PRESENT PROBLEMS OF TECHNOLOGY 589 



by the sweat of his face, denied to so many under existing social 

 conditions. 



With the inspiring precedent set by Mother Earth herself, float- 

 ing through an imponderable ether, and held in her courses by the 

 mutual attraction of celestial bodies, and with the wonderful mech- 

 anisms of the n^riads of beasts and birds constantly mocking 

 the climax of God's creatures, it is not surprising that man should 

 set himself sedulously to the task of surmounting the circumambient 

 clouds and seek to convey himself through a ponderable atmo- 

 sphere, by flight. 



In the mean time the world awaits his efforts with hope and 

 expectation that unknown resources and energies may soon add 

 wings to time and solve the long-desired paradox of aerial naviga- 

 tion. 



In conclusion, from this general review of the technological 

 field in civil engineering it will be seen that while much has been 

 revealed and applied in the utilization of the forces and resources 

 of this wonderful planet, there is still much to be discovered. The 

 pregnant past has showered upon this generation coal, oil, and 

 gas; steam, compressed air, and water-power; dynamite and melo- 

 nite; the turnpike and railway; the palace-car and ocean grey- 

 hound; the bicycle and automobile; the telegraph and telephone; 

 and the wizard electricians are now prophesying, like Puck, that 

 they will put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes and will fur- 

 nish millions of electrical horse-power from a central plant, to any 

 part of the world without metallic conduits. 



Quidnunc? Is this only a dream? Who knows? Yet the wheels 

 of progress are ever revolving in an ascending gradient, surmount- 

 ing obstacles, spanning chasms, uniting continents, eliminating 

 distance, abridging time, and lifting humanity upon the higher 

 planes of consecrated labor to the lofty summits of a Christian 

 civilization. 



But to be more specific as to the work before us, it may be said 

 that there is still great need of further improvement in the utiliz- 

 ation and transmission of power of all kinds, both by movable and 

 stationary engines; in the application of natural forces to remove 

 and prevent the formation of alluvial bars in commercial channels; 

 in the improvement and extension of better highways for the trans- 

 portation of materials; in the betterment and standardization 

 of the rolling-stock used in the conveyance of freight and passen- 

 gers; in the more general introduction of pneumatic plants for 

 the distribution of the mails and for local deliveries in great cities, 

 to reduce the congestion from the delivery -wagons ; in the con- 

 struction of subways for the installation of public-service conduits, 

 sewers, water-supply, lighting, power, drainage, and interurban 



