Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1891-11-21
NEVER LOOK AT THE CLOCK.
Edison Thinks That Is the Best
Quality in Workman.

y
Edison smiled and looked sidewise
at his blonde young secretary. Mr..
A. .. Tate, who was twirling his mus
tache in an easy chair hard by.
Ed, Tate?" he said, and then he
laughed aloud.
The fact is that the question OF his
working hours is one OF the amusing
terrors of Edison's life. His wife, his
family, his dearest friends, and oe-
casionally the doctors are won't to
implore him not to work so hard or
so long. in the old Menlo Park days
he used to work day and night in the
laboratory on the top OF the hill,
snatching bite now and then and
doing with nap OF an hour or two
at a time, taken on the first work
mans bench that had an apron lying
on IT. remember twelve years ago
leaving him once when he was work
ing on the electric lamp at in the
morning. He was stretched out on a
bench IN the machine shop with his
cap over an iron block to make a pill
low He said:
Shut the door TO keep the dogs out.
I'm all right here, because the fellow
that works at this bench will be here
at and he's not afraid to wake me,
so ! won't oversleep."
What sleep he got there nobody
knows, but it was very little. When
he Ltook up his abode at LleWellyn
Park and put up his great laboratory
there things were little better. But
Edison has his own theories on these
matters. One is that difficult results
are only reached by continuous con-
centration, and to keep dogeedly at it
the item OF sleep must not be taken
into account. II may be that he has
nj times carried this too far. hut any
way the surest way 10 bring shade
Of displeasure to his brow is TO tell
him that he is over-worked. As a
consequence. when he feels that way,
he resumes his old habit of working
AT night, and has within the past few
years, incredible as il may seem,
worked three days and three nights
at stretch. They havea cot for him
IN the Llewellyn laboratory now, and
they send him his meals down from
his mansion in the park when he is
working hard and close. Sometimes
he uses the cot, and sometimes lie
takes q bit OF the tempting dishes his
wiie's loving care provides; but neither
avail 10 tempt him when lie is busy
With some trying problem.
What Is he best quality Tor n
working man here" onceusEed him.
Never TO look nj the clock, said
he with grim smile.
These things passed rapidly through
my mind as ! gazed on Edison. the
workman, his clear, gray eyes lighted
up, his hand extended toward the
mountain. and firm look on the
slightly contracted brow. from which
his broad.hrimmed straw hat had
been pushed carelcssly back. He was
IN his shirtsleeVcs, and wore a low.
cut vest and dark trousers over silk
and cotton summer shirt, with n low
turned down collar and IA dark ii,
knottcd Mt the throat.
lie snt down againand said: What
is slerp?"
Then answering his own question
he went IN: Sleep is only relaXtior
oi the muscles aud the nerves Do yor
know have n curious thought that
man wantsto sleep simply because til,
world goes round ia twenty.loul
hours IN the old time before man
hnd any artificial light he had perfort,
10 20 10 sheep when lie sun went down
am morally certain that if we nat
Artificial light in suiliciency for say
I.Ooo,0oo OF years, man would neveI
slecp ~ all. "
| ,fi,l,,,, ,t,,,, - III l.,,o,, -, ,.a,,, 80,
turnal habits aud defy the power o
Sleep
II am serious about what ] shy,
I've answered. "Now, see here. cam
20 this place to ret rest. When 90
here found number OF things tina
were necessary 10 be done coul,
not rest until did them. During tn
first week ! WAS here | had in all -four
teen hours sleep. During the srcon,
week had twenty-five hours Whi.
WAS the result? gained six pounds.
What do you attribute that to
Did you eat in proportion as you los
slrrp?"
Why" he said, laughing, "a MAJ
only requires one pound OF solid foo
day. That and 4 little water wi
see any man through. "
BY such expressions we may gaus
something of the enormous vitalit,
and energy Of the man.
WANT OF sleep" he continued, a
| like the want OF morphine. If a ma
once takes morphine he must hav
more oft. and tits so with sleep. Now
there is Freddy OFT, call him IN
mascot. because when we work tc
gcther always hit what want e
The reason is that Freddy never get
sleepy before do, The other night
had II gang of men working with Free
tly and myself We stuck Mt il a
lay and all night until 4 O'Clock !
the morning, and rs the other fellow
were looking sleepy | thought | woul
knock oil and tell them to take n goo
rest and be back at Z o'clock, Wei
they all came back, but Freddy wa
MS fresh as rose aud all the othe,
looketla MS il they had been ON n spr,
for week; duh and heaVy-eyed, ha
drunk with sleep. IN. Y. Mornil
Journal.
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