A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future

by John Jacob Astor

  CHAPTER IV.

  PROF. CORTLANDT'S HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE WORLD

  IN A. D. 2000.

  Prof. Cortlandt, preparing a history of the times at thebeginning of the great terrestrial and astronomical change, wroteas follows: "This period--A.D. 2000--is by far the mostwonderful the world has as yet seen. The advance in scientificknowledge and attainment within the memory, of the presentgeneration has been so stupendous that it completely overshadowsall that has preceded. All times in history and all periods ofthe world have been remarkable for some distinctive orcharacteristic trait. The feature of the period of Louis XIV wasthe splendour of the court and the centralization of power inParis. The year 1789 marked the decline of the power of courtsand the evolution of government by the people. So, by the spreadof republican ideas and the great advance in science, educationhas become universal, for women as well as for men, and this ismore than ever a mechanical age.

  "With increased knowledge we are constantly coming to realize howlittle we really know, and are also continually findingmanifestations of forces that at first seem like exceptions toestablished laws. This is, of course, brought about by themodifying influence of some other natural law, though many ofthese we have not yet discovered.

  "Electricity in its varied forms does all work, having supersededanimal and manual labour in everything, and man has only todirect. The greatest ingenuity next to finding new uses for thisalmost omnipotent fluid has been displayed in inducing the forcesof Nature, and even the sun, to produce it. Before describingthe features of this perfection of civilization, let us reviewthe steps by which society and the political world reached theirpresent state.

  "At the close of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1871, ContinentalEurope entered upon the condition of an armed camp, which lastedfor nearly half a century. The primary cause of this was themutual dislike and jealousy of France and Germany, each of whichstrove to have a larger and better equipped national defence thanthe other. There were also many other causes, as the ambition ofthe Russian Czar, supported by his country's vast thoughimperfectly developed resources and practically unlimited supplyof men, one phase of which was the constant ferment in the BalkanPeninsula, and another Russia's schemes for extension in Asia;another was the general desire for colonies in Africa, in whichone Continental power pretty effectually blocked another, and thelatent distrust inside the Triple Alliance. England, meanwhile,preserved a wise and profitable neutrality.

  "These tremendous sacrifices for armaments, both on land andwater, had far-reaching results, and, as we see it now, wereclouds with silver linings. The demand for hardened steelprojectiles, nickel-steel plates, and light and almostunbreakable machinery, was a great incentive to improvement inmetallurgy while the necessity for compact and safely carriedammunition greatly stimulated chemical research, and led to thediscovery of explosives whose powers no obstacle can resist, andincidentally to other more useful things.

  "Further mechanical and scientific progress, however, such asflying machines provided with these high explosives, andasphyxiating bombs containing compressed gas that could be firedfrom guns or dropped from the air, intervened. The former wouldhave laid every city in the dust, and the latter might havealmost exterminated the race. These discoveries providentiallyprevented hostilities, so that the 'Great War,' so long expected,never came, and the rival nations had their pains for nothing,or, rather, for others than themselves.

  "Let us now examine the political and ethnological results.Hundreds of thousands, of the flower of Continental Europe werekilled by overwork and short rations, and millions of desirableand often--unfortunately for us--undesirable people were drivento emigration, nearly all of whom came to English-speakingterritory, greatly increasing our productiveness and power. As,we have seen, the jealousy of the Continental powers for oneanother effectually prevented their extending their influence orprotectorates to other continents, which jealousy wasconsiderably aided by the small but destructive wars that didtake place. High taxes also made it more difficult for themoneyed men to invest in colonizing or development companies,which are so often the forerunners of absorption; while theUnited States, with her coal--of which the Mediterranean stateshave scarcely any--other resources, and low taxes, which, thoughnecessary, can be nothing but an evil, has been able to expandnaturally as no other nation ever has before.

  "This has given the English-speakers, especially the UnitedStates, a free hand, rendering enforcement of the Monroe doctrineeasy, and started English a long way towards becoming theuniversal language, while all formerly unoccupied land is nowowned by those speaking it.

  "At the close of our civil war, in 1865, we had but 3,000,000square miles, and a population of 34,000,000. The countrystaggered beneath a colossal debt of over $4,000,000,000, had anexpensive but essentially perishable navy, and there was anominous feeling between the sections. The purchase of Alaska in1867, by which we added over half a million square miles to ourterritory, marked the resumption of the forward march of theUnited States. Twenty-five years later, at the presidentialcampaign of 1892, the debt had been reduced to $900,000,000,deducting the sinking fund, and the charge for pensions had aboutreached its maximum and soon began to decrease, though no oneobjected to any amount of reward for bona fide soldiers who hadhelped to save the country. The country's wealth had alsoenormously increased, while the population had grown to65,000,000. Our ancestors had, completed or in building, a navyof which no nation need be ashamed; and, though occasionallymarred by hard times, there was general prosperity.

  "Gradually the different States of Canada--or provinces, as theywere then called--came to realize that their future would be fargrander and more glorious in union with the United States thanseparated from it; and also that their sympathy was far strongerfor their nearest neighbours than for any one else. One by onethese Northern States made known their desire for consolidationwith the Union, retaining complete control of their localaffairs, as have the older States. They were gladly welcomed byour Government and people, and possible rivals became the best offriends. Preceding and also following this, the States ofMexico, Central America, and parts of South America, tiring ofthe incessant revolutions and difficulties among themselves,which had pretty constantly looked upon us as a big brother onaccount of our maintenance of the Monroe doctrine, began toagitate for annexation, knowing they would retain control oftheir local affairs. In this they were vigorously supported bythe American residents and property-holders, who knew that theirpossessions would double in value the day the United StatesConstitution was signed.

  "Thus, in the first place, by the encouragement of our people,and latterly, apparently, by its own volition, the Union hasincreased enormously in power, till it now embraces 10,000,000square miles, and has a free and enlightened population of300,000,000. Though the Union established by Washington and hiscontemporaries has attained such tremendous proportions, itsgrowth is by no means finished; and as a result of modernimprovements, it is less of a journey now to go from Alaska tothe Orinoco than it was for the Father of his Country to travelfrom New York or Philadelphia to the site of the city named inhis honour.

  "Adequate and really rapid transportation facilities have donemuch to bind the different parts of the country together, and torub off the edges of local prejudice. Though we always favourpeace, no nation would think of opposing the expressed wishes ofthe United States, and our moral power for good is tremendous.The name Japhet means enlargement, and the prophecy seems aboutto be literally fulfilled by these his descendants. The bankruptsuffering of so many European Continental powers had also otherresults. It enabled the socialists--who have never been able tosee beyond themselves--to force their governments into sellingtheir colonies in the Eastern hemisphere to England, and theirislands in the Western to us, in order to realize upon them.With the addition of Canada to the United States and its loss tothe British Empire, the land possessions of the two powers becameabout equal, our Union
being a trifle the larger. All danger ofwar being removed by the Canadian change, a healthful andfriendly competition took its place, the nations competing intheir growth on different hemispheres. England easily addedlarge areas in Asia and Africa, while the United States grew aswe have seen. The race is still, in a sense, neck-and-neck, andthe English-speakers together possess nearly half the globe. Theworld's recent rate of progress would have been impossiblewithout this approximation to a universal language. The causesthat checkmated the Continental powers have ceased to exist.Many millions of men whose principal thought had been to destroyother members of the race became producers, but it was then toolate, for the heavy armaments had done their work.

  "Let us now glance at the times as they are, and see how thebusiness of life is transacted. Manhattan Island has somethingover 2,500,000 inhabitants, and is surrounded by a belt ofpopulation, several miles wide, of 12,000,000 more, of which itis the focus, so that the entire city contains more than14,500,000 souls. The several hundred square miles of land andwater forming greater New York are perfectly united by numerousbridges, tunnels, and electric ferries, while the city's greatnatural advantages have been enhanced and beautified by everyingenious device. No main avenue in the newer sections is lessthan two hundred feet wide, containing shade and fruit trees, abridle-path, broad sidewalks, and open spaces for carriages andbicycles. Several fine diagonal streets and breathing-squareshave also been provided in the older sections, and the existingparks have been supplemented by intermediate ones, all beingconnected by parkways to form continuous chains.

  "The hollow masts of our ships--to glance at another phase enpassant--carry windmills instead of sails, through which the windperforms the work, of storing a great part of the energy requiredto run them at sea, while they are discharging or loading cargoin port; and it can, of course, work to better advantage whilethey are stationary than when they are running before it. Theseturbines are made entirely of light metal, and fold when not inuse, so that only the frames are visible. Sometimes these alsofold and are housed, or wholly disappear within the mast.Steam-boilers are also placed at the foci of huge concavemirrors, often a hundred feet in diameter, the required heatbeing supplied by the sun, without smoke, instead of by bulky anddirty coal. This discovery gave commercial value to Sahara andother tropical deserts, which are now desirable for mill-sitesand for generating power, on account of the directness with whichthey receive the sun's rays and their freedom from clouds. Mileafter mile Africa has been won for the uses of civilization, tillgreat stretches that were considered impassible are as productiveas gardens. Our condensers, which compress, cool, and rarefyair, enabling travellers to obtain water and even ice from theatmosphere, are great aids in desert exploration, removingabsolutely the principal distress of the ancient caravan. Theerstwhile 'Dark Continent' has a larger white population now thanNorth America had a hundred years ago, and has this advantage forthe future, that it contains 11,600,000 square miles, while NorthAmerica has less than 9,000,000. Every part of the globe willsoon sustain about as large and prosperous a population as theamount of energy it receives from the sun and other sources willwarrant; public debts and the efficiency of the governments beingthe variable elements.

  "The rabbits in Australia, and the far more objectionablepoisonous snakes in South America and India, have beenexterminated by the capture of a few dozen of the creatures inthe infested districts, their inoculation with the virus similarto the murus tiphi, tuberculosis or any other contagious-germcomplaint to which the species treated was particularlysusceptible, and the release of these individuals when thedisease was seen to be taking hold. The rabbits and serpentsreleased at once returned to their old haunts, carrying theplague far and wide. The unfortunate rabbits were greatlycommiserated even by the medicos that wielded the death-dealingsyringe; but, fortunately for themselves, they died easily. Thereptiles, perhaps on account of the wider distribution of thenerve centres, had more lingering but not painful deaths, often,while in articulo mortis, leaving the holes with which theyseemed to connect their discomfort, and making a final strugglealong the ground, only to die more quickly as a result of theirexertions. We have applied this also to the potato-bug, locust,and other insect pests, no victim being too small for theubiquitous, subtle germ, which, properly cultivated and utilized,has become one of man's best friends.

  "We have microbe tests that show us as unmistakably whether thegerms of any particular disease--like malaria, typhoid, orscarlet fever--are present in the air, as litmus-paper showsalkalinity of a solution. We also inoculate as a preventiveagainst these and almost all other germ diseases, with the samesuccess that we vaccinate for smallpox.

  "The medicinal properties of all articles of food are so wellunderstood also, that most cures are brought about simply bydieting. This, reminds me of the mistakes perpetrated on afriend of mine who called in Dr. Grave-Powders, one of theold-school physicians, to be treated for insomnia and dyspepsia.This old numskull restricted his diet, gave him huge doses ofmedicine, and decided most learnedly that he was daily growingworse. Concluding that he had but a short time to live, myfriend threw away the nauseating medicines, ate whatever he had anatural desire for, and was soon as well as ever--the obviousmoral of which is, that we can get whatever treatment we needmost beneficially from our food. Our physicians are most seriousand thoughtful men. They never claim to be infallible, but studyscientifically to increase their knowledge and improve themethods of treatment. As a result of this, fresh air, regularexercise for both sexes, with better conditions, and thepreservation of the lives of children that formerly died bythousands from preventable causes, the physique, especially ofwomen, is wonderfully improved, and the average longevity isalready over sixty.

  "Our social structure, to be brief, is based on science, or theconservation of energy, as the Greek philosophers predicted. Itwas known to them that a certain amount of power would produceonly a certain amount of work--that is, the weight of a clock indescending or a spring in uncoiling returns theoretically theamount of work expended in raising or coiling it, and in nopossible way can it do more. In practice, on account offriction, etc., we know it does less. This law, beinginvariable, of course limits us, as it did Archimedes andPythagoras; we have simply utilized sources of power that theirclumsy workmen allowed to escape. Of the four principalsources--food, fuel, wind, and tide--including harnessedwaterfalls, the last two do by far the most work. Much of theelectrical energy in every thunderstorm is also captured andcondensed in our capacious storage batteries, as natural hygeiain the form of rain was and is still caught in our countrycisterns. Every exposed place is crowned by a cluster of hugewindmills that lift water to some pond or reservoir placed ashigh as possible. Every stiff breeze, therefore, raises millionsof tons of water which operate hydraulic turbines as required.Incidentally these storage reservoirs, by increasing the surfaceexposed to evaporation and the consequent rainfall, have a verybeneficial effect on the dry regions in the interior of thecontinent, and in some cases have almost superseded irrigation.The windmill and dynamo thus utilize bleak mountain-tops that,till their discovery, seemed to be but indifferent successes inDame Nature's domain. The electricity generated by these, inconnection with that obtained by waterfalls, tidal dynamos,thunderstorms, chemical action, and slow-movingquadruple-expansion steam engines, provides the power required torun our electric ships and water-spiders, railways, andstationary and portable motors, for heating the cables laid alongthe bottom of our canals to prevent their freezing in winter, andfor almost every conceivable purpose. Sometimes a man has awindmill on his roof for light and heat; then, the harder thewintry blasts may blow the brighter and warmer becomes the house,the current passing through a storage battery to make it moresteady. The operation of our ordinary electric railways is verysimple: the current is taken from an overhead, side, orunderneath wire, directly through the air, without theintervention of a trolley, and the fast cars, for they are nolonger run in trains, make five miles a minute.
The entireweight of each car being used for its own traction, it can ascendvery steep grades, and can attain high speed or stop veryquickly.

  "Another form is the magnetic railway, on which the cars arewedge-shaped at both ends, and moved by huge magnets weighingfour thousand tons each, placed fifty miles apart. On passing amagnet, the nature of the electricity charging a car isautomatically changed from positive to negative, or vice versa,to that of the magnet just passed, so that it repels while thenext attracts. The successive magnets are charged oppositely,the sections being divided halfway between by insulators, thenature of the electricity in each section being governed by thecharge in the magnet. To prevent one kind of electricity fromuniting with and neutralizing that in the next section by passingthrough the car at the moment of transit, there is a "deadstretch" of fifty yards with rails not charged at all between thesections. This change in the nature of the electricity isrepeated automatically every fifty miles, and obviates thenecessity of revolving machinery, the rails aiding communication.

  "Magnetism being practically as instantaneous as gravitation, theonly limitations to speed are the electrical pressure at themagnets, the resistance of the air, and the danger of the wheelsbursting from centrifugal force. The first can seemingly beincreased without limit; the atmospheric resistance is about tobe reduced by running the cars hermetically sealed through apartial vacuum in a steel and toughened glass tube; while thethird has been removed indefinitely by the use of galvanizedaluminum, which bears about the same relation to ordinaryaluminum that steel does to iron, and which has twice the tensilestrength and but one third the weight of steel. In some casesthe rails are made turned in, so that it would be impossible fora car to leave the track without the road-bed's being totallydemolished; but in most cases this is found to be unnecessary,for no through line has a curve on its vast stretches with aradius of less than half a mile. Rails, one hundred and sixtypounds to the yard, are set in grooved steel ties, which in turnare held by a concrete road-bed consisting of broken stone andcement, making spreading rails and loose ballast impossible. Alarge increase in capital was necessary for these improvements,the elimination of curves being the most laborious part,requiring bridges, cuttings, and embankments that dwarf thePyramids and would have made the ancient Pharaohs open theireyes; but with the low rate of interest on bonds, the slight costof power, and great increase in business, the venture was asuccess, and we are now in sight of further advances that willenable a traveller in a high latitude moving west to keep pacewith the sun, and, should he wish it, to have unending day."