Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-03-31
Miseellansuus 8saaiag.
SOME NOTABLE INVENTORS.

SOME NOTABLE INVENTORS.
They Won Fame and Success Through
Hard Work.
The development Of the faculty OF
seeing that which others overlook,
which makes the successful inventor
took a commercial direction with
Thomas Edison before 1t did a mechan-
ical one.
In his first venture he showed the
unerring instinct for business which
has given him the reputation Of being
above everything else, commercial
inventor"
He was IA when he started in busi-
ness for himself as q news vender on
the Grand Trunk road. This was dur
ing the civil war. when excitement for
news regarding the battle Of Pittsburg
Landing was at Its height. "Tom," as
he was called. persuaded the editor of
the Detroit Free Press to let him have
a thousand copies Of the paper as
stock in trade, to be paid for on real
ization and to be sold from the cars.
He conceived the ingenious plan of
getting his news bulletins printed on
official blackboards along the line prior
to the arrival of the train bearing him
and his papers.
Edison Shrewd as q Boy.
Mr.. Edison thus describes the success
of his first venture:
at Utica, the first station out from
Detroit, usually sold two papers for
cents each. As we approached the
station on this day put my head out
of the window and thought I saw an
excursion party. I had half a dozen
papers in my hand. and seeing that the
crowd began to gesticulate and shout
when they saw me, guessed that 1t
was papers they wanted, and rushed
back. grabbed an armful, and when
reached the platform sold forty. Mount
Clemment was the next station. When
1t came In sight thought there was
a riot, The platform was crowded
with a bowling mob, and when the
tones became Ineligible I realized
that they were after news Of Pitts
burg Landing. I raised the price of
papers to 10 cents and sold fifty where
I had never before sold more than a
dozen.
oth bot raQnhQd
these scenes, were repeated, but the
climax came when we got to Port
Huron. The station there was a mile
from the town. When the'train stop
ped, shouldered my bundle and start
ed for the city. When got less than
half way met a crowd hurrying to-
ward the station. thought I knew
what they were after, so as 1 got In
front Of a church, where a prayer
meeting was being held, raised the
price to 25 cents a copy, and commence
ed to take in a young fortune. In
two minutes the prayer-meeting was
adjourned, the members came rushing
out, and the coin was produced In
way that indicated that the deacons
hadn't passed the plate before came
along"
It was during this part Of his life
that Edison saved a child from death
under the car wheels, and the father,
who had no money to reward him, Of
fered to teach him telegraphy. Edison
gladly accepted. and he became an
operator when he was Is and an In
ventor when he was II.
Wins by First Invention.
1t seems singular that a mere child
should have detected the weak spot In
the system as practiced in those days
and without special training or exper-
ience overcome what had proved a
great stumbling block to the extension
and development Of the system. This
was his first great work, the invention
Of a perfect automatic repeater, and
its successful operation at once at
tracted attention to his genius. 1t was
not, however, until he was 2l that ne
began to receive material assistance
md recognition, so that his way be-
came even comparatively clear.
When he was % he had already made
valuable discoveries in several branch
es of telegraphy and he left Boston FOL
New York, arriving in the latter city
in his chronic state Of impecuniosity
There was a panic In Wall street, and
as Edison lounged outside the ex'
change he learned that something had
gone wrong with the telegraphic COM
munication and brought business to
standstill. In the tumult he slipped In
to the office Of Laws old reporting
company, discovered what was wrong
with the stock quotation printer, and
informed the astonished manager tha'
he could put the machine In order. He
did so, with the result that he was
engaged by the company at salary ol
5000 q month, a sum which was beyond
his widest dreams.
This enabled him to put into shape
Immediately some ideas that had beer
seething in his brain. An opportunity
for selling his patents, among whicf
was the Edison stock printer. soon Of
fered itself and the inventor decided
that he might take $4,000 for them
The Gold and Stock Telegraph compa'
ny. however, of which he was now
member, made him an offer Of $4,000
IT believe" said Mr.. Edison In recall
ing this incident. that I could have
been knocked down with the tradition
al feather, so astonished was / witt
the sum. l concluded that there mus
be some Wall street trickery about the
thing and that If ever got a cent
should be lucky. After signing the
agreement l received the check ane