The record-union., 1894-06-21
THOMAS A. EDISON.
He Has Many More Surprises for
Mankind.
His Habits, Tastes and Hobbies
What He Reads, Smokes
and Drinks.

and Drinks.
Thomas A. Edison has the most mag
nificent scientific library in existence,
and it is royalty housed in a superb
three storied room in his laboratory at
Orange, n. J. Yet he is rarely in that
room, which is furnished in morocco
leather and Turkish rugs. You can al
most always find him in one of the
workshops of his laboratory, in his shirt
sleeves, knocking about in an old suit of
clothes and fraternizing with the work
men, whom he calls by their first names.
They call him 1.-The old man."
Telegraph operators, who never tire of
relating stories of Edison when he was
one of themselves, will tell you with a
feeling of pride that Edison is no dude"
and that she don't go much on style"
Although he has since been made a
Count by one European sovereign, has
received the cross of the Legion of Honor
and had other distinctions conferred upon
him, besides becoming millionaire and
the greatest inventor OF this or any other
age, he is still the same democratic per-
sonage he was when he asked for job in
the telegraph office at Memphis, wearing
long linen duster, and looking like
what the manager called "a farmer"
This is what surprised an eminent
Frenchman who met Mr.. Edison IN Paris
in 1889, where he was the lion OF the hour.
This gentleman expressed his disap-
pointment with shrug OF his shoulders
and said: 'Mr. Edison is not savant ~
He evidently expected to see pale and
thoughtful man, with long hair, blue
glasses and much dignity. Such man
might be "a savant," but would not be
likely to De great discoverer.
Mr. Edison Is eminently practical. de
wastes no time, wastes no thought and
wastes no effort. He comes right to the
point and he puts his wonderful faculties
TO their utmost possible use. That is one
of the secrets of his success. Any one of
his dozen or more inventions would be
sufficient to lift him into the front rank
of discoverers, but instead OF resting upon
his laurels he tackles some new problem
every year. The enticements OF great
wealth upon the one hand or of luXuri-
Gus ease upon the other have not been
su tficient 10 wean him from his arduous
labors.
He works harder than any man in his
employ. He seems To be impelled by q
restless energy, forever reaching forward
into the unknown domains OF science, re-
gardless OF what be has achieved. and
wondering what he will yet accomplish.
Probably more than any man alive does
he comprehend what yet remains to be
done in the way of mechanical Invention,
and he has said that we are practically at
the beginning, instead of at the end.
Mr.. Edison is the Indispensable Man.
There are thousands of men In this coun-
try, any one of whom would make good
President. There is a superfluity OF great
flttfl ~ &C. NTliU " a or
while that the world is enriched with a
great inventor, and Mr.. Edison is un-
doubtedly the greatest of these. This
man. whose life is so valuable to the hu-
man race, is Just i'll his prime. lie can
never be harassed by poverty, which has
forever dogged the steps OF the inventor.
and he has the most magnificent labora-
tory in the world.
Webster defines laboratory as "a
place where anything is prepared for
USE" and it is popularly supposed to be
a Workroom or shop. EdisOn'S laboratory
looks like very large factory. Nearly
one hundred men are employed there at
the present time, and it cannot be kept
up for less than SlOO,090 per year. This
Mr.. Edison pays out OF his own pocket.
Nothing is manufactured at the labora-
tory, which is used for experimental pur-
poses only and TO aid the inventor in his
work. It is equipped with the costliest
machinery, from the most delicate to the
most ponderous, and its stOreroom con-
tains a greater variety OF substances than
any museum.
| Mr. Edison's assistants include lnathe-
maticians. photographers. electricians,
musicians, chemists, draughtsmen and
skilled mechanics OF all kinds. Before
these men, who are the most expert OF
their kind, he sets given task to be ac-
complished, and he assists them with
suggestions, encouragement and the in
| spiration of his presence.
The; other day when W0rtd corre-
| spondent went out to see him about the
| kinetograph, just completed, he found
| Mr.. Edison seated upon a pile Of Sawdust
! talking to a carpenter and supervising
! his work He wore a thin suit of clothes,
! which was far from fashionable ard very
| dusty, That suit of clothes, by the way,
| illustrates one of Edison's little personal
| discoveries. He has theory of dressing,
and he wears the same weight OF clothes
summer and winter.
Il never wear an oyercoat," said he.
''They are too thick, and the cold gets in
under them and up the sleeves and be-
| tween the folds. A suit of warm under
| clothes is better. Ii it is cold, / put on a
second suit OF underclothes. If it is very
cold, l put OH third. They fit snug and
close to the skin, and so keep the cold
out"
| Nobody ever saw Mr. Edison wear a
| silk hat. Neither has he any use tor kid
gloves or patent-leather shoes. He has
no time to waste on any such frivolities.
| People have often wondered why he does
not grow a beard in order to save the
| time given to shaving. His face is smooth
and boyish, but he has large head, COW
cred with thick gray hair: very ex-
pressive, clear-cut mouth and quick
and cheerful manner. He takes in ideas
with the most astonishing quickness and
/ is a phenomenally close observer.
He has absorbed the substance of the
| sc. 900 books in his library, and is more
| familiar with the literature OF the ply