The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1878-04-26
"ToM EDISON. /"
A SKETCH OF THE INVENTOR oFTHE PHoNo.
GRAPH. ..#

e Hfst knew Tom Edison" said Ml
Stewart, " in 1866. At that time was a
operator in Tennessee. Tom was employe
/ oy Col. Coleman, the superintendent Of tb
western Union Office in Memphis. He wa
i gawky boy. about 18 or 10, and was read
ing everything about electricity that h
could pick up. He had lean, hungr
: look, and always seemed to be under th
influence of some secret excitement. Fl,
had got into his head the idea of sendins
duplex dispatches. and all his spare tim.
was devoted to experiments in the Office
Coleman stood it for some time, but at las
began to growl. He allowed that Tom wa,
crazy,and said that any damned fool ought
to know that a wire can't be worked bott
ways at the same time.' He declared that
he wouldn't have Tom puttering around the
office with such Stiffness, and finally dis.
charged him in disgust The boy went
back home to some town in Michigan, and
l lost track of him.
"Some time afterward / was transferred
to the Boston office. At that time wire
No. l, as it was then called, was considered
the crack vile of the country. The fastest
men were working it, For some cause the
operator in Boston resigned. It was diff
cult to lind man to take his place. A half
dozen fellows tried ii, but found it too much
for them. One after another they dropped
1t like hot potato, and sloped, wiser than
when they came. There was man in the
| Office named M. T. Adams. He though the
world of Tom Edison, and recommended
him to the place, vouching for him as
first-class operator. G. F. Milliken, the
| manager, telegraphed to the little town in
| Michigan, asking Tom if he would come on
| and accept the position. Tom answered
yes, and without further words started for
Boston, via the Michigan Central and Grand
Trunk Railroads. In running through
Canada he got showed under, and was kept
on the track in one spot for "a hours, cold
and hungry, and without bed. AS usual
he owned but one suit of clothes, and that
was on his back. Unfortunately, it was a
summer suit. He might have frozen to
death had he not bought an old rough
roundabout overcoat from Canuck rail
road laborer. But he finally got through
all right.
81 was in the Boston office when he ar
rived, and | must say" continued Mr..
Stewart, bringing his fist down upon the
table, "he was the worst looking specimen
of humanity | ever saw. The modern tele-
graph tramp isn't marker. He wore a
for him, pair of very low shoes, the Ca
muck jacket, and broad -brimmed butter
nut hat, relic of his Memphis life The
wide rim was badly torn, and hung down
so that you could see his ear through the
opening. There was the slightest trace of
dirt on his upper lip, that he called mus
tache. His hair hadn't been eombed for
week, and he wore the blackest white shirt
that was ever seen on the back of a human
being. Nervously pIncnlng MS upper lip
a habit that be had-he inquired for the
manager, and was sent to Mlliken.
"Are you the boss" Tom asked. Milli-
ken smiled and said he was manager. Pom
then introduced himself and asked when
they wanted him to go to work, Miliken
stared at him as though he couldn't believe
his ears, and said at halfpast five 1t
was then along in the afternoon. Tom be-
gan to look around the Office for clock; al d
said, Young man, you have to
work pretty heavy wiTe.' Tom gave
what he called his mustache an extra twist,
and with all the assurance in the world
Dlurted out, AN right, boss, I'll be here at
half-past tive.' He sloped SO quick that it
made Millikn's head swim.
''The operators burst into a peal of
aughter. They had seen and heard every
hing, and their remarks were anything
put complimentary to Tom. co. said one
Of them, he won't last as long as that Jer-
,eyman that tackled the wire the other
lay Why, that fellow can't read by pa
per, let alone by sound, shouted another.
A third declared 'that Tom was the worst
ne ever saw, and when a fourth wondered
whether the walking between Michigan
and Boston was very good there was a
general roar.
"Well," continued Stewart, "half- past
i've came, and so did Tom. Everybody
was on the quipaUe Miliiken was just TAX
ng from the vault the supply of blanks for
the night operators. AS Tom came up he
pointed to a pile of them, saying: Take
what blanks you want and I'll show you
your table Tom innocently picked up the
whole bundle, and followed Mllliken to his
,akle. The operators began to grin and
snicker. They all thought that he would
get bounced after trying to catch one mes
sage. 1t was the No. wire to New York.
Jerry Borst, then considered one of the
fastest senders in the country, worked the
New York end. AS Tom seated himself
he heard the call B. and turning to Milli=
ken, asked if that was the call for Boston.
Yes replied the manager, watching Toms
with intense curiosity. There
upon Tom opened his key and licked the
answer, i, T. Jerry began to swhoop
EN- up in his best style, and every eye was
turned on Tom. He displayed no anxiety,
but kept right along at his work as though
he had been taking Jerry all his life. For
four mortal hours did Jerry keep it up at a
hundred pounds to the square inch, and for
four mortal hours did Tom take it down in
4 handwriting as neat and plain as reprint.
For the first time in his life Jerry had
rushed il until he was tired without break
from the receiver. He was astounded.
When he had finished, the following mes
sages passed between them !: /,
FROM JERRY. Il
Who the devil are you, anyhow
FROM TOM.
I'm the new man. My name is Tom
Edison.
FROM JERRY.
yU~n r. 10 ,s,,v,nr-T2oxa uos. IN |