ENGINERY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN RACE
The energy of a nation may be expressed by its horse power. It is not
numbers, or intellect, or character, or beliefs that indicate the
progress of a people in a material sense.
It is curious how closely related enginery is with the advancement of a
people. Nothing can be more striking to illustrate this than railroads
as a feature of development in any country.
Power in Transportation.--Without the construction and maintenance of
mechanical power, railroads would be impossible. To be able to quickly
and cheaply move from place to place, is the most important factor in
human life. The ability of people to interchange commodities, and to
associate with others who are not in their own intimate community, are
the greatest civilizing agencies in the world.
Power vs. Education and the Arts.--Education, the cultivation of the
fine arts, and the desire for luxuries, without the capacity for quickly
interchanging commodities and to intermingle with each other, are
ineffectual to advance the interests of any nation, or to maintain its
prosperity.
Lack of Power in the Ancient World.--The Greeks and the Romans had a
civilization which is a wonder even to the people of our day. They had
the arts and architecture which are now regarded as superb and
incomparable. They had schools of philosophy and academies of learning;
their sculpture excites the admiration of the world; and they laid the
foundation theories of government from which we have obtained the basis
of our laws.
The Early Days of the Republic.--When our forefathers established the
Republic there were many misgivings as to the wisdom of including within
its scope such a large area as the entire Atlantic seacoast. From Maine
to Florida the distance is 1250 miles; and from New York to the
Mississippi 900 miles, comprising an area of 1,200,000 square miles.
How could such an immense country ever hold itself together? It was an
area nearly as large as that controlled by Rome when at the height of
her power. If it was impossible for the force of Roman arms to hold such
a region within its control, how much more difficult it would be for the
Colonies to expect cohesion among their scattered peoples.
Lack of Cohesiveness in a Country Without Power.--Those arguments were
based on the knowledge that every country in ancient times broke apart
because there was no unity of interest established, and because the
different parts of the same empire did not become acquainted or
associated with each other.
The Railroad as a Factor in Civilization.--The introduction of
railroads, by virtue of motive power, changed the whole philosophy of
history in this respect. Even in our own country an example of the value
of railroads was shown in the binding effect which they produced between
the East and the West prior to the Civil War.
All railroads, before that period, ran east and west. Few extended north
and south. It is popularly assumed that the antagonism between the North
and the South grew out of the question of slavery. This is, no doubt,
largely so, as an immediate cause, but it was the direct cause which
prevented the building of railroads between the two sections.
It simply reënforces the argument that the motor, the great power of
enginery, was not brought into play to unite people who were
antagonistic, and who could not, due to imperfect communication,
understand each other.
To-day the United States contains an area nearly as great as the whole
of Europe, including Russia, with their twenty, or more, different
governments. Here we have a united country, with similar laws, habits,
customs and religions throughout. In many of those foreign countries the
people of adjoining provinces are totally unlike in their
characteristics.
It has been shown that wherever this is the case it is due to lack of
quick and cheap intercommunication.
The Wonderful Effects of Power.--This remarkable similarity in the
conditions of the people throughout the United States is due to the
railroads, that great personification of power, notwithstanding the
diverse customs and habits of the people which daily come to our shores
and spread out over our vast country.
It has unified the people. It has made San Francisco nearer to New York
than Berlin was to Paris in the time of Napoleon. The people in Maine
and Texas are neighbors. The results have been so far reaching that it
has given stability to the government greater than any other force.
But there is another lesson just as wonderful to contemplate. England
has an area of only about 58,000 square miles, about the same size as
either Florida, Illinois, or Wisconsin.
England as a User of Power.--The enginery within her borders is greater
than the combined energy of all the people on the globe. Through the
wonderful force thus set in motion by her remarkable industries she has
become the great manufacturing empire of the world, and has called into
existence a carrying fleet of vessels, also controlled by motors, so
stupendous as to be beyond belief.
We may well contemplate the great changes which have been brought about
by the fact that man has developed and is using power in every line of
work which engages his activities.
The Automobile.--He does not, in progressive countries, depend on the
muscle of the man, or on the sinews of animals. These are too weak and
too slow for his needs. Look at the changes brought about by the
automobile industry within the past ten years. What will the next
century bring forth?
Artificial power, if we may so term it, is a late development. It is
very young when compared with the history of man.
High Character of Motor Study.--The study of motors requires intellect
of a high order. It is a theme which is not only interesting and
attractive to the boy, but the mastery of the subject in only one of
its many details, opens up a field of profit and emoluments.
The Unlimited Field of Power.--It is a field which is ever broadening.
The student need not fear that competition will be too great, or the
opportunities too limited, and if these pages will succeed, in only a
small measure, in teaching the fundamental ideas, we shall be repaid for
the efforts in bringing together the facts presented.