Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-08-26
FIRST ELECTRIC LAMP.
Inventor Bdison's Story Of His Ex-
pertinent.
A Spool of Thread Furnished the Matters
al for tho First Carbon Wonder
full Growth and Spread of the
Industry.

won't you tell me about the first
carbon lamp you ever made?" asked a
New York Morning journal man Of Mr..
Edison.
"Ah, that is story. The carbon Of
the first lamp was made Of spool of
Clark's thread All night Bachelor,
my assistant-the greatest and best Of
my assistants, the man Of infinite pa
thence and interchangeable persistence
worked beside me. The next day we
worked all day and then all night
again, and at the end Of that time we
had produced one carbon out Of a spool
of Clark's thread.
Having made it, 1t was necessary to
take 1t to the glass blowers house.
With the utmost precaution Batchellor
took up the precious carbon, and
marched after him, as If guarding q
mighty treasure to the glass-blower's
cubby-hole. To our CONSERVATION, just
as we reached the glass-b1ower's bench
the wretched carbon broke.
"Batchellor turned around and looked
at me, and said: Edison, we won't sleep
till we get one.'"
At the recollection Edison lay back
in his chair and laughed heartily
When he had recovered from the At, he
said:
THAT was one of Bachelors per-
petual phrases, which he had said to
me hundred times before, and which
had said to him. We turned back
to the main laboratory and set to work
again.
lit was late in the afternoon before
we had produced another perfect car
bon. The same procession as in the
morning passed to the glass-blower's
den. 1t was safely deposited on bench
where Datchellor laid it down, when a
jewelers. screw driver-a very little
utensil as you know-rolled down and
broke the carbon again.
''Batchellor looked at the broken
carbon with staring, wide-open eyes,
| and did too Fully minute elapsed
before either spoke. Bachelor turned
around-he is a very mild-mannered
man, but if Uncle Toby could be for
given for swearing, and the recording
| angel blotted out the old soldiers oath
with a tear, surely he did the same for
Batch.
"'We1, I'm cursed' said Batch; and
then he added, with grim look on his
| face: Job got too cursed much reputa-
| ton for patience on a small capital
80 disappointed, but not disheart-
ened, we turned back again, and before
night carbon was completed and In
serted in the lamp. The lamp was ex-
hausted Of air and sealed, the current
| turned on and the light that is to be the
| light of the world met our eyes for the
| first time in all It's beauty"
Can you tell me how many children
of that first lamp there are in the world
to-day?"
II cannot" he answered. "Do you
know, Tate?" he said, turning around
to the secretary. The secretary shook
his head
81 suppose it is past finding OUT" con-
tined Edison, "but the output of the
United States is $4,000 a day. OF these
the Edison company manufacture one
half-say $4,000 day. And" he added,
with certain grimness, will manu-.
facture the entire $4,000, or as many
more as the country needs. The output
Of lamps for the whole world is 80, 900 a
day, or 24,000,000 year. This gives
you an idea Of the growth and spread Oh
the electric light. Twice as many
lamps are made in a day as suff1ced for
whole year ten years ago. If you cal
culate the lamps at 40 cents each you
will see that the world Is paying little
short of $40, 1000, 900 year for the chill,
dren of the lamp that made Bachelor
consider Job something Of an impostor "