Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-16
Great inventor Accompanied by
Wife and Daughter, Tells
OF His Life Work.
HE DESCRIBES Ills AIR SHIP.
His idea of Aerial Navigation Depends
On Horizontal Screw Propcllers
And Revolving Planes.

Thomas A, Edison, the greatest m
ventor of modern times and possibly
the greatest in history, is visiting Salt
Lake for the first time in his broad and
checkered career. Mr.. Edison Is &C
companied by his wife and daughter
ana Is on his way from the Yellowstone
park to his home in Orange. New
Jersey.
In discussing the ships for areal nav
igation this morning at the knutsford
the great inventor said that from
lifelong interest and study of arial
navigation he felt assured that the air
ship which would in the future event.
Eually meet with success would not be
constructed on the lines at present be-
ing followed by those seeking to con-
summate the idea, but that the flying
machine of the future would be SO
constructed that from the motive pow
Ell contained in 1t, the ship would be
enabled to rise perpendiculiarly from
the ground or horizontally as the oc-
casion might require These requisites
said he, are impossible to the aeroplane
asilthat structure depends upon the
momentum of the horizontal move
ment to force It's way upwards, The
balloon, he thinks, will never solve the
problem of the navigation of the air.
DESCRIBES AIR SHIP,
Mr.. Ediscns idea of the possible air.
ship, as given to Deseret News re-.
porter this morning. is a combination
OF the horizontal screw plopellers with
small revolving planes which will OPP
crate in the same automatic fashion
as the governor of an engine. This idea
IS quite original with Mr.. Edison and
assumes novel proportions when he eX-
plains it. A tower constructed In the
lightest possible manner will be ar
ranged above the engine and man
space. This tower will revolve, being
driven by the motive power carried in
the ship. Attached to this tower by
wire not heavier than piano wire will
4 be numerous planes set at a CONSTANT
| {angle HI order that they may create q
I proper resistance with the air. The
tower will revolve and carry with 1t
| these many planes AS the speed in
creases and the planes show a tenden-
ley to pull outward and upward. the two
! plano wires with which they are fas-
tened to the revolving tower Will allow
| the planes to leave the machine for
perhaps the distance of 100 feet, where
| they VIII reyolve and carry the ma
| chine upward When q downward
movement is required the speed of the
| tower will be lessened and the springs
| which hold the planes al a tension will
| draw the planes toward the tower, and
| when q a nnmnlptf.
stop the planes will be again In their
| original position beside the machine.
In q word, the principle of the aero
| plane and an application of centrifugal
| force will constitute this new feature
lin the construction of airships.
| BACK TO SCIENTIFIC LABoRS.
I'm the pust," said MIR. Edison II
| have devoted my time to experiments
| and improvements with the commercial
end In View and an invention for build
ing cement houses within the short
period of "a hours is the last expert
mental work OF a commercial nature
which Will attempt. i intend to de-
vote the future to theory and scien-
tific laborH.
1T has not been long since l brought
to a commercial basis the application
Ct the Cobalt-nlcke storage battery.
And at present hundreds Of automobiles
in New York are propelled by that
| method. / consider that within very
few years the horse Will, really, be
matter OF history. When you consider
that at present the streets of New York
are daily congested with traffic and
that an automobils is only one-haf
as long as q wagon and horse With
twice the speed and cheaper, you can
readily see that the automobile affords
the only solution to the problem.
EXPERIMENTS WITH SAGE
BRUSH
mo | was never, in Salt Lake City
before, but 81 years ago / WAS at Og-
den and at that time there were not
many houses. Some years ago
I sent out here for % pounds Of grease
wood and sasebrush but | only sue
ceeded in extracting small quantity
of wax from the greasewood ana from
the sagebrush an oil for which could
find no use. You have plenty of that
material here and feel assured that
some day a use to which it may be put
will be found.
AS HE; APPEARS TODAY.
Mr.. Edison could not be recognized
from the pictures which are current in
The magazines and newspapers. which
We're probably taken when ne was
much younger. His hair is white and
his brow ponderous and the strength
with which he has battled his way
up in the world is stamped upon every
feature. For the last four years, he
said, he mad not worked at night. He
employs so men in his laboratory. all
skilled in their particular profession.
And has on hand material for expert
mental work from all portions OF the
world AS an example of magnitude
of his experiments, when he was cx-
perimenting upon the cheapest and
most durable substance to be used
for the small wire of carbon which is
now used in incandescent lamps. he
tried fbers of all manner and descrip
ton from all parts of the world and
every other substance which he though
was possible. All such material he fs
continually collecting for his labora-
tory.
The party will leave. Salt Lake to-
morrow morning for Grand Junction
where they viii stop over day on
their way east.
NOT SO LONG AGO EITHER,
The first electric light exhibited In
Salt Lake City waB one Invented by
Thomas A, Edison and turned out from
bis workshop. This was hung from
the roof of u, C, NJ. I, and the power
FOR the feeble Illumination was Furnish
ed bS the Deseret News With William
j. Silver, the veteran machlnlst 81
charge of the dynamo. aud Bon Judson