Oh, watch out for my Here's a chorus of mighty gilders, gilded for the brighter day.
Calling from the world to listen, this, my brothers, is the way, this old man is freedom's way.
Today's achievements began in the far, far distant past when the earth was shrouded in the mists of ignorance and fear.
In those dim ages of man's beginning, fire became the first and greatest friend of the caveman, the very symbol of his primitive home.
He learned to warm in it, to light with it, and to cook what the hunter brought.
During the succeeding thousands of years, man learned to replace the crude stone weapons of war and of the hunt with copper and bronze weapons and tools, and observed a log rolling, and at last worked out the device of the wheel, one of his greatest achievements.
While man was harnessing the forces of nature with his tools, he was also following the less praiseworthy course of subduing and harnessing his fellow man.
Under the merciless lash of the taskmaster, the slave tugged with straining sinews and tortured limbs to drag the quarried rock.
The sun scorches and sears their bent body, but the will of the pharaoh goes and drives them on to build the pyramid, one of the greatest engineering feats in the history of man, but useless, for it served the vanity of one man, a tomb for a dead king.
From the banks of the Nile, the science of the ancient world moved to the Isles of Greece, under the Azure Grecian skies philosophers walked about, exchanging thoughts and formulating theories on mathematics, medicine, logic and ethics, Euclid, Pythagoras, Archimedes and Hero delighted in abstract speculation, but saw no need to give to the people practical application of their remarkable invention.
Time passed, Rome had defeated Carthage and half the world bowed down before her.
Well done, O Appius Claudius, a feat of daring engineering equal to your feat of building the aqueduct.
Now the Appian Way, named in your honor, will continue on to Capua.
Well, you deserve the honors the Republican bestow upon those who engineer the paths of Roman glory.
You do me too much honor.
There remains much to be done.
How far go your plan? My blind eyes see far beyond this road.
With my inner vision, I see Roman engineers building roads leading to the far corners of the Earth.
Roman roads will bear our own power to all the world, and all the world will come to mighty Rome.
But now, old consul, grant me leave, that I may repair the streets of the suburbia where lived the poor.
What would you give the poor? A strip of pavement or the glory of conquering Rome? Use your skills for conquest, for glory.
Scatter them not as crumb as before the rabble, but I hear the cheers of the multitude.
The ceremonies are about to begin.
Come, give me your hand, Christ -gifted Appius, famed engineer of Rome.
Rome's engineers attained a degree of skill unequaled until modern times.
But to spread the flow of learning, there was needed one vehicle, the printed word.
Impromptus, Johannes Gutenberg.
My, this is a remarkable calendar.
The year on the Domine 1456.
Beautiful, beautiful.
Master Gutenberg.
May I see a page of your printed Bible? Oh, certainly, Hallier.
Here you are.
Thank you.
Why, it is even clearer than the scripted among.
Yeah, Hallier.
How many of these can you produce? Oh, as many as you wish, as long as I have ink and paper.
But how do you manage it? Oh, I'm an old goldsmith and mastering graver.
You see, Hallier, the thought came upon me that metal type would not crack or wear out as does the wooden block.
And so I cast large quantities of each letter of the alphabet in brass mode.
I shall show you, Hallier.
Hans, come, bring me that mode.
You bring it over.
Thank you.
Ah, here you see, Hallier, movable lead type.
I see.
You lock the letters into words.
And each letter is interchangeable.
Hans, Hans.
A magnificent new idea, Master Gutenberg.
Thank you, Hallier, thank you.
Hans, get master first.
Hallier, you see, after I have printed one page of the Bible, I unlock the form and reassemble my letters into new words and verses of the sacred script chart.
Blessed be God, now you can pour out a flood of books.
Yeah, Hallier, that I can.
What is it, Hans? Oh, Hallier, I would like to introduce to you my partner, Herr Fust.
Hallier, Fust, I need more paper, more metal, more capital.
I need money.
Money? That's all I ever hear.
How much do you need this time? I keep putting in my money, and what are you investing? I? My skill, my experience.
You know yourself I feel this press with my own hands.
The form, the type, everything.
And you ask what did I invest.
But what's the use of it? There is no market for your books.
There are no buyers.
Master Gutenberg.
Yeah, Hallier.
How soon could you print me twelve lexicons? Twelve books? That will take two or three months.
Ten days.
You can do it so quickly I will want more.
You see, I have many students and I have only one handwritten book.
And I want each student to have his own book.
Naturally.
Master Gutenberg, print me forty -four books.
Forty -four? Who would have believed it? Forty -four books, Hallier.
You shall have them.
It shall be done.
Forty -four books.
Thank you, Hallier.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Ja, auf Wiedersehen, Herr Gutenberg.
Forty -four.
Forty -four.
Fust, and you say that there is no market? No market, Fust.
But come now everybody.
The hand machines of the greats have been backward but still inefficient and slow.
They bore little resemblance to today's thundering presses that do in truth pour forth a flood of letters, about three -quarters of a zillion books a year.
And the miles of newsprint bringing more words in each issue than in Gutenberg's Bible and bringing them with the impact of today's immediacy.
Thus was realized Gutenberg's dream.
But the search for power had yet far to go to achieve this end.
In 1765 at the University of Glasgow, James Watt built an engine that effectively harnessed the power of steam.
You're enjoying your work as industrial Scotsman, aren't you? Oh lads, lads, Dr.
Roebuck is here to look at the engine.
Well now, Dr.
Roebuck, here you see the results of my labours on the new common engine.
It's quite a departure from the older engines and as you waltz over, dear doctor, the new common engine is a combination of both the salve rig and the paper.
Now, doctor, while repairing this engine, I perceived the loss of energy and fuel in the constant heating and cooling of the cylinder.
So I proceeded to construct this model.
Now if you step right over here, doctor, pardon me lads.
This that you see here is the separate condensation chamber.
And here are the steam valves bringing steam into the cylinder.
And this is the insulation keeping the steam parts hot.
Well, I don't like the looks of that.
Rob, Rob lad, will you bring me a file? That's a good lad.
No, give it a couple of ropes right there.
Mind your fingers lad, it's hot.
Will you ever try to be careful? No, mother, he'll get over it.
Now, daughter, you know, we could build engines like this to serve many purposes if we only had the proper accurate tools.
If we could fit the cylinder and the piston more exactly, we could build engines 100 times this size.
But we need more money for proper accurate tools and more room to work.
Well, what, Scotland has plenty of room and I'll give you the money if it works.
Oh, doctor, it's more than the high hopes of a high lender.
And I give you as Scotsman's promise, it will work.
Will, are you going to start it now? I, I.
Well, perhaps we best all step back.
No, no, no, no, no, no, I'll check everything.
And we checked everything.
Amazing.
Why this engine could pump, turn wheels, move belts, run our mills, the possibility of all that and more.
This power and the machine it drives will whisk away all man's burdens Will, what, you can count on my touch to add to the glory of Scotland.
Listen to the sound of it.
Why, it's like a bonnet.
Aye, aye.
What was right, steam power inspired the invention of many new machines, reared huge factories and powered new forms of locomotion that changed the face of the continent.
The Industrial Revolution was made possible by Watts control of steam power.
Providence had ordained a place in America where man could, by word and deed, bring to fruition the political as well as material benefits of the new industrial era.
Delegates from the sovereign states meet to frame a constitution Washington, Franklin, Jefferson.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.
Gentlemen, are we in substantial agreement? We are.
If so, let us put our names to this instrument.
General Washington, you who have led us through war to victory and peace and whose guiding hand has given directions to our deliberations, will you not be the first to sign? Almighty God, accept this, our earnest prayer, that thou will keep and preserve the blessings of liberty in this our beloved country, forever.
Amen.
The year is 1852, an office in New York City.
James Laurie, who is able to be with us and add to our discussion.
Gentlemen, for some time it has been held under advisement to form here in the city of New York a society of civil engineers, and that is the purpose of this meeting.
I suggest that we gather and publish reports on the newest methods and techniques in civil engineering so that there can be an interchange of knowledge.
A library! We're all stirred and rightly so at this project we're about to undertake, but we've got to lay a solid foundation for this society of civil engineers.
A new era is upon us.
The population is moving westward.
The Pacific coast is building up, land rush, gold rush.
It puts a tremendous responsibility upon the members of our profession.
Definitely.
But what a challenge for us, and what an opportunity for our youth.
Think of it, roads to be built across the desert, through the swamps, and through the wilderness.
Mountains to be tunneled, canals to be dug, harbors to be dredged, ports to be built, railroads spanning the continent.
Tremendous opportunities I think.
Gentlemen, there are only a few of us here, but we have the responsibility to pave the way for industry, commerce, and abundance.
We have the power here and now to so act that a century hence will honor with its praise and its gratitude the American society of civil engineers.
The invention of America's engineers and the need for further invention had now set the stage for a man of rare genius.
Why the facilities of this laboratory and the variety of your experiments, why you've made an industry of it.
Industry, industry.
Oh yes, yes, this whole country means big industry.
It's a constant challenge to new ideas.
But your genius is unique.
Oh, stubborn nonsense.
I just work harder at it than others.
Oh, you just work harder.
Oh, yeah, well, let's say I hope that man, Kruse, hasn't fallen asleep with that new gadget I've been working on.
Here he is.
Here he comes.
Here it is, whatever it is.
Oh my, what a lot of work.
Thirty hours without sleeping, but here it is, ain't stunning.
Yes, but Kruse, what on earth is it? I don't know.
Who knows? This gentleman is a particular pet of mine.
You know something? This machine is going to talk and sing.
Oh, no, no, no, I'm serious.
I'm serious.
This machine is going to talk.
You know what I got the idea? I was singing into the mouthpiece of this telephone when suddenly the vibrations of my voice sent a fine steel point into my finger.
And that sent me thinking, if I could record the actions of a point across the surface and then move that same point over the same surface afterwards, well, I saw no reason why the thing couldn't talk.
You know, it's funny where ideas come from, especially when you're looking for them.
Well, now you see, gentlemen, the tin foil is wrapped around the cylinder.
Now, this needle point, you see it in here, records the sound onto the soft tin foil.
But, Mr.
Edison, that's impossible.
It takes a complicated set of vocal cords and a diaphragm to produce sound.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not producing sound.
I'm recording.
But you said it would talk.
Well, we'll see.
You know the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
A few scratches on tin foil.
Now, how in the name of common sense can that reproduce speech? Oh, but it will.
It will, you'll see.
I bet you a box of cigars that that thing wouldn't work.
Good bet.
We'll know in just a moment, gentlemen.
Mary had a little lamb.
It was right as snow.
Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.
Now, you see, gentlemen, I take the needle off the cylinder and then move it back to the point where I started.
And now, in just a moment, we'll know whether or not we've recorded sound.
We'll know.
I had a little lamb.
It was right as snow.
It's working.
Listen to that.
Well, you know what? I'm quite sure it's working.
I'm surprised myself.
I bet you are.
Let me try that one.
Edison's done it again.
Sweet Ado Line.
Edison took out a thousand patents in his lifetime.
His inventions and his improvements on the inventions of others made their mark in the homes of the nation.
The achievements of the world are the result of a grand of science pyramid laying the foundation for new and greater industries and a prosperity that reached to every town and village and farm.
At the turn of the century, an infant giant, the internal combustion engine reached for new worlds to conquer.
In the name of common sense, why go into a new model when our old model is going over like Niagara? It's insane.
Henry's got new ideas.
He's going to cast four cylinders in one block.
What? Why, that's too heavy.
And what if one cylinder cracks? You've got to buy all four to replace it.
Well, Henry's going to produce in such quantity that a four cylinder block will be cheaper than one.
Good heavens, man.
We're producing ten thousand cars a year now.
Besides, you'd have to spend a million dollars just in retooling.
Well, why not? That's exactly what I intend to do.
Oh, but good heavens, Henry.
What do you hope to gain by it? Listen to me, planners.
I'd rather put out twenty -five thousand cars at five percent profit than a new high -priced cars at two hundred percent profit.
Now, look here, you'd have to...
The best for the greatest number of people will always win out in the end.
What, are you a businessman or a philanthropist? Why take the risk? It's insane to scrap our tools and plow in our profits on one of your scatterbrain hunches.
Our old model is good.
But not good enough and not cheap enough.
Well, there's no sense arguing with you.
You're a stubborn mule.
You don't know business.
I'm through.
I don't know business? What? It's just plain common sense.
Jim, what does our balance sheet show? Well, do you want the exact figures? Oh, never mind, never mind.
Just put it into retooling.
All of it? We will put out a new model in quantities bigger than men ever dreamed of before.
Each part will be machined to exact size.
No supplemental fittings, no wasted motion.
And every cent that I can save in construction, factory management, in the purchase of materials, even if I have to own the source of supply...
That's a good idea.
...will be deducted from the selling price.
The price is going down.
Jim, let's announce.
Well, what are you going to say? Well, let me think.
I'm going to put out a motor car for the...
Oh Ralph, you put this down.
I'm going to put out a motor car for the multitude.
I'll call it my Model T.
It'll be large enough for the family and simple enough for the individual to take care of.
It'll be made of the best materials by the best men that I can hire and from the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise.
But it'll be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one.
And with his family, enjoy hours of pleasure out in God's wide open space.
I don't know business.
Why, it's just plain common sense.
Common sense and good business principles working together brought the fruits of invention to every citizen.
Automobiles were made cheap enough and good enough to become no longer the pleasure of the few, but a necessity used by millions.
The benefits of Edison's Pearl Street Power Station flowed across the land, and electric power became the basic multi -force for the new industrial nation, bringing life into the lives of millions and providing power for an ever -growing myriad of tools that continue to build America.
And this great force, ever -growing, made accessible the power of the atom the giant of the future.
The forms of entertainment were changed.
Gaslight and candlelight gave way to electric lights, and new media arose based on the new kinds of light and power, media of entertainment that could bring joy and relaxation to thousands upon thousands in their leisure time.
And the growth of America, taking its spring from the inventions of Gutenberg with his basic idea of mass production, has brought forth generation after generation of student engineers to learn more, to build more in this land of America.
And the future of new things, the creation of new wonders, rests on the shoulders of the youth, the young men and women who will learn to build on the buildings of the past new structures for the betterment of the life of America and the world.
America's growth has been great, with but 7 % of the world's population.
Working on but 6 % of the world's surface, America now produces more than half the world's goods.
It is a far cry from the primitive tools of farming that dig neither wide nor deep.
Today, America's engineers have built great machines that turn the earth and cultivate better crops.
Old forms of watercraft that took much labor and gave little transport have been transformed by the skill and imagination of American engineers and the use of new sources of power and design into great chips that pushed thousands and thousands of tons from port to port.
15 ,000 tons of coal in one load on an inland waterway.
Even the earlier forms of our own American buildings, simple water mills, and quaint covered bridges have changed their structure in a brief span and great bridges have been built.
Crops cannot be grown without water, life cannot survive without it, but the carrying of water from source to farm has worried man for centuries and inefficient means were devised.
Until today's American engineers, creating new wonders, have provided new lakes, new rivers, new streams, water -arid land, and make green the desert.
The human back has done the world's work from primitive days to the time when power could be harnessed.
Power, efficient enough and portable enough to do the work wherever it might be found.
No longer need the backs of men carry the goods of the earth.
Music This tremendous fruitfulness of American industry is largely the creation of American engineers.
American engineers who have held one goal before them, to produce more goods that are made of newer and better materials at lower and lower prices so that what is a luxury today may be the universal necessity of tomorrow.
To this end, across our land, new modes of transportation, larger, faster, stronger, have arisen to carry the goods of our factories.
New tools, bigger tools, more exact tools, tools to make other tools, have been devised so that new kinds of goods can be produced better and old kinds of goods produced in new ways.
The steam engine of one has long since superseded his most ambitious dream, and new sources of power undreamed of have been harnessed.
New materials, countless in their numbers and variety, have been created to provide the many goods that now make America great.
And still the need for further development marches on.
The need to devise new means of doing greater labor than man's back is capable of.
Tools to produce more goods, to provide more comfort and leisure for the people of America and the world.
Ideas, inventions, initiatives, wills, with these America builds.
Machines, tools, research, skills, with these America builds.
Mass production, born of liberty, giving to all the fruit of industry, with these America builds.
The skies look down on a land whose engineers have found the boundaries of their own territory, have conquered its vast resources from sea to sea.
Today, American engineers have not yet found any boundaries to space.
Space, the project of the future.
Space, the project of the future.
Till Earth, our landing is done, and the whole world see the dawn of your methods of creation.
Till Earth, oh America, till Earth.
