36 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



making, shortened workiag hours for the people came and leisure for 

 the enjoyment of the best that life affords, for thought, for contrivance, 

 for self-communing, for self-exaltation in spiritual realms, became a 

 birthright with mankind. 



Mechanical engineering is the highest illustration of applied science; 

 and applied science is the fruition of pure science. A fundamental basis 

 for mechanical engineering could not be secured until physical science 

 could find safe development, and this could only be when, the age 

 of martyrdom past and perfect freedom of thought and research as- 

 sured, later Brahes and Galileos could work in peace and Gilbert and 

 Lavoisier and Faraday and Davy and their successors could devote 

 themselves to their labors in all the fields of science without molesta- 

 tion. Invention could not freely develop the arts until after these 

 master-minds had assured freedom to the more modest but none the 

 less glorious workers in science and the arts, and to the mechanics and 

 the inventors, and had secured that political and social freedom to work 

 in any and all fields, irrespective of birth and caste and creed, which has 

 only, even now, been witnessed in America. When absolute liberty of 

 mind and body and freedom of choice of vocation had become possible 

 without dictation by church or state or convention; when any man could 

 pursue research and publish results, and could follow any art and could 

 give vent to his highest and best aspirations and impulses — only then 

 could steady progress become possible. 



It was only in the nineteenth century that a Darwin could safely 

 pronounce his judgment, that a Spencer could formulate a system of 

 philosophy, that a Huxley could declare his conviction and a Haeckel 

 could face the dogmatist and that warfare between science and dogma 

 could no longer effectively repress honest work and sincere conviction. 

 It was only in the century lately closed that the mechanic could take up 

 any trade, without regard to the caste of his fathers, that progress be- 

 came easy for the scientific Papin, the clerical Cartwright and the 

 physicist Black, or that the instrument-maker Watt could proceed with 

 the evolution of the heat-engines. Only in the nineteenth century came 

 it to pass that the inventor, impelled into any line of study and experi- 

 ment and labor, could unite with every other man in the same field to 

 perfect the machinery of the world, and that invention could build up 

 nations like Great Britain and the United States, and give wealth to 

 Germany and to France. Only in the century just closed did it become 

 possible to gain freedom in the competition of brain with brain for all 

 men. 



The political freedom of the United States and its admirable policy 

 and its practice of encouraging invention by wise patent laws have now 

 made our country the leader among nations in all fundamental modern 

 industries. 



