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my. It was the discovery of Iron and other metals that made It
,possible to make the many thousands of machines composed of
them—machines which could not be invented without the metals
of which they are made. Salt was another great discovery. Gold
and silver were discovered. Diamonds, rubies and all gems were
discovered. Many of the most useful things invented could
never have been made but for things that had been discovered.
—Helen Greene,
Sixth Grade. Spring Valley, Minn.
Discovery the Impetus.
f (High School Credit.)
By the invention of railroads great progress in civilization
has been attained, the remote parts of the earth having been
brought together. The facilities of travel, by Dringing men to
gether and familiarizing them with new scenes and different
forms of society and beliefs, have made them more liberal and
tolerant. Mind has been broadened and quickened. The chief
difficulty of maintaining a confederation of states, widely sepa
rated, has been removed, and such extended territories as those
of the United States have been consolidated. A union of com
mercial interests has been effected. Thus Japan, on the outskirts
of the world, has been civilized a great deal through just such
agencies as the railroad, telegraph, telephone and cable.
But all these depend on the discovery of steam and electricity.
The railroads would have been of no practical value without
something to run the trains and the discovery of steam supplied
this deficiency. The same is true in the case of telegraphs,
cables «nd telephones. Electricity is at
the bottom of all the good they promote.
And again the invention of the printing
press has done wonders in bringing
about our present conditions. It helped
along the revival of learning, and aided
the reformation, multiplying books with
such rapidity that they could come with
in the reach of every one. But it would
not have been of so great use to the
world without the discovery of steam.
Therefore discoveries have done more
for the civilization of the world.
—Ida Steenstrup,
High School. Caledonia, Minn.
Value of the Printing: Press. ■
(High School Credit.)
Those two great leaders of the world's
progress, discovery and Invention, are so
closely allied that in trying to determine
their relative values I was drawn into such a whirlpool of con
fused doubts and twisted questions that they caused me to won
der what the original question was. On the face of matters, in
vention is of the more value, for discovery does not aid man until
some method is invented to utilize it. The discovery of iron was
useless until machines were invented to purify and mold the ore,
giving it market value.
America's discovery was due to the invention of the com-
pass and sailing ship, but the discovery although a : wonderful
maritime feat, would scarcely have changed universal history as
it has unless Fulton's steamboat had been invented as a quicker,
«afer and more' commodious mode of transportation. ■ America
would not have reached its high state of development and popu
lation if Watts had neglected to invent the steam engine and Gut- •
enberg the printing * press. " The " printing, press has been of
inestimable value. Without it the United States could not have
supported a democratic government over such an extensive ter
ritory, for the masses r would 'be so ignorant that it" would be
folly indeed to invest them with their present power. Moreover,
the printing press has materially aided discoveries and inven
tions by placing new subjects before the people's minds.
Until Edison and others invented' means by which electricity
was utilized, Franklin's discovery of its power was of no prac
tical value. The discovery that Mars was a planet has not
changed or touched our lives, although it has created much talk
and interested comment, as discoveries do, , but when some mode
of communication has been invented is it not more than possible
that the future history of man will be revolutionized? ~
—Kate Talbot Finlde,
High School. Moorhead,
*
Post and Present.
. (Honorable Mention.) ';, "".'
. . Discovery and invention go hand! in hand and are so closely
related that they can scarcely be separated. When we. review the
. discoveries made by the scientists of the world we must admit.
North western Topics
For February- 23:
"WHAT CAN YOU MAKE?"
Just "s'posin' " that you were to be given your freedom
or some great prize for making some special thing with
your own hands. What would it be? Would it be in the
line of sewing, carpentry, something to eat, or what?
Perhaps it may be something unique, but whatever it is,
it must be something that you can make well, something
that would be of value in itself, and something that you
can do wholly by yourself from the beginning. The pa^
pers must be mailed so as to reach the office not later than
Friday Mornlnj?, February 15.
They must be strictly original, written in ink on one
side only of the paper, not more than 300 words in length,
marked with the number of words and signed with the
grade, school, name and address of the writer. The pa
pers must not be rolled.
For March 2:
"INCIDENT OF A BALL GAME.—THE MOST
UNIQUE PARTY."
Here the boys and girls have a choice of two topics and
between them they ought to be able to get up an unusually
interesting department. Do not try to .tell a game in
detail, nor describe everything that happened at a party.
These would not be "incidents" in the sense in which the
word is used here. You are perfectly free to choose
whichever part of the topic you prefer, but you must not
use both. The papers must be mailed so as to reach the
office not later than
Friday Morning, February 22.
They must be strictly original, written in Ink on one
side only of the paper, not more than 300 words in length,
marked with the number of words and signed with the
grade, school, name and address of the writer. The pa
pers must not be rolled. *
THE JOURNAL JUNIOR. MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 9 1901.
that they are most wonderful and that mankind has been benefited
by them. In the medical world many great discoveries have been
made. Astronomers have made discoveries by which eclipses of
the sun and moon and showers of meteors "-. are foretold. 1 When
we turn - our mind ', to inventions we are surprised to ; note the
changes wrought by them. Run back a few decades to the time
when the stage coaches occupied the place ;of . our modern
: trains and electric cars; when a messenger on norseback served
as the most rapid means' of communication, as compared to our
splendid telephone , service and wireless telegrapny; when tallow
candles: were appreciated as _ "good light"; when sail
boats took two months to cross the Atlantic, which
1 la" now crossed by ocean steamers in six days, and we
must truly say that inventions have revolutionized the world.
But where would our Edison and Morse inventions have been
had not a Franklin discovered that such a thing as electricity
existed? Where would Fulton's and Stevenson's inventions have
been if a James" Watt had not discovered. that water "and r fire,
would produce power ?.; Therefore \we say that discovery • and
invention go hand in hand. Discovery first, then invention.
i : * —Laura Sundahl,
Eighth Grade. / . ■ " Litchfield, Minn.
N
A Century of Inventions.
. (Honorable Mention.) >• _['' [ - -
' Man: was ;satisfied once to believe that this earth was flat
and on each side were four oceans hemmed in by a great stone
wall on which rested the roof or ; sky; ; and that the sun went
Question * * * * *
Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the
earth itself and all it contains rather than do an ignoble act,
though it can never be known but to yourself. Jtsk yourself
how you would act were all the world looking at you, and
act accordingly. ' Thomas Jefferson.
through a large tunnel beneath the earth, In order to return to
its place by dawn, and many other absurd ideas. But, when his
mind became more and more developed, he began to suspect and
think differently. Thus followed the great age of discovery,
though there had been lesser ones before. Not only do I mean
new lands, but discoveries in science and nature. These were
essential to progress as man must know what is in this world
before he can make use of things. These discoveries brought
knowledge, and as it progressed old, foolish ideas had to be
dropped. This last century has been rich in inventions, and the
phenomena of nature have been made clearer through patient
researches and discoveries by great men. If man had not dis
covered, inventions could not have been thought of. Discovery
is the foundation of still higher efforts in inventions. "Well be
gun is half done." The beginning was discovery, and well done
it was; after this comes invention. Invention is the fruit of
man's progress, and it is still green, still in its bud. Discovery
has not ended; there are things to come more wonderful than
have been. This grand world, with nature so perfect and every
thing in harmony, must come to something! Or else why is it at
all? It cannot be for us to answer yet; it is too great, too
sublime! As yet discovery is greater and has done more for
the world than invention. —Walter Stahr,
Seventh Grade, 3410 Park Avenue S,
Hodgen School. St. Louis, Mo.
Valuable in Trade and Commerce.
(Honorable Mention.)
When something new is found it is said that it is discovered.
The power of steam was discovered, but it was not of any use
until something was invented to make it useful. The steam en
gine which propels the machinery of factories, that manufacture
hundreds of articles of use; the steam locomotive and steamship,
which are so valuable in trade and commerce; the telegraph and
telephone, which make it possible for us to know to-day what
happened on the other side of the world yesterday; kerosene
lamps, electricity and gas, which light the houses, factories and
streets of this country, were all inventions of more or less im
portance. There are hundreds of other things that were in
vented which are of more use than any known discovery. With
out steamboats, railroads and telegraphs what would be the
condition of our country? It is through them that our great
union has been made possible. They have brought other na
tions closer together and through them the people of different
countries learn to know and take interest in each other. These
different means of communication tend to make men broad and
liberal and they value peace more highly. When difficulties
arise between nations it is much easier to settle them now, and
it is yery probable that if these inventions had been made at an
earlier date some of our wars would have been avoided. Some
may say that each and all of these inventions can be traced to
some discovery; that may be true, but the discovery was very
trivial compared with the years of patient toil required to ac
complish the invention and make it useful to mankind. What
discoveries can compare with these three inventions in increas
ing civilization and in making men wiser and better?
—Gordon McLeod,
Sixth Grade. Perham, Minn.
: The finding of Amerfca was a discovery, but if ships or
the compass had not been invented America . never would have
| been discovered. Iron was a discovery, but if the way of melt
: ing it had not been invented iron would have been ■of no use at
all. We could have made but little progress without the alphabet,
which was probably invented by Cadmus; if we had no alphabet
we.should not know how to read and write, and would be just
: like savages. •■ Cyrus • Field ■ invented and laid the > ocean \ cable,
[ which is of great use, for without it we should know, nothing of
the things that are happening across the ocean. For instance, we
I should- not -have known that Queen Victoria Vas dead until
a long time after had it not been for the cable. Another of the
great inventions was the printing press, which was invented . a
; little before Columbus discovered America. If we did not have
the printing press we should have very ■ few books to read and
would have no newspapers like the Journal Junior. '.
B Sixth Grade,' ... —Walter Robertson, •
Central SchooL - 736 Hunter Street, Crookston, Minn.
it
Towni" Became Cltlea.
: This is a very hard problem to solve. The discovery of America
made the world larger in population, in area and Industries. Dis
... ■ - - j . - ■ -■••■'..■ .
n
Book« Would Be Scarce.
(Honorable Mention.)
covery of gold in California in 1848 caused a great rush for ttf
far-off western state which was then almost unknown, and made
many small towns into large cities. If it had not been for discov
eries we might not have had so many inventions, and if it had
not been for inventions we might not have had so many discov
eries. The invention of ships is of importance because if it were
not for them America would not have been discovered, because
the ocean could not be crossed. The invention of the power
threshing machine in 1891 and the cotton gin, invented by Eli
Whitney in 1793, made labor easier; before the invention of the
gin the seed had to be picked out by hand. But to balance ac
counts, discoveries are far more important, because were it not
for them there would have been fewer inventions.
—May Phillips,
Eighth Grade. Big Stone, S. D.
Cause of Oar Prosperity.
Inventions have done more for the world. If it had not
been for inventions the discoveries could not have been put to
use. The discovery of coal would have been of no use to us if
stoves had not been made 1 in which to burn it. The discovery of
electricity would have been of no use to us ir ways to use it had
not been invented. The discovery of America would have been
of no use if machinery, such as plows, saws, axes and threshing
machines had not been invented, which have developed its re
sources. If buggies, steamships, cables, telegraphs, telephones
and almost everything one can think of had not been invented
we should not be as prosperous as we are now and I cannot think
of any discovery that would have been
of much use without inventions.
—Ina Powell,
Fifth Grade. Warren, Minn.
H
A Revolution in Ideas.
A careful observation has thoroughly
convinced me that discovery has had
much more influence upon the progress
of the world than invention. About 600
B. C. some unknown person discovered
electricity. For a long time it was of
no practical value, out .for the past
century it has done more toward the
advancement of science than any other
one thing. If it had not been discov
ered we should not be doing our busi
ness via the telephone and telegraph."
Of course the great harness that has
been made for it in tne form of inven
tions are what render it so useful, but
these inventions would not have taken
place if Drake had not proved that the world was round. Per
haps we should still be laboring under the delusion that it was
flat and rested on an elephant's back instead of space, and that
earthquakes were caused by Jumbo's taking an occasional shake.
A little Dutch boy, while playing in front of his father's shop in
a crowded city, noticed that by holding two pieces of glass in a
certain way he could see a distant church spire as plainly as
though it were a few feet away. His queer discovery led his
father to make a telescope and to-day astronomers are able to
give us quite minute descriptions of far-off planets and stars by
the aid of it. A traveler discovered diamonds In South Africa,
and perhaps if those diamonds had not been discovered England
would not be so anxious to wage a war on -the Boers and add a
few bloody pages to the history of the world*
Eighth Grade,
Central School.
Time and Money Saved.
When Columbus discovered America he could not have done
so had not ships been made, and had the compass not been made
he could not have kept his course.' News can be sent all over the
country in little time because of the invention of the telegraph-
Steam engines enable the people to go from one part of the coun
try to another in a few days, but before its invention it took
several months." The telephone is a great Invention,^because
people can talk jto each other many miles apart. Inventions
therefore are greater than discoveries. .
B Seventh "Grade, . -—Eddie Magnussen,
- Central School. 123 Main Street S,
Crookston, Minn.
Many Inventions Follow One Discovery. .
When discussing " discoveries and inventions we find that
there are two well formed sides to the question. In defining each
we find that a discovery is something that has always existed but
has just been found, and. an invention is a perfected discovery.
For instance, we shall take electricity. It was discovered by
Benjamin Franklin. It had; always "existed but people had not
found it. Then : the Morse telegraph, Bell telephone, Marconi
: wireless telegraph, automobiles, electric boats and lights are in
ventions based upon the one discovery by Franklin. Therefore, if
we had no discoveries we should have no inventions, and if we had
discoveries and no inventions we should be a« backward as if w<*
had no discoveries. Discoveries without inventions following
would be like an engine that could pull no cars; it would be only
a*oy- -*"" —Joan A. Hall as,
• Eighth Grade. ' , Adrian, Minn.
•6
\'o Ifongrer Impossible and. Improbable.
; In my opinion discovery comes before invention. Going back
to the very beginning of America it took a Columbus to dis
cover a new world and its resources before atiy important inven
tions were made by her people or were of- any use to this coun
try. Take for example steam. Could the steam engine have been
■invented before steam had been discovered? The force of steam
had to be discovered by James Watts before Fulton's steam engine
could be " invented. V Since then steam has t>een put under the
control of man and used to run mills, engines, trains, in fact,
about everything which before the discovery was run by water
or horse power. In the" same manner'take electricity. After it
was discovered many new things were invented. But before, the
idea of running a carriage without a horse and of lighting a
house by simply turning a button was improbable. The act of
talking in lan ordinary voice to a person miles away and of re
ceiving news from Europe almost as soon as the Europeans them
selves seemed almost as impossible. But, again, invention some
times depends upon discovery. In the case of Columbus, America
would probably not have been discovered by him without the aid
of the compass, which had then lately been invented.
Ninth Grade, —Rena Cox,
. Washington School. Cloquet, Minn.
An Evidence of Progress.
Inventions have done more for the progress of the world.
Take the locomotive and steamboat, they certainly favored f
growth of the western part of the United States more than any
thing else. Besides, dozens of other advantages were derivec 1
from them. Now, another great invention, the printing press.
Without it how many books or newspapers would we have? Would
we have any daily papers? No. The printing press has done
—Edwin D. Kenyon,
Stillwater, Minn.
