Invention: The Master-key to Progress

In the same year, 1834, Jacobi invented an electric motor and Runge made the important discovery of carbolic acid. In 1835 Burden invented a horse-shoe machine. In 1836 four important inventions added four important parts to our rapidly growing Machine.

The first was the "constant battery" invented by Daniell. Before this time a Voltaic cell, or battery, soon lost its strength, because of various chemical actions inside the cell which need not be detailed here. Daniell overcame this difficulty almost wholly by inventing a battery, in which there were two liquids instead of one, and the two liquids were in two separate compartments but separated only by porous material. This invention was successful from the start, and immediately increased the usefulness of Voltaic batteries and the means of utilizing electric currents.

The second great invention in 1836 was that of acetylene gas made by Edmund Davy. It is still the most brilliant illuminating gas we have, and is rivaled by the electric arc-light only. The third invention was that of the revolver, made by Samuel Colt.

It may be objected by some that the revolver did not contribute anything valuable to the Machine of Civilization because it was merely an improvement on the pistol, and enabled one to kill more men in a given time than he could before. Such an objection would have much to justify it; but it may be pointed out that the Machine must be made self-protective as far as possible; and that anything which increases the power of civilized man as against the savage, or barbarous, or semi-barbarous increases its power of self-protection. It is true that a savage can use a revolver, if he be instructed; but the more complicated a weapon is the more difficult it is for a savage, as compared with a civilized man, to use it effectively. This is not an argument in favor of complication for its own sake; but it is an argument in favor of accepting complication in a weapon, if the complication renders greater effectiveness possible.

The last invention was the most important of the four, the application of the screw propeller to navigation made by John Ericsson. The author is aware of the fact that this invention was claimed by others, and is claimed for others now. The weight of testimony, however seems to be on the side of Ericsson; and as has been pointed out before, the question of the identity of the inventor is not important to our discussion. The first ocean steamship to be propelled by a screw was the Stockton, which was built in England under Ericsson and fitted with his screw. The first war-ship to be fitted with a screw was the U. S. S. Princeton in 1841. Its screw was designed by Ericsson.

In 1837 Crawford invented a process for "galvanizing" iron; for electro-plating it with a non-oxidizable metal. The value of this invention in preserving iron wire and iron articles in general needs not to be pointed out; it was a contribution to the permanency of the Machine. In the same year, Cooke and Wheatstone in England invented their famous "Needle Telegraph," in which a magnetic needle was made to deflect quickly to the right or left when one of two keys was pressed by an operator and letters thereby signaled. This invention was a valuable contribution; but it was eventually superseded by Morse's telegraph, after that system had established itself in the United States and on the Continent.

In 1839 Babbitt invented his celebrated Babbitt metal, which has been successfully used ever since in the bearings of engines and in moving machinery generally, for reducing friction; and in the same year Goodyear made an invention even more important, the art of hardening, or "vulcanizing," rubber by means of sulphur. This invention was a great boon to mankind, but not to Goodyear; for the jackals who lie in wait for great inventions eager to wrest unearned profit for themselves from the men who have truly earned it, made Goodyear's life miserable for many years. Before he died, however, his wrongs were righted at least in part. In the same year Jacobi, in Germany, propelled a boat by electricity using an electric motor of his own invention.

But the great contributions made in 1839 were to the art of what we now call photography. About 1834 Talbot had succeeded in taking pictures in a camera by the agency of light on paper washed with nitrate of silver and also in fixing them. Later, he was able to obtain many copies, or "proofs," from one picture or negative. It seems that he did not publicly announce his invention till 1839. To it was given the name "calotype." In May of that year Mr. Mungo Ponton announced that he had been able to copy pictures of engravings and of dried plants on paper that he had soaked in bichromate of potash. A number of other investigators forthwith announced similar feats, using various chemical solutions.

In 1840 Draper published the result of certain important experiments made by him in photographing celestial bodies. In 1841 pneumatic caissons were invented by Triger in France. In 1842 Long discovered the usefulness of ether as an anæsthetic, and Seytre invented the automatically played piano. In the same year, Selligne discovered a method of utilizing water-gas, made by decomposing water and producing a new illuminating agent that could be used by itself or in combination with coal gas. In the same year James Nasmyth in Scotland invented the steam hammer – a simple appliance by means of which steam was able to make a hammer give blows much heavier than the human arm could give. This invention belongs to the class in which the human muscles are assisted in doing work which the brain directs them to do, but which they are not strong enough to do effectively.

The self-playing piano belongs in a class closely allied, in which the machine invented merely assists the muscles: the assistance in this class being not in supplying power in order to do more work, however, but in supplying what may be called auxiliary physical agencies. In the player piano, the fingers are replaced by little mechanical hammers; in the steam hammer the arm is replaced by a piston actuated by steam. One secures quickness, the other secures force.

But the self-playing piano and the steam hammer are in very different classes, when viewed from the standpoint of their influence on history. The influence of the piano is scarcely discernible, while the influence of the steam hammer stands out in enormous letters of steel. The piano seems to be in the same category as are literature and poetry and music in general: it serves to please. The steam-hammer, on the other hand, has had so great an influence on history subsequent to its invention, that we know that subsequent history could not have been as it has been, if the steam hammer had not been invented.

It has been the steam hammer and the ensuing modifications of it that have made possible the making of large forgings of iron and steel. It has been the large forgings of iron and steel that have made possible the use of large solid masses of those metals in the construction of engines, guns, shells, houses, bridges and ships. It is the ability to use large and solid masses of iron and steel, free from holes and seams, that has enabled constructors and engineers to produce the tremendous engineering structures that characterize today. The main element in the progress of the race has been its triumph over the forces of material Nature. This triumph has been gained by inventors, who conceived of certain methods and devices (clothing, for instance) by means of which materials provided by Nature could be utilized by man to protect himself against her attacks upon him – attacks by cold, for instance. Inventions of the useful kind have had a history of their own, as definite as the history of any other thing or things, in which it is shown that every useful instrument or method has been succeeded by another and better; so that the history of useful inventions may be compared to a picture of men mounting a flight of stairs toward civilization, the steps of the stairs being the successive useful inventions of different kinds.

The paragraph just written is not intended to mean that inventions which please have no value, but merely to point out the difference between what are aptly called the fine arts and the useful arts. There would be little happiness given to man by toilsomely climbing the stairway to civilization, unless he were occasionally cheered on the way by a strain of music, or a beautiful painting, or a poem, or a brisk walk in northwest weather, or a gladdening glass of wine. It may be argued that these are the things that really give happiness; it may be claimed that these things go direct to the seat of happiness in the brain, but that steam hammers merely provide a material civilization, which continuously promises to make men happier some day, but never makes them happier.

Verily, verily, the way to happiness is not so clearly marked, that anyone can walk in it all the time, or even for five minutes, except on rare occasions. The consensus of opinion seems to be, however, that the civilized man is, on the whole, happier than the savage; that civilization is preferable to savagery. It is the purpose of this book, moreover, merely to point out that that structure of civilization has become so complicated and is moving so fast that it is now a veritable machine and to indicate the part that invention has taken in building it.

Not only is it a veritable machine, it is the largest, the most powerful, the most intricate machine we know of – except the solar system and the greater systems beyond it. And not only is it powerful and intricate – it is, like all powerful and intricate machines, extremely delicate. Extreme delicacy is a characteristic of all machines; it is inherent in every machine, simply because the good working of every part is dependent on the good working of every other part. An organism is a machine of the highest order, and therefore possesses this characteristic of inter-dependability in its highest form. A club is not an organism, or even a machine, and does not possess it. If a man injures one end of a club the other end is just as good as before; but if a club injures one end of a man, the other end is injured also. A severe blow on the head will prevent the effective use of the foot, and a severe blow on the foot will prevent the effective use of the head.

Similarly, in this great Machine of Civilization, a war between any two nations affects every other nation in the realm of civilization, though it may not affect appreciably the savages of Australia. A strike in the coal mines affects every person in the United States; – and even a threat to strike by the railway employees affects not only the whole United States, but, to some degree, all Europe.

This brings us to realize that, while the Machine of Civilization itself has improved tremendously, it is only as a machine, and only because it is a machine. It should make us realize also that the mere fact that a machine is good or useful is no bar to its being destroyed. It should make us realize besides that the finer a machine is the greater danger there is of its being injured and even destroyed, by careless or ignorant handling. These facts are clearly realized by all engineering companies of all kinds; and the result has been that highly competent engineers have been trained to care for and handle their engines. There are no more highly competent men in any callings than are the engineers in every civilized country. One might declare without much exaggeration that, of all the men in business or professions, the engineers are the most competent for their especial tasks; and the reasonableness of the declaration might be pointed out on the ground that the very nature of the engineering profession (unlike that of most other professions) makes it impossible for an engineer to be incompetent, and yet maintain his standing.

But the Machine of Civilization is composed not only of material parts, such as come within the province of the engineer, but also of immaterial parts; in fact, the principal parts are men, and especially the minds of men. It is the office of the Machine of Government to handle the men. It is also its office to direct their minds; because unless those minds view things correctly, the Machine of Government cannot work with smoothness. Now, men are inferior to machines in one important way: – men, as men, cannot be improved. It therefore devolves on Government continuously to instruct and train men to handle the Machine of Civilization skillfully, because the machine is being made more and more complicated, and more and more in need of intelligent care, with every passing day.

Is this fact realized? I fear not. No sign is visible to the author of these pages that the people in any country realize or even suspect that there is any need for looking out for the integrity of the Machine as a whole. The closest approximation to it is a belated realization that the Bolsheviki are a danger to "society." The people do not seem even to realize the necessity of having competent experts at the head of governmental affairs.

The Machine of Civilization had been developed to a very high stage when Trajan ruled the world about the year 100 A. D. For three-quarters of a century afterward, it continued to run with smoothness, under intelligent care; but in the year 180 A. D. Commodus came to the throne, and soon after began to abuse it. For two hundred years thereafter, the Machine suffered from such abuse and neglect, that by the year 395, it had become so unwieldy, that it was divided into two parts, one administered from Rome and the other from Constantinople. The two parts soon became two separate Machines, the Roman Machine being at first the better, but gradually becoming more and more ineffective under the unfavorable conditions of abuse and neglect. In 476, the Roman Machine broke down completely, and the barbarian chief, Odoacer, sat himself on the throne of Octavius Cæsar.

A ruin more complete, it would be hard to realize. The vast structure of Roman civilization, built on the civilization of Greece and Assyria and Babylonia and Egypt, was hurled to the ground; and its fine and beautiful parts were scattered to the winds by barbarians who hated civilization because they were barbarians. The progress of science and literature and art stopped. The marvelous inventions of the past were forgotten and disused. A condition of semi-barbarism passed into Europe, and continued for a period of five hundred years, to which the name Dark Ages has been aptly given. A feeble light began to glow about 800 A. D. as a result of the activities of Charlemagne, but it almost expired when he did. It began again when the Crusaders came back from the Orient with knowledge of the civilization that still persisted there; and shortly after came the first effort of the Renaissance. Then followed the invention of the gun, and then the invention of printing: – and presto – the making of another Machine of Civilization is begun.

Now let us realize three facts: one fact is that the Machine of Modern Civilization, though bigger and more complicated than the one of Trajan's time is not nearly so strong; another fact is that the Roman Machine was destroyed because it had become ineffective through carelessness and abuse; the third fact is that because in a measure, "history repeats itself," the Modern Machine may be destroyed, as the Roman was.

The Machine of today is vastly weaker than Trajan's. Trajan's Machine was operated by a powerful empire that controlled the whole world absolutely. No rival of Rome existed. The structure of society was simple, homogeneous and strong. It was almost wholly military. It rested on force; but that force rested on reason, moderation, skill and patriotism. Rome had many foes; but they were so weak compared with Rome, that she had naught to fear from them – so long as she kept her Machine in order.

The Machine of today is not only more complicated than that of Trajan, and therefore more liable to derangement from that cause alone – but it is supported by no government that dominates the world. On the contrary, the control is divided among a number of different nations that have diverse interests. The influence of this condition can be clearly seen in the fact that every great war has set back the progress of civilization for a while in all civilized countries, even though in some ways it has advanced it. The World War just finished, for instance, shook the very foundations of society; and we do not yet know that it did not impair them seriously. Certainly the Machine has not yet begun to run smoothly again. Certainly, the Bolsheviki are threatening it as seriously as the barbarians began to threaten Rome not long after Trajan's time. The Romans did not regard the barbarians then any more seriously than we regard the Bolsheviki now.

The barbarians finally succeeded in destroying the Roman Machine, but not for the reason that they had become any stronger. They had not become any stronger, but the Roman Machine had become weaker. It had become weaker for the reason that the men in charge of it had not taken the proper care of it. They failed to take proper care of it, for the reason that they were not the proper kind of men to have charge of that kind of machine. The reason for this was that the Roman people did not see to it that they put the proper kind of men in charge of their Machine.

Someone may say that Rome was an autocracy, and that there are no autocracies now. True, but republics have been inefficient, just as often, and in as great a degree as autocracies have. The United States under President Buchanan, for instance, was excessively inefficient; while the Roman autocracy under Octavius was exceedingly efficient. But whether a government is autocratic or democratic, the degree of civilization must depend in the main on the people themselves. Even the power and genius of Charlemagne could not at once make Europe civilized; and even the power and bestiality of Commodus could not at once make Rome uncivilized. In every nation, the rulers and the people re-act upon each other, and each makes the other in a measure what they are. A people that are strong and worthy will not long be governed by men who are weak and unworthy. If a nation continues to have weak and unworthy rulers, it is because the people themselves are weak and unworthy.

Therefore, it is an insufficient explanation of the breaking down of the Roman Machine to declare that the Roman emperors were what they were. The Roman emperors reflected the Roman people, or they would not have remained Roman emperors. If the Roman people had been as strong individually and collectively as they were in the days of Octavius and Trajan, no such emperors as later sat on the throne would have been possible. But the Roman people gradually deteriorated, morally, mentally, and even physically; and inefficient government was one of the results.

What caused the deterioration of the Roman people? The same thing that has caused the deterioration of every other great people that have deteriorated – the softening influence of wealth and ease.

Thus, Rome did not fall because of the barbarians, but because of herself. She fell because her people allowed the Machine which she had built up, in spite of the barbarians outside, at so much cost of labor and blood, to become so weak that it could no longer protect itself. Can this happen to our Machine? Yes, and it will happen as surely as effect follows after cause, unless means be taken to see that men are trained to care for the Machine more carefully than they are trained now. In no country is there any serious effort made to train men to operate the Machine of Government, except those parts of the Machine that are called the army and the navy: – though some tremendous efforts are made in private life to train men to handle corporations and business enterprises, and to learn all that can be learned in medicine, engineering, the Law and all the "learned professions." And even the efforts made to train officers to handle armies and navies are in great part neutralized by placing men at the head of those armies and navies who are not trained in the slightest.

The Roman Machine fell with a crash that was proportional to the magnitude of the Machine. The Machine of today is much larger and heavier than the Roman. If it falls, as it may, the crash will be proportionally greater. What will follow, the mind recoils from contemplating.