The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22
THE FANCIHS OF A GENIUS
Peculiar Notions Held by a Russian
Jewish Inventor.
Has Little Regard for the Enthu-
sinsm Displayed by His Fellow
Countrymen In America - Sees n
Change in Their Character After
Leaving the Dominion of the Cznr.

In the Russian Jewish tea and coffee
cafes of the East Side gather an earnest
crowd of men, who discuss with passion
all the great. unsolvabie questions of hu
mainly. Literary men poets, actors, bust
ness men, most of whom were driven from
| Russia, delight in expressing at these cafes
/ the ideas for which they were prosecuted
abroad. Enthusiasm for progress and love
of ideas is the characteristic tone of these
| gatherings and an entire lack of practical
sense.
! Very striking. therefore, was the attitude
of Russian-Jewish inventor VINO took his
lunch the other day at one of the most lit
erary Of these cafes. Near him were a trio
OF enthusiasts. gesticulating over their tea,
but he sat aloof alone. He listened with
cold, superior smile. He neither smoked
nor drank. but sat, with his thin, shrewd
face, chilly thinking
1t is common report in the community of
the intellectual Ghetto that Mr.. - made
great invention connected with the cleo
trio arc lamp. 1t resulted in frightening
the time before the carbon was burnt oLt
from four or five hours to $50 hours or
Whereabouts. He might have been mil
lionaire today, both he and his acquaint-
+ ances maintain, but, with the usual I'M
u
was cheated by INSCRIPTIONS lawyers. He
was shirt-maker, and for six years saved
I from his $40 a week to buy the apparatus
necessary for the task. At last it was COM
pleted, but he was robbed of the fortune
Of the fame. of the prestige TO which his
great idea entitled him. AS it is, he gets
only 81 $50 a year for the great deed
spends much of his time silently in the
cafes, and dreams of ether inventions when
not engaged with criticising his kind.
An American, who sometimes visited the
place for color" and for the impractical
enthusiasm which he missed among his
own people, sat down by the inventor.
whose face interested him, and entered
into conversation. He spoke of a Yiddish
playwright whom he admired
Il do not know much about him. said
the inventor II am not a genius, like the
others
He sneered. but it was so nearly imper-
ceptible that it did not seem iIl-natured
But l am told said the American.
that you are great inventor. And that
is kind of genius
1T takes talent. too, to do what l have
done. But l am not genius like these
people
Again he smiled, sarcastically.
Il find said the American "a great
many interesting people in these cafes"
Yes. they are what you call characters. |
l suppose" he said. dispassionately; but |
find them interesting only for one reason |
no. no. wont tell you what that rea
son is
You don't seem to be as enthusiastic /
about the people as l am" said the Ameri- !
can. but whenever | come into a cafe .
down here find serious men who will talk /
seriously. They are different from the /
Americans who amuse themselves in bars, |
at horse races, and farces.''
The inventor smiled coldly
Il do not call serious what you call I
serious" he said. 1T is not necessary TO p
talk seriously TO be serious. Serious men
do things. The Russians don't do things.
II they were gay and did things. they
would be more serious than they are. But 1
they are solemn and don't do anything"
Il don't agree with you" said the
American. warmly. Doesn't Blank who
writes so many excellent novels. do any
thing? Don't the actors, who act so truth
fully, VI thout self-consciousne5s. do any
thing? Don't the journalists. who spread
excellent ideas, do anything"
The inventor nodded judicially and re-
marked that there were some exceptions.
But" he added. You are deceived by
the surface. There are many men in our
colony who seem to be stronger intelectu-
ally than they really are. In Russia a few
men, really cultivated and intellectual.
give the tone. and everybody follows
them. In America, however, the pubic
gives the tone, and the playwright, the
literary man, simply expresses the public.
So that really intellectual Americans do
not express as good ideas as less intel
lectual Russians. The Russians all imi-
tate the best. The Americans initiate
what the mass of the people want. But an
intellectual American is more intella tual
than these geniuses around here whom you
like. OF course, they have some coed
things in them. as everybody has"
What is it that you find to like in this
Russian colony" asked the American.
Il find" replied the inventor that
when they come over here they lose what
is best in the Russian character and ac-
quire what is worst in the American char
acter"
And what do you deem best in the Rus
sian character"
Well, in Russia they are warm hearted
and friendly. They are envious even there.
but not nearly so envious as thee are
here
And what do you find that is worst in
the American character"
oh you know; they do everything for
money But yet there is more greatness
in the American character. They are me-
chanical. They are practical. They don't
get cheated by INSCRIPTIONS lawyers.
are you married asked Inc AmeTl-
can. sympathetically.
No thank God he replied. with more
energy than he had yet shown.
But you have no friends"
No"
Some men" commented the American.
find a friend in a wife"
That depends a mans character.
1t increases the loneliness of some men,"
replied the inventor, smiling in spite OF
what he was saying.
You seem TO me TO be rather pessmis-
tic" remarked the American.
NO l am not pessimistc. | understand
that a pessimist thinks life is worse than
it is. but l see things just as they are:
that is all When / came to New York
was enthusiastic, too; | was an optimist
! saw life as it is not. But the mists
have passed from before my eyes and
see things just as they are.''-New York
Commercial advertiser.