Evening journal., 1903-07-29
EDISON HAS NEW
AUTO BATTERY
Inventor Says All Vehicles
Will Soon Be Run by
Electricity

Atlantic city, n. j., July 29.-Thomas
A. Edison. the wizard of Menlo Park. yes
terday gave out important news for the
dev0tees OF the automobile. "It will not
be long he said. before all the vehi-
cles in the country will be driven by
stored electricity. My new storage bat
terry. which has been so much discussed
and abused, has proven a perfect sue
cess"
Mr. Edison came here from Orange in
his new gasoline automobile. making the
Sc miles at high speed. lie had three COM
panions, and the whole party seemed to
be having a Jolly outing. The inventor
was sunburned and in his brown linen
clothing, dusty and wrinkled, he looked
very little like a millionaire.
THE hast test that / made with my new
batteries was on 5OOO-mile automobile
rum" said MIR. Edison. 1 made that test
to find out their wearing power. The re-
suit. as proven by an analytical examina-
tion, was that they were in per cent
better condition after the long run than
when they were first put in. I believe that
the batteries are practically indestructi-
BILE. l sent the machine over the toughest
of roads and over cobblestones and gave
it thorough trying out between car
tracks which. with electricity. is the
severest strain possible.
His Gasoline Car
"Oh, yes, everybody wants to know, of
course why I bought gasoline automo-
bile, when I am making batteries to run
automobiles. l did IL because am ex-
perimenting. I want to find out what
machine has the strongest gearing-some-
thing that will stand the racket on the
heaviest roadways.
Now, when l get home I am going to
take that gasoline machine to pieces.
Then I will reconstruct it with the bait
teries as motive power. I will take the
engine out and will put an electric motor
in its place. The engine space is just big
enough to take il in. Then, under the
body of the machine I will put 100 of my
new storage batteries. That will be suf-
fcient to drive the machine, which is "A
horsepower, a distance of 90 miles and
give 1t speed of 30 miles an hour. may
do better than that. but that will satisfy
me. That is more than can be done with
any other storage batteries and that is
only the start The possibilities of my
Invention promise a great deal more than
that. M iaQ
Will Build No Machines.
The new batteries will not wear out,
and they can be recharged quickly and
as. often as desired There will be less
liability of setting into trouble than with
any other batteries.
Il 90 not intend TO build any machines.
My object is to develop the powers of the
battery
Il believe that the titno &c nesr r,ben
an automobile can go any number of
miles with safety. 1t viii be a relief to
machine users to ride in a vehicle which
they are practically certain is not going
to give out with them. however far they
may drive it.
As yet I have not thought of competi-
tion as TO speed. / have not considered
the racing machines, but who can say
what viii be the improvement in this
lins with light and durable power?
His Batteries in Use.
1t seems TO be a popular error that
the new batteries are not being used As
matter of fact, they are. 1 am now
keeping under observation three heavy
trucks driven by them. There has been
no weakness or other defect to show
that they are not durable and perfectly
satisfactory. No other batteries in use
could run 5000 miles and stin be in good
condition. There is a great deal OF criti-
cism knocking the new invention, bui
that / have 10 expect. 1 have had Il "a
contend with every time ] announced an
invention. In this case 1t is a matter OF
stock-ln-trade with other makers of stor-
age batteries"