The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-01-11
Miscellany
EdisOn's Latest Views.


gave his latest views on many timely
topics OF most interest, Of course, are
his opinions on inventions and scien-
tific subjects. The interview as 1t ap-
pears In the latest Issue Of tho Inde-
pendent Is In part as follows:
What is the trend Of invention? Ap
plicauou Of electricity to all moving
things
The most significant Invention of 1887
Manufacture OF ammonia from nitrogen
and hydrogen.
whnt work OF your own during the
past year is most Important Perfection
Of the recording Of music By the new
What of the flying machinef Don't
| know.
What of setting OF explosives By wire
military murder,
Is radIum to be harnessed2 It's driv-
ing a clock IN Paris: Radlum, so far. has
only scientific value. No one can pre-
diet. There are enormous possibilities.
! What of new sources Of power7 Sun
engines Of considerable power. twenty to
thirty horsepower. are working In Africa
at tho mouth OF tSo mine, converting the
power Into electricity and Transmitting
ready been put Into effect In Nova Scotia
and IN England Forming producer gas
by, setting the vein Of coal on nre and
to my knowledge. been applied. II is In my
| opinion possible, especially when coal od-
vances in price. The smaller and deeper
veins. from which It Ia impossible to ex-
| tract the coal without great expense,
could be worked IN this way The un-
available coal In these veins Ia enormous.
| Tapping internal heat OF the earth Is out
OF the question until coal gets moro ex-
| pensive.
How soon will ships be driven by new
power7 Until we find a practical method
l n inn> h,tcf ttnr rocf-
F, ly into electricity, steamboats, will con-
| tinue TO be driven by steam and internal
combustion motors,
Is communication with possible in
habitants OF other worlds IN sight7 Have
! no opinion.
Is not indiHdualistic invention hap
s the snd todT Sen Sed Tss
ventor tries to meet the demand OF q
crazy civilization. Folding beds are pri
marily due to the operation Of the trade
! union trust, who have raised wages by
force, work one-thlrd less time and do
! about third OF the work they hon
estly. should do. and then go or a strike
one-fifth OF the time. This raises the
cost OF houses more people have to be
! crowded therein TO make It pay; and thus
arises the demand for folding beds Dirty
beasts as motors; conservati tiveness OF
| people IN not adopting modern motors.
such as the silent, cleanly electric truck
and carriage, the failure TO pave well and
| city-and politicians.
Are not social machines displaclng in
diyidual mi, machines; g: g.. the public iaun-
chine? The individual washing machine
will hold It's own for awhile Electric
driven washing machinery suitable for
the small house Is rapidly coming into
use. and the labor is reduced almost TO
nothing.
Does not invention follow social op-
portunity and need; cannot society now
or To- Tn to 1fz--,
prepared to receive any invention Every
new thing is resisted and II takes years
Tor the inventor 20 get people TO listen
TO him and years more before If can be
introduced, and when II Is introduced our
beautiful laws and court procedure are
used by predatory commercialism TO ruin
the inventor They don't leave him even
enough TO start new invention
| Would you recommend that the United
| States government establish a cabinet
department. Of Inventions? l do
anything but regulate the activities Of
it's people, give them q free swing. and
see that every man is protected In that
! which he produces Panama is an ex-
selected; he was given a free swing Sup
pose the wrong man had been selected,
and be was hampered by red tape and
politicians. then Panama would not be
used as an example. A department of
inventions is not wanted. What Is want
ed Is that the methods OF court procedure
DS CIidIlSGu ana lil0 courts Ee9lNZe lnal
| the man who makes inventions, by the
very nature OF things. cannot be O bust
ness man, familiar with Its merciess
code: and they should take this into con-
sideration and protect him
| Would you suggest the incentive OF spe-
cial honor TO governmental inventors, as a
ribbon. together with monetary reward ?
The incentive OF most of the practical In
| ventors Is 10 get enough money to keep
their families well and TO make more In
yenuons. A ribbon from the government
also an Incentive But the main incen-
tive is to get money to mako moro in
Ventions.
Might not stan o, governmental In
mnchlnery7 1t doesn't need a
government staff Of Inventors to invent
devices TO prevent people getting killed
by machinery; II wants plain. unmstak-
sion to see tho laws are carried out
| Do you agree with Roger w, Bobson
that capital and labor, are irreconcllable
foes? There should be no irrec-
oncilability between capital and labor,
It's between capital dishonesty acquired
and labor. Labor is not well informed
| The fruits OF one generation OF labor be-
come the capital OF the next genera ton
II they fought this capital they would
DC fighting the savings of the grand
fathers, saved for their benefit This
would be absurd. What they are really
fighting is the savings OF their forbears,
| Wnlcn gets INTO otner hands by cntcancry
and fraud and superior cunning.
| Has not invention put II in the power
| OF la Dor. or any small group OF those-dis-
| contented with present conditions. to
checkmate, II not wreck. our clvillza-
tlon? We shall always have this
| trouble until our school system dscards
| tTadiuonary methods Of teaching the
| child, and turns out young men thorough
ly familiar with their natural environ
ment and with Il capacity Tor sound
thinking.
(The following Is Mr.. Ed!son's more
informal yet perhaps even more interest
Ing conversatlon)
! ''I can't answer questions Ike these
onhand-Tight OF the bat. What Is the
trend OF inveDtion-well. electrlcity--but
what IS the most significant invention OF
the past year? DO you mean in this
country? or the world? The world.
Well II would take me fifteen minutes
Just to- answer that There are a dozen
inventions: l would have TO took them Up.
think them over and figure out which
one looked the most promising. These
other questions are economlc-I am not
an economics man. l am mechanical In
vcutor. IT IS q complicated question, a
deep study. about economics. And Il
ought TO be studied with scientific meth