 1999. As early as 1907, State Normal schools to teach
the culinary art and to educate servants were instituted. In the
nineteenth century the servant class in America was the hoodoo of
the housekeeper and homemaker. Thousands of young women in 1899,
without the slightest knowledge or qualifications as housekeepers,
entered into matrimony. Unable to cook a loaf of bread or make a simple
biscuit, hardly knowing the [Some Very "Lame" Cooks.] difference
between hot and cold water, these zealous but inexperienced wives
suddenly discovered themselves in charge of a household and all its
responsibilities. In this unhappy condition they relied upon hired
help to do the work. In many instances the servant knew as little
about cooking as her newly wedded mistress. It was a case of "the
blind leading the blind," and much unhappiness resulted.
Early in the 20th century public exigencies demanded a radical
change. The servant question advanced to the front. The dignity of her
position was raised in the social scale. The backward civilization of
1899 treated the servant as a drudge or menial. Long hours of service,
from early morn till late at night, were imposed upon her, while
her wages were slender. In the country her life was more endurable
because she was often treated as a member of the family. In cities,
however, her lot was an unhappy one. The servant plodded along in her
solitary work, often busy and at work fifteen hours every day. Even
in free-born, liberty-loving America the servant in 1899 was made to
regard herself as an inferior being.
It was in this chaotic condition of affairs that schools for the
instruction of housekeepers were opened and assisted by large annuities
from the State. Before 1950 every town in the several States throughout
the Americas boasted of its State Cooking [State Schools for Cooking.]
School. These schools became very popular in the Central American
States such as Mexico, San Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, as well
as in the southern States of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador
and others of that group of the American Union. As a result of this
wise policy the fame and laurels of French cookery were transferred
to our American culinary artists. Not even the famed cooks of China
could equal the skill of the instructed and trained American cooks. No
servant could get a situation as cook in 1999 unless they could produce
a diploma from a State School of Cookery. They demanded more pay and
were allowed to work only eight hours per day. As a result of having
skilled housekeepers, homes were rendered better and happier.
In 1999 America still remained the land of model hotels. In the 19th
century the fame of Americans for maintaining the best conducted
and most palatial hostelries was already world-wide. Our city
palace-hotels had no rivals in the world worthy of the name. In
the twentieth century their enviable fame in this line continued to
increase. Chicago and Manhattan still maintained their ancient rivalry
in the hotel business. Many of the palace hotels of 1999 had walls
built with opaque, rock face glass in the most attractive styles of
architecture. From a distance they resembled fairy palaces. Marble and
brick were occasionally employed in construction but glass came into
high favor as being imperishable as well as highly ornamental. The
old saying that "those who live in glass houses should not throw
stones," answered very well in the 19th century, when glass houses,
such as conservatories, were exceedingly fragile structures. In the
20th century no structures could be more durable than these hotels with
glass walls, built with blocks of great thickness and in every color of
the prism. They were fire-proof for the simple reason that no one had
any use for fire in any hotel or public building in 1999. Electricity
was employed to the exclusion of all other agencies for heating and
lighting, as well as for motive power.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Negro Question Settled.
Negroes in 1999 are transferred to their new reservation and
permanent home in the State of Venezuela. The animosities between
whites and blacks still existed in 1925. The negro a very costly
importation. Never ought to have left Africa. In 1960 government
lands are bought for the black race and their home in Venezuela
becomes a prosperous and a happy one. The satisfactory solution
of a vexed problem.
In 1999 the negro problem no longer troubled the North American
States. The absorption of the Central and South American Republics into
the great American Union, had at last vouchsafed the earnestly prayed
for outlet for the troublesome Ethiopians. The man who was guilty of
making the first importation of negroes into the American Republic
can never hope to rest comfortably in the great hereafter. The negro
during the last half of the nineteenth century proved a black cloud
in social and political America. A stupendous war was waged in his
behalf. Years after the close of the war he still remained a source of
bitter hatred and constant bloodshed. South of Mason and Dixon's line
the war of the [Literally a "Burning Question."] races raged furiously
for nearly sixty years after the close of the Civil War in 1865. The
whites despised, while the blacks detested. In 1899 Negroism was in
fact, as well as in metaphor, a burning question. In 1925 mention
was still frequently made of the burning of the negro Sam Hose, near
Palmetto, in Georgia. Whenever the slightest pretext offered itself,
negroes were lynched or burned alive at the stake. On the other hand
these cruelties upon their race were naturally resented by the blacks,
who lost no opportunity to make reprisals.
The negro proved a very costly luxury, a profound study in black,
during the last half of the nineteenth century. Mainly on his account
a Titanic struggle was waged in the sixties, a continent was torn
asunder, 800,000 men killed and a debt of $7,100,000,000 saddled
on America, and in the opening days of the twentieth century, the
negro was still a thorn in the nation's side. [A Study in Black.]
The negro found his way into America only after the mild race
of Indians discovered by Columbus had been exterminated under the
lash and torch of the Spaniard. When the harmless and gentle race
of beings who inhabited the isles of the Caribbean sea had vanished
before Spanish tyranny, then all eyes turned to Africa as the base of
supplies for menials, hewers of wood and drawers of water. The docile
nature of the negro rendered him available for purposes of serfdom. He
proved submissive and obedient, which are qualities of excellence in
the relations existing between master and slave. The negro, without
doubt, is gifted with a high order of intelligence and is capable
of appreciating all the advantages of a superior education. It is
doubtful, however, if the race will ever become prominent in the field
of art and sciences. With his amiable and submissive tendencies the
negro is menial in his qualifications. For long centuries past he
has been "a servant of servants" in his native land and his position
[Not Very Fierce, Only Humble.] still remains unchanged. Had he the
fierce and indomitable love of freedom which characterizes the North
American Indian, the chains of slavery never would have blotted the
fair name of America. His introduction into this hemisphere has proved
a colossal blunder, a misfortune alike to both races.
History will applaud the wisdom of American statesmanship that
emancipated the slave. No matter what may be his shortcomings--or
how inferior his position in the scale of civilization, slavery of
the negro cannot for one moment be tolerated under the great American
flag, the emblem of freedom for all peoples of this earth. The flag,
however, cannot guarantee his social status. From this point of view,
the fact cannot be denied that the presence of the negro in North
America is undesirable. In communities where his vote preponderates
there will always be friction with the whites. Whites will never
submit to the dictation of the black element. The swarthy son of Ham
was never permitted in the twentieth century to dominate. The high
white forehead cannot be ruled by the low black one. Not in centuries
could this be accomplished, in fact, never.
The unquenchable hatred existing in the South found expression in
frequent lynchings of negroes, burnings and other barbarities. These
acts of violence were deplorable, and even in 1950 the burning of
Sam Hose in 1899 at Newman, Georgia, was constantly referred to. In
justice, however, to the South, it must be said, that these lynchings
were perpetrated as measures of self-defense.
The races could not assimilate. Miscegenation was regarded in the
twentieth century, as well as in the nineteenth, as an unpardonable
crime.
In 1925 the racial war between whites and blacks continued unabated,
and would [Peace in Sight.] have still been in force in 1999 if the
only one possible relief had not come at last to the rescue. In the
year last mentioned the bulk of the black population disappeared
from the North American States. The accession of the Central and
South American Republics into the great American Union afforded
the only possible solution to the vexed problem. In 1960, just one
hundred years after the Sumpter episode, another important movement
was inaugurated in behalf of the blacks. People commenced to realize
that the negro was an utterly alien race; that when they landed here
America gained nothing, while Africa must have lost heavily through
their transfer into the new world. The proposition to transfer the
negro population to the Central and Southern American States was
agitated in that year. The transfer of Washington as the seat of
our national government from the District of Columbia to the City of
Mexico had the effect of drawing a strong tide of American emigration
into the State of Mexico, and into the Southern States of Brazil and
Venezuela as well. In 1999 Americans spoke of Colombia and Bolivar
merely as Southern States of the Union. The vast and fertile lands
in those States did not escape the attention of settlers. The idea
of transferring the entire negro population from the Northern States
of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Virginia and the
Carolinas to the Southern States of Brazil and Venezuela was regarded
as being a good one. The proposed measure proved a very popular one,
particularly among the Gulf States. They were ready to make any
sacrifice to be rid of their black neighbors.
In 1975 a bill passed through Congress appropriating a sum of
$58,000,000 for the purchase of three northern provinces in the
State of Venezuela, namely, Zarmora, [No Snowstorms out That Way.]
Bermudez and Miranda, bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and
on the south by the Orinoco River. It was generally conceded that
the negro would feel more at home in a tropical climate. The three
provinces named lie between the eighth and tenth degrees of north
latitude, and there was no possible danger that these emigrants would
ever get caught in a snowstorm on the plains of Venezuela. The northern
States of the Union were determined to get rid of the entire race,
if money ever could effect that purpose.
The negroes readily assented to the proposition and were heartily in
favor of [Were Pleased with the Change.] leaving a section of the
American Republic which has been the scene of so much suffering to
them, as well as their ancestors. They were elated over the prospect of
emigrating to the State of Venezuela, where such a fine reservation had
been purchased for them by enactment of Congress. They realized that in
the State of Venezuela they would no longer be harassed by their white
neighbors and the old slave-owning element, and upon the vast pastoral
plains of the Zarmora and Miranda provinces they would till their
own soil, own the land and enjoy each other's exclusive society. Even
Boston, in 1975, applauded the movement as being a philanthropic one,
calculated to increase the well being of the negro. The brainy men
of Boston argued that reservations had been frequently purchased for
the use of Indians, and there was no good reason why one should not
be purchased for the use of the American negro.
In this manner the vexed negro question was finally settled. The States
south of Mason and Dixon's line became more contented. The negro
reservation in Venezuela thrived well. The broad pastoral plains,
well watered by branches of the Orinoco, abounding in rich tropical
grasses, were admirably adapted to the raising of cattle, sheep and
goats. Horses were raised in 1975 for food supplies alone. The negro
farmer invested in sugar cane, cotton, indigo and banana farms. The
tropical forests yielded much wealth, such as India rubber, tonka
beans, copaiba and vanilla, while the mineral products of Venezuela
proved rich and varied.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Conclusion.
In setting forth at length the glorious achievements of the twentieth
century, the Author has no desire to rob our now closing nineteenth
century of one iota of its brilliantly earned laurels. The achievements
of the nineteenth century will grow to the last syllable of recorded
time. Their imprint upon the history of man is indelible and shall
be linked in the chains of eternity.
In the field of scientific discovery the nineteenth century has no peer
in all the preceding ages. It stands forth a giant whose achievements
in the cause of science, liberty, education and humanity outweigh
the combined products of all eras from the birth of Christ.
Newton's discovery of gravitation must ever memorize the seventeenth
century in the annals of men, but the genius of the nineteenth century
has produced its equal in the correlation and conservation of forces,
the widest generalization that the human mind has yet attained.
The telescope of the eighteenth century is overbalanced by the
spectroscope of the nineteenth, telling us of the composition, rate
of speed of myriads of suns. The electric telegraph, the telephone,
the phonograph, wireless telegraphy, and the Röentgen rays are all
children of the nineteenth century.
The vast doctrine of organic evolution, the periodic law of chemistry,
the molecular theory of gases, Kelvin's vortex theory of matter, are
all priceless jewels in the crown of the nineteenth century. To these
we must add in the nineteenth century phalanx the magnificent discovery
of anæsthetics and antiseptic surgery, the wonderful mobilization of
man through the medium of steam and electricity by land and sea.
Let us give to the nineteenth century the full measure of its
magnificent conquests in the arts and sciences. But, to-day, we
stand at the threshold of the twentieth century, in which, with its
legacy of nineteenth century genius, still greater and more sweeping
results will be attained. Vast fields of scientific research remain
unexplored. Proud science must to-day bend her knee and confess
ignorance in many problems of the most simple character. The absolute
command of Mind over Matter calls for herculean strides of progress
before its sway be undisputed.
The twentieth century, however, will pre-eminently outrank all
preceding eras in the measure of liberty accorded to the peoples of
the universe, and, in the foremost rank, as a pillar of fire by night
and a cloud by day, the leadership of great, broad America will be
followed by the nations of the world.
The Supreme Ruler of the universe, who holds this globe in the hollow
of His Hand, has marked out the line this nation must follow and our
duty must be done.
America is destined to become the Light of the World.
With her grand Constitution for guide and compass, her boundaries will
extend until her banner of true freedom and liberty shall spread its
folds and protect every nation in the Western Hemisphere, gathering
them into one flock and one mighty Republic.
In the year of grace, 1999, the light of God's sun will reveal to the
admiring gaze of the World, the noblest creation of Man,--a United
America, the law giver unto the nations of the earth, a mighty power
that shall dictate peace and banish war and make True Freedom ring
throughout the world.
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