The labor world., 1906-09-01
AND Mr.. EDISON, TOO,
USED STACKED CARDS
Evidence to Show That Pros
pective Merchant and
Prince Was Lost.
When Edison Turned Wizard
the Nation Lost a. Modern
Schemer.

1t Is good thing.
Mr. Creelman Is apparently Of the
opinion that all this country needs Is
a little Christian Science trttltment.
And to prove how groundless are
our fears about the possible conse-
quences Of the rapid concentration of
Creelman, In the August number
a witness.
There is no doubt In the mind Of
Mr.. Edison that this Is the golden age
OF poverty.
He says there we're never so many
chances to get on in the world.
Il would rather begin now, as a
poor boy" said he, than to start
again in the conditions that surround
ed my early life.
"The world is crying for men of in
telligence. 1t Is searching for them
everywhere. The door is open, as it
has never been before, for men who
have minds even a fraction above
what Is necessary for routine-mus-
cular task"
And so far as concerns the building
up VI CdI pA4FoIC AOl IuuCo Nl LUIS
son cheerily bids them grow.
"Give us more trusts, more million
aires, yes, billionaires," says he.
We readily believe Mr.. Edison when
he says he would rather begin life now
AS poor boy than to begin again un-
der the conditions that prevailed when
he started out in the world.
Mr.. Edison happens to be the great
est inventive genius of the age. and If
we were all geniuses. we might share
with him the unparalleled rewards
that a commercial world pays to me-
chanical genius.
But it also happens that most of
the rest of us, instead Of being gen.
fuses Of any kind, are plain workers.
who plow, tend machines in factories,
drive trucks, and do the rough work
of the world.
The every day sort of men who
come under these and other classifica-
tions are the ones whose labor pro-
duces what we all eat, wear and live
In, as also the ones who constitute the
bulk of the population and pay practi'.
government.
And since this nation is for the most
part composed of this kind Of men, 1t
might be supposed that anything that
threatened their interests would be
considered bad, however much 1t
might help the few who are more cap
able than the average man.
But Mr.. Edison apparently pays no
attention to the large class OF average
men.
His thoughts are riveted on the few
who rise in intelligence above the
many.
And when he speaks of the great
opportunities that are now open to
poor boys, he plainly has in mind the
few that have more intelligence than
the rest.
It is undoubtedly a new kind of
optimism that rejoices because a few
have the opportunity to become mil
lionaires.
But nowhere else Is Mr.. Edison's
optimism so amusing as it is where
he recounts his own experience In get
ting on in the world.
He sold papers on the trains be-
tween Detroit and Port Huron.
Things weren't coming fast enough
lOl u1lu 6lAu uc OpCACu L Wv AAuAO OA
two stores-one for the sale Of news
papers and the other for the sale Of
vegetables, butter, eggs. berries and so
on.
1T was small trade" said he, "but
was able to carry my merchandise
free in the United States mail cars,
and that counted"
Thus Mr.. Edison began his career
by securing a privilege that his CON-
petitors did not have-they paid
freight on their goods, while he, being
train newsboy, smuggled his through
In a mail car for nothing.
Keep this in mind now, because this
ard other incidents that are to come
give the measure of the man-they
show what he considers legitimate sue
cess and give an idea of the kind Of
opportunities" he sees for the poor
boy Of today.
Then he hired two boys to tend to
his stores, while he dead-headed
goods through to them to sell.
"The boys couldn't sleep very WE'LL"
he told Mr.. Creelman, 80 bought
bottle of paregoric and gave each of
them two teaspoovsful day"
u0 ulOuoIA CdpLdll u lluuSLIy III
embryo! The paregoric made the boys
sleep because 1t was loaded with
opium, but they revived in time to
stay awake in the daytime and work.
Then came the battle of Pittsburg
Landing, during the civil war.
Mr.. Edison proudly relates how he
obtained from a Detroit publisher,
mostly on credit, 1000 newspapers and
gave telegraph operator six months
subscription to magazine to wire
ahead enough details Of the battle to
whet the public appetite for his pa
pers at the first station, charging 10
cents each instead of five.
A little farther down the line he
saw that he had not put on "all the
traffic would BEAR" SO he jumped the
price Of his papers to 25 cents EACH
Perhaps 1t is now easier to under
stand why Mr.. Edison believes this
country has nothing to worry about.
BY his own statement he began his
business career by refusing to play
fairly with his competitors when he
dead-headed his merchandise in a mail
car while they were paying freight or
theirs.
If he thinks that sort of thing is all