252 Introduction to the Study of Science 



facilities for travel. This may be taken as a sign of the possi- 

 bility that eventually .all the nations of the earth may become 

 one, commercially at least, through the use of natural forces in 

 machines that triumph over space and time. 



Exercise. Prepare a list of the different nationalities represented 

 in your local population ; by what carriers they came ; the living 

 conditions and government of the country from which they came ; 

 and the rate of increase of foreigners in your community in relation 

 to improvement of facilities of transportation. 



3. Progress in any of the factors of human welfare has 

 always been associated with the exchange of ideas and resources 

 among individuals or groups of people, such as tribes or nations. 

 A group of individuals cut off from communication with other 

 groups makes slow progress, if any, in what we call civilization, 

 frequently becoming unprogressive and perhaps, in course of 

 time, falling below its former stage of civilization. 



104. Transportation and topography. The character of 

 the land surface, or its topography, has much to do with the 

 development of transportation and the progress of its inhabit- 

 ants. In a region where travel is difficult and transportation 

 impossible, except of the smallest amount of goods, the in- 

 habitants generally will make little advance in commerce and 

 its associated arts and industries. Exchange between two 

 individuals or groups of people is incomplete until the goods 

 are transported to the place of the owner. Where transporta- 

 tion is impossible or too costly of time and labor, exchange is 

 practically unknown. If, on the contrary, a region, by its 

 level land and navigable waterways, favors travel and trans- 

 portation, the groups of people dwelling therein are brought 

 into contact ; they develop commerce and with this the indus- 

 tries, arts, and refinements of civilization. Many examples of 

 both these conditions are recorded in history and are also found 

 to-day in many parts of the world. 



From this it is evident that one of the most important con- 

 ditions of transportation is the topography of a country. 



