On To Jupiter

now don't get me wrong wilkins i appreciate the remarkable advance science has made in the last hundred years it deserves all the superlatives we can give to it but as to the future well my guest is as good as yours no i'm sorry but in the light of cold hard facts i just cannot go along with you you hold to the theory that the limits of human ingenuity have been reached practically of course there is some polishing to be done and unquestionably the present order will undergo certain refinements but startling and radical changes no i think not come let me show you there's my answer skill and science in this complete realization human achievement cannot go beyond what we see before us on the contrary we've scarcely begun i see a newer world and a better world poppycock wilkins utter nonsense you talk like a man about to embark for mars get down to earth getting down to earth marshall reminds me that i have an appointment in 15 minutes my george i had no idea so late i am i'm afraid i'll have to be running alone i've enjoyed this discussion immensely tom but i'll have to admit it was a little bit over my head it does seem incredible george but it's coming is as certain as the reigns i wish that we could live to see it well i certainly join you in that wish tom thank you for a pleasant hour hiram i'll call you tomorrow in that other matter coming along tom as soon as i say goodbye to this old arch unbeliever it was a pleasure as always marshall and i'll continue to look forward to that happy day of your conversion well i didn't come from missouri for nothing you've got to show me [Laughter] you think we have reached the ultimate in human progress but you are wrong i come from the everywhere to make reply yours is a challenge mr marshall a challenge i cannot ignore why why who are you the natural question yes well let us say that i am change the spirit of change i am much older than you older than time itself history has been my diary a record of my achievements you say you wish to be shown mr marshall may i have the honor through my efforts this has become a better land than when your forefathers first saw it natural barriers challenged man's inevitable progress to the pacific there were dense forests mighty mountains and great lonesome planes yes lonesome and full of hardship but we did well we broke the barriers we saw far horizons we built roads and railroads to them and beyond them we conquered those far horizons and now the planes are fertile they are the granaries of the world great cities have become the pillars of a nation around which a civilization has grown we have built great industries and tied a nation together with transportation for our people and our products we spend the continent with railroads developed our waterways and built ships to navigate them we developed the automobile and built highways for it we gave wings to man [Music] with technological advances our cities have become the concentrated points of industry and the centers of social and political life beyond the dreams of their founders this is the world that we know today the developments which made possible modern cities the great industries the conquest of earth sea and sky were products of constant change which brings about progress through centuries of time this change has been going on and yet from the beginning progress has been opposed by fear of change yes fear mr marshall and unhappily ignorance have been the inevitable foes the bitterest enemies of change and progress i remember in the year 1765 my faithful follower james watt fired by my spirit grappled with the problem of giving to the world the latent power of steam everywhere he met with derision when he and the great inventors who followed try to put their discovery to use in the steamship locomotive and other productive industries they met opposition smug conservatism fear of new ideas of change rose to impede the advance toward new horizons i recall when dr dunlop gave to transportation the pneumatic tyre his very remarkable invention was greeted with scuffs and jeers and open ridicule the pioneers of the automobile sought vainly for the help and understanding that would bring the development of this new vehicle to its destined heights as an industry and he said this is but a rich man's toy a passing whim [Music] then in 1911 charles kettering perfected the electric self-starter which converted the automobile into a universal means of personal transportation [Music] the inertia and skepticism of the doubtful was dispelled enabling men with faith in mass production to produce a vehicle for the masses [Music] a great and important step forward came in the year 1903 when wilbur and orville wright two brothers from dayton ohio made the first heavier-than-air flight then came the magic of wireless the crackling flesh from ship to shore the incredible spark that leaped from continent to continent spanning the earth in the fraction of a second all these things were known to me i the spirit of change knew everything that was to happen just as i foresaw that louis pasteur would discover bacteria and in spite of the greatest odds make his discovery useful to the world how well i remember in the year 1910 when harbor invented a process to take nitrogen from the air this valuable element was primarily meant for fertilization of the soil and indispensable aid to farmers everywhere in cultivating the crops and harvests of the world but his boom to mankind was perverted by men who found in cheap nitrogen an abundant source for explosives to create slaughter and destruction [Music] yet in spite of this horrible use of a great scientific discovery those who plunge nations into war shall not and will not impede our advancement as surely as the sun will rise in the sky battlefields will again become farmlands as inevitably as the surging tide wonderful new cities will arise from the havoc of war neither conflict nor depression can stay the onward march of progress you have been interested mr marshall tremendously and i might confess that some of my convictions have been slightly shaken but uh i see you are still from missouri shall we go on to the future yes to the future the immediate future man will continue to pioneer but this time not with the backbreaking tools of yesterday but new machinery and new methods will be his to accelerate progress [Music] new employment for men money and materials is being created almost hourly by rapidly changing developments developments of new services and new products [Music] already in the field of aviation we have hermetically sealed planes powered by supercharged engines flying at incredible speeds through the sub-stratosphere flying laboratories have produced directional and landing beams for blind flying then there is the automatic pilot the absolute altimeter which tells the plane's exact distance above the ground [Music] a plane flying over level terrain approaches a dangerous obstruction a cliff on the dial of this safety device and needle swings instantly warning the pilot lighter sturdier more powerful engines are being perfected already giant clipper ships flying at higher altitudes and greater speeds are spanning the atlantic on daily schedules then there is television amazing and remarkable you say and already accepted as one of the new miracles of science all this after a comparatively few years of experiment the immediate future will see unbelievable advances in this rapidly developing industry the headline news of today's paper flies through space at the speed of light reporting world events seconds after they occur the transmission of photographs and other facsimiles by telephone radio and cable has become daily routine let me show you what research has accomplished in the field of facsimile transmission today in the broadcasting stations bulletins are placed on the cylinder of an electrical scanning device this device transforms the bulletin into radio impulses and the image is broadcast on inexpensive receiving sets these radio impulses are automatically interpreted and recorded and history goes to press in the american home thus does science defy distance and time with new methods of communication thus does science extend our personal horizons industrial technique has improved amazingly and the utilization of new materials has had a far-reaching effect powder metallurgy a new concept in manufacturing processes has already established a new and growing industry the raw materials of this new process are metals in powder form after mixing they are poured into a hopper from which they flow into the dies of a hydraulic press subjected to high pressure they are accurately molded to finish dimensions thus powder metallurgy eliminates the waste of materials saves time and lowers the cost of millions of small parts used in industry and the home let us see what science has accomplished in the field of steel metallurgy here to make possible the manufacture of new products they have devised new instruments of production this new continuous rolling mill has been constructed to produce wider longer sheets of steel for the die presses of the automobile industry so we see that hand in hand with the development of new products goes the development of new materials and new methods of manufacture from the automobile industry has sprung a new lightweight two-cycle diesel engine one of the most efficient sources of power yet devised by science technical difficulties for years impeded the development of this economical source of power the unit injector which sprays fuel into the combustion chamber is one of the most important features which make possible the small two-cycle diesel this achievement the product of years of intensive research holds unlimited possibilities for the future [Music] for instance the small diesel is taking its place in buses tractors and trucks unquestionably on land and sea and possibly in the air diesel will contribute an economical source of power [Music] and now we come to air conditioning which though still in its infancy has already attained the status of a major industry today no matter how sweltering the weather we work eat sleep and play in health guarding temperatures this remarkable gift of science may in the future make us almost independent of the elements it may well be that the future will see us largely independent of the light of the sun scientific research has already rivaled solar brightness with a tiny mercury vapor lamp this astonishing unit despite its minute size produces a brilliancy equal to the combined power of 250 automobile headlights the vitally important problem of food production is rapidly yielding to the advance of science improved agricultural machinery is resulting in more and better food at lower cost and the farmers efficiency and comfort have not been neglected for already tractors with enclosed cabs and radios are rolling off the assembly lines and even air conditioning may be added to make his day in the field more pleasant science has even thought of growing food where no fertile soil exists but where nevertheless men must be fed this it is done by new methods of plant culture for example in these jars are contained chemicals dissolved in water which with the aid of sunlight permits the plant to draw its nourishment from the air thus producing flourishing tomatoes and other foods these are really remarkable developments for they show the way toward greater progress from every conceivable source science has drawn its endless array of new ideas the test tubes of chemistry have contributed uncounted blessings to enrich and safeguard our lives a ceaseless stream of new products have come from petroleum high octane fuels alcohol glycerin plastics and even edible fats we have discovered a new plastic which is water resistant and even more elastic than silk and which threatens to put the silkworm on relief it will add immeasurably to the strength and life of those sheer luxuries that have become such essential necessities to women more important it will provide jobs for thousands of americans research has perfected a new safety glass embodying an improved plastic interlayer which is tougher and yet more elastic than previous materials and which will serve mankind by preventing injuries and saving lives [Music] one of the most interesting new devices is a transparent plastic which possesses the property of conducting light around corners it has already been adapted to many purposes and every day new uses for it are discovered it provides cold light at exactly the place it is needed and is proving a remarkable boon to medicine surgery and dentistry in addition to various industrial uses [Music] a very definite step forward in the progress of medical research is the control of hemorrhage medical science has evolved a product that when added to human blood causes complete coagulation in three seconds by controlling bleeding it will drastically reduce the hazards of surgery the unending struggle to conquer disease goes onward with the development of synthetic vitamins tuberculosis and pneumonia those dread scourges of mankind are being overcome by two new drugs that may in time free the human race from the fatal grasp of these ills let us look in at the home of a distraught mother whose tiny daughter is seriously ill with pneumonia the doctor examines the little girl a temperature is up above the danger point a year ago her condition would have been hopeless today she has a chance a better than even chance thanks to this new remarkable drug the child's temperature drops in a few short hours to almost normal the unbelievable has happened a life that otherwise would have been lost has been saved men and women have been given new hope and faith in the future medicine has advanced to a new and shining horizon men of science have always been trying to keep a step ahead of the needs of mankind offering an endless stream of new ideas new things which lead inevitably toward a better world they have brought into being vast new industries and created employment for millions they have healed the sick and brought relief to the suffering they have built wisely in this generation and will build a better world in the years to come you have riddled my theory shattered my logic and completely blasted my position from under me may i tender my sword a gallon surrender mr marshall and i return your sword in the same spirit in which it was tendered it has been a great happiness showing you the accomplishments of science what we have done so far has been hard work mighty hard work but we're just starting so far we haven't even scratched the surface this is your world today it's a fine wonderful world but let me show you the world of tomorrow let me show you the future that i dream of a future that will permit man to travel safely at 150 miles per hour a distant time when man will have super bridges and express highways directly connecting the great cities when through decentralization man will build new and better cities in which traffic and commerce will flow without congestion [Music] i envision time and space as man's heritage from science time will be his progress and medicine will lengthen his span of years progress in science and research will give him more daily hours to enjoy his new and better world [Music] space will be his space in which to live more healthfully space in which his children can grow and play space in which he can enjoy a fuller richer life all this i see in the future and even more having achieved so much man will again seek new horizons he will begin a new and greater adventure he will build super super highways on which he may travel 250 miles per hour he will build express bridges over lakes mountains planes he will erect stately spacious new cities he may travel from america to europe in a matter of minutes instead of hours as the achievements of science approach his aspirations i picture man's horizon over reaching the seas and continents of this planet i see science severing the ties that hold him earthbound i see man coming at length to interplanetary transportation i dream of the time when man will cry in some distant tomorrow on to jupiter [Music] [Applause] [Music] you