The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-09-08
EDvSoN'S LATEST IDEA.
An Instrument for Utilizing Earth Cur
rents in Place of Telegraph Wires.


An Instrument for Utilizing Earth Cur
rents in Place of Telegraph Wires.
When Thomas Edison, the whilom
''wizard of Menlo Park" brought his
bride to his eighty thousand dollar resi-.
dence on the Orange Mountain about
two months ago, he also determined to
bring his workshop within easy access
from his residence. Carrying out his
purpose the great electrician has been
busy for period of six weeks in put
ting up workshop in East Newark,
and there he was found this morning,
breezy, blue-eyed, little stouter than
he was two years ago and trifie more
settled.
81 am workingman now" he said
smilingly. 81 bring my lunch with me
in the morning, for l can not afford to
spare the time to 60 home to dinner.
OF course, you know that [ have be.
come Jerseyman once more. | have
given up my laboratory in New York,
and every thing is now at the factory
here in East Newark.
Eat what are you working now"
Il am simply trying to cheaper the
electric lamps and the carbons. have
had men almost all over the United
States and South America looking for a
vegetable or mineral substance from
which carbon points might be made.
Prof. Hedden, of Newark. a mineralo.
gist, in travelling through the Southern
States, failed to find what | wanted, but
he discovered the 'Heddenite' and for.
tune in North Carolina"
"Have you done nothing recently
with electricity"
''You newspaper people," sad Mr..
Edison, laughing, .'think that l always
must have just completed some Won
derful invention, which I ought to tell
you about Why don't you devour each
others fiction? An American corre-
spondent wrote toa Berlin paper recent
ly a tremendous story about my having
invented wonderful shirt of ge!at,ne,
made transparent by electrical treat
ment. This shirt was supposed to
be built in layers Of almost
uncomfortable thinness. Each layer
was white and adhesive, and could
be taken off when soiled, and as there
were just 365 layers, and it was calcul-
ated that each sheet would last day, a
gelatine garment would last year.
Well, this marvellous tale went the
rounds of the European press and at
last it was reprinted in Brazil. The
gullibility of the South American may
appreciated when it is known that soon
after the shirt story met their eyes the
Brazilians began to send me drafts and
checks for shirts. One idiotic diamond
dealer,' added Mr.. Edison, mirthfully,
'sent me draft for $500 on the Bank
of England. He wrote that he didn't
know how much the shirts were, but he
did not think they ought to cost over q
hundred pounds apiece.
Seriously" said he, drawing out a
sheet of paper and pencil, ''there is
but one idea l am thinking of that |
care to talk about. As soon as l can
find time to 60 to Florida | am going to
make some experiments with earth cur
rents. can not do it here because
there is too much mineral in the soil.
In Florida it is all sand, There are
currents of electricity passing
all the time through the
earth; their directions, however,
are unknown. l propose to arrange
eight currents, radiating in as many d.
rections from a central point. l will
place man at each circuit to test the
power of the currents. 1t is well-known
that if an earth current crosses wire
at right angles there is but little, if any,
appreciate effect made upon it. The
greatest power is felt where the wire
md currents run in parallel directions.
In Boston | have run WIRE six hours
with the aurora borealis without bat
terry. If l had had rod at that time
running from New York to Boston I
would have had electric power enough
to run all the machinery in Boston,
"After you understand the ear;h'i
currents, what then?"
"Well, a knowledge of them may rev.
olutionize telegraphy. It may revolu-
tionize the meteorological bureau sys.
tenn and make it possible to forecast the
weather exactly. have an idea that it
may do something still greater, but do
not care to talk about it at present.
Telegraphic wires sooner or later will
be thing of the past, believe. They
are expensive and cumbersome, and
why use them if you can make an in
strument that will be sensitive to the
natural earth currents?''-NeWark IN.
J.) Cor, N. Y. Mail,