The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-09-29
EDISON ON PAST AND PRESENT
DAY ISSUES

the World correspondents, referred to
the fact that he sees no longer the
wayside shrines and crosses of Aus
tria; they offended his utilitarian
modernness as representing an
atrophied condition of the inhabitants
who, Edison says, should be building
schools instead of clinging to med
iaeval superstitions.
Il notice that as the chimneys get
higher the church steeples get lower"
he said quantity. THE Germans are
thinking people, and the more you
| think the more you push. Don't tell
me that the Germans are not a push
ing people. Look at all that: it's one
great beehive of progress in the finest
direction"
He was passing the most gigantic
iron foundry in the Empire Edison
was radiant with the response to all
that to him means contemporary life;
he seemed to have one of his great
visions of the future made by me-
chanical godhead smashing anaemic
ideals right and left.
Then he broke out with the remark
that it seemed to him that the great
est oppressors of mankind have the
finest monuments. Then he exclaim-
ed: Thank God we have got beyond
these ideas of the sanctity of kings"
"The more l see," he said, "of linger-
ing superstitions, the more thankful
am | to live in a country where think
ing is free. Let people think thro Ugh
schoolhouse and newspaper, where
in Europe people think through
confessional, and you can trust to
results"
Then he added
1--WE live for the triumph of smoke
stacks, not of church steeples, and on
that | base my whole faith in the
grand final triumph of our own civil
lization over that of Europe.
In Dresden, there is an exposition.
Mr.. Edison spent two hours viewing
one section. Of the industry and in
genuity of the German people ne said:
Such system! They have the plan
ming brain" He was particularly in
terested in the marvellous miscros-
copes and purchased several for his
laboratory. From there he went to
the art gallery and here are his can
did comments:
II can't see the beauty in this old
family wished to come, but to me
only modern art is interesting There
you get feeling that means some
thing today; not saints, no forgotten
tortures, but people suffering conteu1-
rorary problems
Give me Gerome, for instance;
there 1 get a responsive chord. |
think Raphael got his fame because
of the awful pictures that preceded
him. What l like in pictures is the
fine stereoptic vividness that tells you
something. Talk about educating the
people on old masters-to me where
their education comes in is giving
them something that keeps pace with
their senses today. l admire modern
art; 1 think it keeps pace with mod
ern thinking"
Mr.. Edison left the gallery dissatis-
fed with the examples of modern art
shown there.
THE art of today, like everything
else, is all right, but prejudice does
not give it a chance" said he by way
of final comment after viewing the
gallery's priceless treasures. I'm
modern, hopelessly modern" he said,
as he passed out the portals. Il be-
lieve in modernity; think We are go
ing forward. l believe that art, like
everything else, has caught its pres
ent-day stride"
Asked, What do you call success
in life?" he ended long definition as
follows: :.
''As far as l can see nature has only
one object-to go on perpetuating
life. That's it's big business; every
thing else is secondary. We want to
perputuate in one form or another.
With some it is the perpetuation of
another. With some it is the perpetu-
alton of an idea; but it all amounts
to the same thing-the instinct to-
pass on from generation to genera
ton, from. cycle to cycle.
Now, It is undeniable the great
quest of humanity is happiness. But
was the world created to make us
happy? How many are truly happy
I've studied people in all classes and
conditions and everywhere I've found,
when you get below the surface, that
it's mostly the insincere individual
who says I'm happy man. Nearly
everybody wants something he hasn't
got, and as things are constructed