Looking forward

by Arthur Bird

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 AUTOMATIC VALET.

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.

THE PUNISHMENT FOR WIFE-BEATING IN 1999.

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.