The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-22
EDISoN'S FIRST MESSAGE.
WAS "BATTLE OF SHILOH FOUGHT
TEN THOUSAND KILLED"

IL COST Htm a ears ~uhNtftpaioh 10
a Magazine and Daily Paper for
Three Months. Hut lie Made $3.50 in
One Day-His order for Papers
From Editor Wilbur It. storey
SIN Hangs in His Omce-With This
Telegram was Born EdisOn's In
terest in Electricity.
Copyright. 1899, 10y Theodore Waters.
New York, Jan. TO-
Give this boy an OF the papers he .
. wants on credit ". f. $. .
On the wall of the Edison
laboratory in orange. n. j., the
above curious sentence is framed The
writing is grabbed and the paper on which
the words are written is regarded with
veneration by every one an the laboratory,
because il was one of the things that led
Thomas \. Edison to become an inventor.
Naturally, there is an interesting tale be
hind it. and the other day Mr.. Edison told
it to an old friend who called upon him
to talk over the days of hiss youth. Here
are the facts as he remembered them.
During the war ! used to sell papers
on the railroad between Detroit and Port
Huron. Many of the towns along the
way had no local newsdealers, and the
people used to come down 10 the station
every day and buy the papers of the
train boy ! used to get around to the
newspaper office before daylight every day
and so. from loafng around the compos-
Ing room. I got to know several Of the
printers. We used to laugh and joke with
one another and We became pretty good
friends. one morning l went into the Of
fee as usual and found every one in a
state Of excitement. Instead of joking
the printers We're running about getting
the takes OF putting them in the forms
and the makeup men were standing on
tiptoe around the stones jusufyns the
tyne with "a nervousness which they did
not usually show. l asked several what
was the matter. but they paid no atten-
ton to me. ! couldn't understand IT,
Finally 1 grabbed one fellow by the apron
as he started for the stone and yelled at
him TO tell me what the trouble was. He
jerked away in a moment and said:
Edison Hears the Great News.
"Don't bother me, boy Battle of Shiloh
Ten thousand killed. Then he rushed
down the room, his heelless slippers slap
ping the floor as he went.
80 a battle had been fought. Wei, /
knew what that meant. 1t meant that
the paper was putting out an extra edi-
ton of war news, and that il would be
late l walked downstairs slowly without
thinking very deeply of the subject, when
suddenly the realization of the magnitude
of the affair rushed over me, and l stop
4 ~. L.. will a
sand men killed! Why, the news would
create q storm of excitement No wonder
the printers hurried. l jumped downstairs
three steps at a time and rushed around to
the telegraph office. 1 knew the operator
at that station, and l had an idea.
HeEor he said.
Hello, said 1. I want 10 send a tele-
gram.
We'll, write it out said he.
Edison's First Telegram.
But SAID, this can't be written
You will have TO fix it for me. Here's
the point Ten thousand men have been
killed at place called Shiloh. II viii be
in the paper this morning, and everybody
will want it, Now, will you telegraph
these words to all the station along the
lire and get the operators TO paste them
uD-"Battle of Shiloh fought. Ten thou
sand killed" If you win do il | will give
you a morning paper every day for three
months"
you see, hadn't any money, and /
had to reach the fellow in some way.
Those papers would save him quite an
amount at the rate of cents day. But
he hesitated, so to clinch the matter |
added: And 1 will give you Harper's
Magazine for a year.
''That settled it, He agreed 10 do il,
and I knew that if he kept his promise
/ would have customers enough waiting
for me along the line. Then l went over
and saw the fellow who gave out the pa
pers to the carriers every day. l said to
him: III take a thousand papers this
morningr He fairly gasped at me.
You'll take a thousand papers! Well
you will lay down $50 right now. And you
Will be lucky if you get 500. Papers will
be scarce to-day
An Appeal to Editor Storey.
"Wen, that staggered me. They had
always trusted me before that. but l sup
pose the size of the pile and the news
of the battle made him stop short. He
had no jurisdiction, except in a small way,
1 suppose. But 1 was completely discour-
aged. Some one else would get the bene-
tit OF my advertising. / walked away in
the early morning, wondering why some
things never seem TO work out right. l
passed around by the door of the editorial
office, which was pure luck. for l did not
notice where I was walking. IL gave me
a thought. Upstairs the editor of the pa
per probably was at work on his leaders
At that time the editor OF the De-
troit Free Press was w. T. Storey. a
fearless writer and a good newspaper
man, but a martinez OF the most cross
grained school. His associates approached
him al ordinary times with fear and trem-