The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-12-18
Mr.. THOMAS EDISON, JR.
SOW OF THE ELECTRICIAN DEvEL-
OPrxG FORMIDABLE RIVALRY.
HAS, Asfonfshed His Father and
Has Invented a New Lamp-The
Iosng Man II II Years Old.
New York Herald.

| his Iaurels. His son and naynesake sent
1 forth from the shelter of the parental
| Roof and beyond the influence Of paiernai
| guidance. expects 10 make things warm
| for his father III the line Of electrical re-
| search and invention
| Thomas A. Edison. jr.. Is something OF
| wizard" himself. He Is q years old.
and many men Of twice his age have
/ learned In the last few moI.ths 10 watch
| him with much interest.
Thousands OF persons 10 whom the
/ name OF Edison Is familiar have never
| heard " this youthful scientist, yet he has
had Il large part in experiments and dis
| coveries that have startled the world
| For years he has spent most OF his wax
| ing and many Ct his sleeping hours in the
| laboratories Of his father, those incuba
tors Of mysterious things born 10 amaze.
/ All these matters he has known from his
youth up. and enters upon his manhood
With wonderful equipment OF knowledge.
But why did ne not stay with his father?
Why noi b. a partner instead Of rival?
The explanation calls up a curious pic
tufe- Fjsurativeiy speaking. one bright
morning last August Edison called the
young man 10 him and spake thus:
Thomas. my son. you know almost as
! much as your father; but what you know
viii never be Of use to you until you know
men. Get out and study men. Brush up
against the world for while. and let us
see what you are made OF. You have good
Ideas. Work them. Good morning.
So TIE young man started out, four
months ago, with head full of ideas and
"A iusty desire TO make himself heard in
the worlds noisy traffic. Today he has an
Office IN big Broadway building. and the
big electrical manufacturing companies
With the long titles and the capital of
many millions are studying this young
man with great care, while pretending
that they are not aware of his existence
| Ihis Is a very hollow pretense, however
Tor he has attacked them in their own
strongholds.. He has invented a device
which, he says. Is only the first of Sc
rie5 of improved appliances in various
lines OF electrical work. 1t is an mean
descent lamp, similar to the one now in
use. but possessing, II Is said. many ad-
vantages. He calls II the Edison Jul
nior' with conscious pride, and claims for
IL superiority over all others in the inn
portant details of vacuum and filament
10 achieve these results the young man
designed his own pump, and says that
with it he can exhaust ten lamps to a
nigh degree OF perfection in less time than
Is required by the ordinary vacuum
pumps generally used to exhaust one
lamp The filament is his own invention
aiso-a chemical combination carhcnized
at 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. making il as
near absolutely pure carbon as Ii Is pos
sibie to obtain. Curiously enough, neither
the pump nor the filament have been pat
ented.
My fathers experience has taught me
TO steer clear OF the patent Office" he
says. HE hes taken out scores of pat
ents. but he has spent as much money
and time fighting to uphold them, guess
as they are worth. I'm going to keep my
ideas to myself. Secrecy is a better safe
| guard than patent any time
Laid Up for q Rainy Day.
Undoubtedly young Edison believes IN
| secrecy. The ideas for this lamp came TO
MIN four or five years ago. but he quietly
stored them up against rainy day. This
having come. he puts them TO excellent
use. He told me he had shown the lamp
to his father. but not until it was COM
| pleted and on the market.
what did he say?'' / asked The young
| er wizard laughed.
He didn't say much" he said: ''he fust
| looked 1t over pretty carefully. guess it'n
| do"
| Young Edison is highly gratinei with
| the result Of his business venture. His
| father, II should be observed. has nothing
| 10 do with this lamp. yet IT is being man
| fractured and sold In large quantities.
| The young man declined TO say where his
| financial backing came from, but as he
| speaks or travellers on their way to South
| America. of Pacific coast agencies and OF
| the japanese ard Chinese trade Il is to
be presumed that large amounts are in
| terested, and the big companies emplov-
| Ing his respected father must wake up
| For the present" he told me. Il am
| having these lamps made for me, but a
| stock company "a now being organized
| and in q few weeks l expect work will he
| commenced on a small factory. which
| VIII contain laboratory FOR my use
| There's no money In these lamps, any
| way. You kro@, the inventor never
! makes anything" and he smiled cheer
| fully.
This laboratory. II the excessively mod
| est hints OF the Junior wizard material
/ fge, may In time become as famous as his
| fathers experimental workshops IN Ed
| iSon -. ].
'As soon as this lamp is fairly started
| In business way" ne said IL am going
10 work on several ideas which have 81.
most perfected You see. / spent nearly
nine years with my father, and It would
| be funny IL haant picked IN n few
| things teat may resaIt in something new -
personally this young man inpress.s
| one most with his earneStneSS his ot.iet
| confidence aud his utter absence OF af
! recitation He Is slow Of sTsaech but does
. not weigh his words and occasionally OK
! plains his meaning by some graphic nop-
| uiar phrase.
| The fact % the matter g." - said.
( confdeHtia'ly II am out 20 hustle 90 m -
SELF. ard IL won't be my ftuIt IL some II
these tlE follows don't kaow I'm here
! We're going 81 rsise--weil We re going 20
/ prod EN- az ailttle"
Tits young man. who AT q challenges
| scientist Of worldwide fame. and his
| father at that. never had any e.luca.iou
! II the general use II he serrn When %
was II years old his schooling ceased. and
| from that time until q few months az,
i BE practically lived at his fathers sstle
| during working hours. Through Tong a4.S
| ara longer nights he has watched the
! WIZARD ~ work. bending over tt,Ass
/ until his back achei and watching n,Frr
sparks Till his brain whIrlsd pslFrats
! health prevented close 4wplfratirr -,
/ books. bat his WIS stsrcr kunyvleaxa ~
/ saw the beginning ~ tA{aEs. s~t watched
! the mysterious forces Of "a .ure In every
! phase. absorbing the countless faus,@ ana
! tHects which make tho chemists and tAe
/ r}SctYicfan's WORK lie was w:fh htx father
WHOM the cshlef news reached him ~ +ha
+ discovery ~ the Mays aud when Tor
/ n3astf-stN hours without freak fhev ~
/ r'rinfnted wfth tae new farce He vas
! concerned - rte Subsequent work in n :
/ ma. taking pare in many - tns. s.zs tess
I which bxed H0on tuu estafe - calcium as
! thr caernscai for ;he Tuo~secare.
/ Tec Edison Iron mining process. ahf-o
! has recently been exploited also fa.k
j n'"eh - ;he youHw mans ts'ue lie fol-
] lowed each step tn the evolution Of ire
/ i'@r.rs ted machinery. which extracts crs
/ - magnetism. and spent many weeks At
! Th' i-ant now n operation IN New Js~-
/ sey That - sp~nt ntee years un*er s,.e.,
! a teacher takes che f.sEe aeg to-. NanA..r
Fhas a Ns-stb BIDS fair "a h.se,or.-. ..,,..e,.