Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-02-11
WIZARD EDISON
BEGINS SIXTY
SECOND YEAR

Orange. y. j.. FEB. t1.-Thomas
Alva Edison, the wizard or the ag .
OF electricity. today observed his
6lst birthday. Although he has
achieved financial independence
through his hundr DIS OF inventions,
the age1 wizard is still busily en-
gag9d on many projects which will
be of the greatest benefit to humani-
~. OF late he has spent a consider
able portion OF his time in investi-
eating the possibilities latent in CON
crete as a house-building material.
and has perfected machinery where
by such houses may be nodded
quickly and in an economical man
ner Several other ideas are revoly-
ing in the fertile brain of the
wizard and il his life is spared for
another decade It is likely that he
Will again startle the world with
some revolutionary product of his
genius.
MIR. Edison was born at Milan. O
February IL, 1S47. He began his
business career at the age of - as
n newsboy. When still a youth he
became telegrapher and it was
while engaged in this occupation
that he became interested in the
marvels OF electricity and COM
menced the career as an inventor
which has made his name famous
throughout the world.
The wizard attributes his long life
and the preservation of the activity
OF his mental processes to the regu-
larity of his habits. He retires at
midnight and arises at $50. eats but
little and works almost necessarily
nm his laboratory from in the morn
ing until Z in the evening. Recently
the wizard formulated some repula-
lions for long and useful life that
may be Of value to some of his fell
low Americans:
Let me impress one all important
thing upon your mind-that is, that
you observe most rigidly the rule of
hygiene regarding careful and mod
crate eating. Fully so per cent. of
the illness OF mankind comes from
eating improper food or too much
food. People are inclined TO over
indulge themselves in this respect
when they are spending their holt
days. ] have always been light eat
er, and / fully appreciate the fact
that the sole purpose of food is to
preserve the chemical energies and
keep the human machine going.
Where there is no drain on the
system the minimum amunt Of food
will do. Even the Italian laborers
are able to preserve their muscular
tissue on a small amount of bread
and cheese, and they certainly work
hard
Then why is it necessary for the
business man TO eat great quantities
OF food when there is no drain on
his system? Elaborate dinners are
curse. Many business men eat
enough food to supply a regiment.
They are clogglng up their boilers
by doing so and will live to regret
it. y.I.
Another important rule to OBJ
serve is this: Get out of bed as soon
as you open your eyes in the morn
ing. Don't lit in bed and wait to see
If You cannot go TO sleep again That
Is n foolish thing tn do Jumn ont ~
bed and do something, anything. BE
active and alert, get your blood in
circulation, leap right into the activi-
ties of life the first thing and you
Will soon see that your brain works
better.
There is absolutely no reason why
we should sleep, except that our pre-
historic ancestors got into the habit
OF sleeping. and we have never
broken ourselves of it. There Is no
need OF sleep now. We can turn
the darkness OF night into the light
OF day by our electric lights. so why
should people Sleep I believe that
II we had perpetual sunlight we
would, in n few genera tions, get over
this habit Of lseCping.
Sleep dulls the intellect. II peo-
pie would not sleep so long we would
develop into strou ger and more
intellectual race II is we'll known
that the ant, one Of The most intel
ligent Of insects, does not sleep"