The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-01
GOOD STORIES ABOUT
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE

Thomas A. Edison not long ago told
a friend the story Of his first acquaints
ance with any big sum of money. 1t
was when he was struggling with his
earlier inventions. and he had about as
clear an idea of the value of a bank
check as the man in the moon, says
Success. He had finally sold his patent
on the gold and stock indicator TO the
Western Union Telegraph company ana
had called at it's Office 10 close the deal.
After a few preliminaries ne was given
a check for $40, 000 He eyed il curious
ly and appeared to be puzzled what TO
do with IL. Observing his perplexity,
General Lefferts, then president Of the
Western Union, told him that, If ne
would go to the Bank. of America, in
Wall street, be could get the cash on
his check.
$50 1 started" said Edison, ''after
carefully folding up the check, and
Went toward Wall street. So uncer-
tain was in regard to that way of do
ing business that I thought, while on
the way, that, II any man should come
up TO me and-offer me two crisp 81, 00o
bills for that piece Of paper. 1 would
give him the check very quickly"
On his arrival az the Bank Of Amer
lea, he half-trembling showed his
check out to the cashier. The latter
ing glance, and said something which
Edison, being hard of hearing. failed
to understand. That was enough. He
was fully convinced that his check was
not worth 10000, and again thought.
as ne rushed out of the bank, that any
man who would give him $4,000 for il
could have It. He hurried back to the
Office of the Western Union and said
he could not get any money. A clerk
70 fe hav NIT i'm 10. Ian
tify him.
This man." said the clerk. sis Mr.
Thomas A. Edison, to whose order the
check is drawn
why. certainly, Mr.. Edison" said
the cashier; how would you like youl
money-in what shape?"
"Oh, any way to suit the bank; ii
doesn't make any difference to me SC
long as 1 get the money"
Edison was given $4,000 in large
bills. After dividing the roll into two
wads of $4,000 each, he stuffed one into
each trousers pocket, and made all
speed out of Wall street. The next day
he began working on his first labora-
tory in New York.
Through the swift turn OF the whirIi-
sig Of events, Mayor George b. Nc
Clellan Of Greater New York finds that
half the public men. he meets officially
or sits next to at dinner are men
whom he has interviewed. which fire.
cuentiy moves him TO relate adventures
OF his newspaper days.
a favorite of these is his interview
with J. Pierpont Morgan. He AYERS thai
it was the most picturesque in his
galnut or repOrtorial experiences which
covering three years on three papers OF
different types were rich and varied
He began on a newspaper, where. as
he explains it, he wrote the Paris let
ter, got up the joke column, wrote the
questions and answers for a standing
editorial page feature called ''Our
Question Box" wrote editorial para
graphs. and. every other Saturday,
when his managing editor was away
wrote the London letter-all for SO a
week. In turn he was exchange ed
itor, Wall street man. political report
er. railroad reporter, editorial writer,
and suggester Of ideas to the city ed
itor
It was in his Wall street days that
the Pierpont Morgan episode happened.
"A new editor did tit is not neees-
sary TO say said the mayor. The
new man had a lot of ideas. which ne
had been Keeping in storage for use
when he should get into authority. He
proceeded right away TO reform things.
de had an idea that all the men were
in q rut and that things were not spicy
enough. lie wanted TO sharpen up the
paper. One after another he called the
men to him and solemnly outlined his
ideas Ny turn came in time.
. Mcclellan. he said, we want &c
make the Wall street stun bfeezier.