The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-10-18

,J. OClOBElR lo, lO(
would give up and beg for some easier
wire. He sat with a toothpick in his
mouth, listening to the click of the SCUM
der before him and scribbling away
Five minutes passed with Edison still
leading. The FIVE minutes lengthed into
ten, gradually dozen or more of the
best operators in the room gathered near
to watch the contest, and there we're sup.
pressed EXPLANATIONS of amazsment over
| the speed. The other man was getting
'rattled : every burst of speed was taken
by Edison as cody as if a tyro at the
business vas 'sendiDg.' Finally, amid
some laughter at his end Of the Office, the
sender gave it up and signalled to Edi.
son that be was done. Edison threw his
bundle of work on the managers desk
with the remark: THAT isn't much of q
sender they have got on your Boston
wire; he can scarcely keep man awake.
At which, of course, there was roar all
over the room at the expense of the 'Bos.
ton SENDER who joined in heartily"
HOW EDISON MADE A.."soUNDER."
Soon after that Edison's mechanical
skill became SO noted in the Office that
he vas made superintendent of the repair
shop. It was not long before the value
of his services was fully shown. The
several telegraph companies then in exis
tenee-tbe Franklin. Bankers and Bro
kers', Southern and Atlantic and Pacific
were using the page sounder, the sole
right to which was claimed by the Wes.
tern Union Company. Owing to the
Western Unions success in patent fight
over the Page sounder, there came time
when an Injunction was obtained sienc.
ing all saunders of that type in the hands
of rivals and practically putting q stop to
our business. Edison was called into the
presidents Office and the situation ex-
planned. For a long time he stood chew.
ing his tobacco, looking frat at the
sounder in his hand and then falling into
brown study. At length he picked. up
a sheet of tin used as "brick" for mani
folding on thin sheets of paper, and began
to twist and cut it into queer shapes;
meanwhile we stood around looking on.
Not word was spoken. Finally, Edison
tore of the Page "sounder" on the instru-
1nent before him, and substituting his bit
of tin, began working. 1t was not 80
good as the patented arrangement dis
carded, but it worked. In four hours o
hundred such devices were in use over
our lines, and what would have been a
ruinous interruption to our business was
avoided.
IN THE LOW GROUNDS OF FAILURE.
Coming down to. later years, I got out
Menlo Park one snowy day in February,
1880, to find Edison in, bed, the laborato.
~ idle and his assistants taking rest.
One of them showed me one of the lamps
of the frat batch which burned 80 salts.
fsctorily and those made later which
failed entirely. There was an air of des.
olation over the whole place. The little
lsboratory--a long two.story shed-was
cold and comfortless; apparatus was
strewn around in all directions. Upon.
every side were signs of strict economy.
The assistants were young men who were
clad to work for little or nothing. The
houses in which Edison aud they lived
were uppretentious little cottages. Prob.
ably the whole Edison establishment at
Menlo Park-laboratory, engine house
and dwellings-bad not cost more than
S25,0O0. Nevertheless, it was there that
Edison worked out the problem before
him. He discovered that not one part OF
the lamp would have to be better, but all
parts needed strengthening. Expert
glass. blowers we're brought to the village,
the air pumps were made more perfect,
the carbons more durable. Allthis took
time, during which outsiders freely pre-.
dicted failure; the stock in the Edison
company went down to such a point that
il was hard to raise money for the main.
tenance of the laboratory. twas argued
by experts that Edison had really dis.
covered nothing new; he had attempted
to do what dozen famous men had tried
before him, and he had failed. The
quotations of New York gas stocks, which
had fallen at the time of Edison's first
announcements, rose again. Meantime
Edison worked away, trying to forget the
incidental troubles in his way remem.
ber we'll having long talk with him in
the early spring of 1880, when people had
become skeptical as to the outcome Of
bis work. IL will succeed" said he,
shut it may take me longer than l at first
supposed. Everything is so new that
each step is in the dark; in order to in.
troduce the electric glow lamp to New
York have to make the dynamos, the
lamps. the conductors in the streets and
houses the matters and the thousand and
one details that the outside public knows
nothing about. Atthe same time have
to think about the expenses of my work.
NV one ambition is to be able to work
without reference to the expense-ot
course within reasonable limits what !
mean is that if I want to give upa Whole
month of my time and that of my assist !:
ants to finding out why one form of
carbon 6lament is slightly better than
another can do it without having to
think of. the cost. Another luxury would
be laboratory more perfect than any.
thing we yet have in this country. l
want a splendid collection of materials
every chemical, every metal, every sub.
stance in fact that can possibly be of use
to me. want all this right at hand
within few feet of my house. Give me
these advantages and / will gladly devote
fifteen hours day to sold work. Such q
laboring would give me more pleasure
than horses, yachts or luxuries of any
kind. want none of the rich mans
usual toys, no matter how rich I may
become"
HE HAS PLENTY OF MONEY NOW.
In the last ten years the success of the
Edison light has been pretty we'll de.
monstrated. 1t has not been the gold
mine that was at first expected. 1t has
not driven out gas by any means, and
there are many other electric light sys.
tens in the field. But it has grown to be
an immense business, from which Edison
has reaped share of the profits. Ac-
cordiug to one who ought to know,
Edison owns about one fifth of the stock