Canastota High School - Toot Yearbook (Canastota, NY)

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THE TOOT .13 appears more in practical use in America than the electric motor. This machine was invented by an Englishman, Michael Faraday, but it has been improved and adapted for driving pewer to such a great extent in America that we can at least claim credit for its rise in the electrical world. It is a machine constructed on thoroughly sound engineering lines and is reliable, adaptable and suitable for use under the majority of conditions wheie driving power is needed. It has proved its value both in factories and workshops and in the driving of electric locomotives. In every case it has been found to be economical and efficient after once installed. Before leaving electricity as a motive pewer, it is necessary to mention the machine which generates the current, the dynamo. The dynamo dif- fers from the motor in that it converts mechanical energy into electrical while the motor converts electrical into mechanical. When we think of this, it either seems useless or that we have solved the problem of per- petual motion. It is not useless, for mechanical energy can be distributed a great distance from where it is made and the two machines will not de- velop perpetual motion because of friction. It is by the use of the dynamo that the hidden power of Niagara is converted into electrical energy and can be conducted to the surrounding cities by means of underground cables for illumination and other purposes. Electricity for illumination has been found to be the most satisfactory artificial light for citv ourposes. What a wrnd?rf”l a-ccmplishm-r t to throw a switch in a power station and produce an illuminous effect in the whole city nearly equal to that of the sun! In comparison with the candle of colonial days the electric light is a wonderful improvement and we owe its appearance to the electrical wizzard, Thomas Edison. However, there are two different kinds of lights in practical use. The light that Edison invented is the incandescent bulb and that used for street lighting was invented by Sir Humphrey Davy, an Englishman. Electricity is also rapidly taking the place of fuel for heating purposes. In the steel industry electric furnaces are now used practically altogether. They are not only a great improvement but their use adds greatly to the conservation of coal. Electric heating is also coming to the front in the household because of its many advantages. It ;s used for cooking as well as heating. One of the most necessary and useful of the electrical inven- tions is the telegraph invented in our own country by Robert Morse. This invention together with the laying of the Atlantic cable made immediate communication possible between America and Europe and finally with the whole world, one of the greatest accomplished in history. It was a sim- ple invention yet from it have come very great results. The telephone, the radio telephone and the wireless telegraph are closely related to the Morse invention. Among medical applications of electricity, the X-ray is probably the most familiar and important. It has proved itself of great service both to the dental and medical professions for examining internally. The rayn of light will pass thru any part of the body except bone so that a picturo

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12 THE TOOT ' This hand to tyrants ever sworn the foe, For Freedom only deals the deathly blow; For gentle peace in Freedom s hallowed shade. For gentle peace in calm repose, the vengeful blade, Therefore young Americans, having learned how great men of your country have attained success, if you want your flag and your nation to be respected and trusted by the whole world, do as they have done, aim as they have aimed, work as they have worked. But try—the trying shall suffice, The aim if reached or not, makes great the life. LOIS E. TEW1NKEL. ELECTRICITY IN THE SERVICE OF AMERICA As we follow the industrial history of this great and prosperous coun- try of ours down thru its years of experience and development, we find that it has reached its present advanced position in the world of industry thru scientific invention and its appliance. Among modern nations, none is so quick as America to profit by its inventive ability and to employ la- bor-saving devices wherever they can be used. Realizing that the earth is the source of all wealth, America has not only improved but has discov- ered many more valuable methods of applying the forces of nature to the transformation of the raw material found in the earth into useful pro- ducts. It is this appetite for betterment that has increased our standard of efficiency and has given our nation the control of a material agency which first showed itself to the ancient Greeks at the beginning of the Christian Era and has come into the service of man in recent times. That agency is electricity. Despite the fact that the services of this wonderful agent were lost to mankind for a little over two thousand years, it has resurrected itself after this period of germination and growth in a place five thousand miles from where it first made its appearance, America. No other nation approaches America in its practical use. Since the time that Franklin discovered that lightening is the same thing as static electricity, American inventors have been making artificial lightening and harnessing it to turn the wheels of industry. Do it Electrically,” is America’s twentieth century appeal to the world. Regardless of what part of our country one visits he will find electric energy used in some form. In the factory, the workshop, the office, the home, the farm, in- deed every place where man is working or living and electric energy can be obtained, one can see at least one result of Franklin’s experiment. It is true, however, that America has not invented all the electric de- vices and appliances that are used in the country itself but to her not only goes the credit of adopting them and proving their efficiency and value to the world but for the principles and early experiments on which the more inventions of foreign countries have depended. Of all the applications of electricity, probably no other electric machine

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14 THE TOOT of the affected part can be reproduced. Numerous severe cases can be cited where the X-ray has saved lives. With the constant advancement and development of electricity it would almost be impossible to mention the numerous purposes to which it is ap- plied. The electric age has just begun and electric art is progressing by gigantic strides. Each stride brings it more and more to modern life. This is especially true in America where capital is ever ready to encourage promising enterprises and where new systems constantly find unoccupied fields for development. DARWIN L. GREGG. AMERICA’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN MUSIC Someone has said that music is the universal language of the soul and since this is true, its development has gone along with that of civilization, leaving various types characteristic of these different stages of develop- ment. As the intellectual side of man expressed itself in the other arts, so has it in music. There are several sources of American music. Among the most prominent are, the music of the North American Indian, the ne- gro melodies, the Psalmody of the Puritans and the Kentucky Mountain songs. The Indian music has had little share in the actual development of the art, because when the Indian came under the influence of civilization, he cast off his old customs, and with them the accompanying music, so that only in rare instances have the tunes for war dances and religious rites been preserved. Although the negro brought his songs from Africa, they are usually regarded as American. He, in contrast to the Indian did not cast his melodies aside, and upon these many American and foreign composers have based their compositions, giving these beautiful plaintive tunes due recognition. A third source from which we have the term “American music” is the Psalmody of the Puritan. When the Puritans first migrated to America, they regarded singing as a sin and all their Psalms were read. Gradually, however, it became popular to chant them, and eventually a precentor was appointed, whose duty was to lead the psalms or hymns. After taking up the source of music in America, it may be well to con- sider a few of the composers who have greatly influenced its develop- ment. Edward Alexander McDowell holds the present position as an American composer and he has truly been classed as the “most gifted and characteristic representative of our national music”. Mr. MacDowell had the advantage of receiving his education in Europe when a very young man and his association w:th the great teacher, Raff, was considerable help to him. Of his mary orchestra compositions the “Indian Suits” has strongest appeal. In eighteen ninety-six, MacDowell was given the chair of music at Columbia University. He resigned this position in nineteen four. Another composer worthy of mention is Horatio Parker. Mr. Parker