Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-06-06
THE PHONOGRAPH.

a correspondent OF the Augusta Chronacle
sketches Mr.. Edison, inventor Of the telephone
and the phonogrsph, as follows:
He is the fellow who has invented a sufG-
cient variety of things in the last two years
to give weak minded man the jimjams.
His wonderful duplicating ink is we'll known,
and many poor railroad clerk has paanized
the genius which saved him so many tedious
hours of constant copying. He has construct
ed almost everything else you can name-au-
tomato churns improved night keys that
will fit in any stage Of inebriety; patent roll
ing-pins, with handles warranted not to slip;
spanking machines, assorted sizes; double
action washboards; corsets that haven't got
forty pins stuck all round with the point out;
everything, in short, calculated to benefit suf-
fering humanity, and the Northern papers
even 60 80 far as to assert that his latest in.
vention is swallow.tailed coat that can be
used as bootjack Edison is certainsLa &c.
MUS. And yet, less than ten years ago he
was a raw country lad from Ohio, dismissed
from the telegraph Office at Memphis, where
he was at work, for constantly experimenting
with and tsngling up the wires. he wander
ed around Louisville and Cincinnati for some
time, and finally fetched up" in New York
city, where he was 80 fortunate as to make
the acquaintance of party who knew the
Superintendent of the Western Union Tele.
graph Company. Now it so happened that
at this time there was an operator at the Hal
ifax end of the Atlantic cable who piled in
the dispatches to the New York Office so in
fernally fast, that no man had been able, here.
tofore, to sit him out without breaking circuit
and making him repeat. Edison's friend,
happening to hear the Superintendent COM
planning of this, informed him that he knew
a man he'd back against the Halifax fellow,
and give him three and the deal. he was
told to trot him round, and the next day in
loafed Edison, corduroy breeches thrust in his
boot legs, one suspender gone, double-barreled
Cincinnati Aose, mouth like saltpetre cave,
white eyes, and hole in battered straw hat,
through which protruded shock of tow-col.
ored hair. This completed the anatomy and
external embellishments of the man who was
to sit it out with Halifax. He was told to
come in again at FIVE o'clock. and when ha
had gone, the Superintendent turned, in as.
constituent, to his friend and asked him if
that was the man he had reference to? "Just
wait" said the other II guess he'll fill the
bill better than you think" Edison came to
taw promptly at five, and was shown his po-
sition at the instrument, given pile Of tissue
paper two feet thick, and told that the ball
would open in about FIVE minutes. He at
once grabbed up the entire pile of paper and
carried it over to the table. "What do you
want with all that pile at once?" asked the
Superintendent "Oh don't want to be
bothered after I commence work by getting
up for more," said Edison. The Superinten-
dent shrugged his shoulders. Click click !
went the machine. Edison seized the pencil,
and for two solid hours that incorrigible Hal
ifax fellow poured it into him without stop.
ping; paper and pencil flew like lightning,
and every one in the Office crowded around in
amazement until the last cablegram had come
in. Gall done," telegraphed Halifax. 20.
K.," sent Edison. Instantly the sentence
came slowly over the wires, "Who-in-the-h-l-
are.you~ my name is Edison, from Ohio"
was the reply. Again came the response,
"Shake, old boy; you are the only man in
four years who has sat nae out without break
ing circuit and repeating" From that day
Edison's future was assured, and he was al.
lowed to experiment as much as he chose,
until his genius finally fabricated the phono.
graph.