Arizona republican., 1915-03-25
EDISON AND THE ELECTRIC LIGHT

Thomas A. Edison is undoubtedly entitled the term of the wizard of electricity" No man of this or any other generation been more versatile as an inventor than is Edison. There is a of use ful as well as diverting inventions which his name is attached, but nothing that mas given to the world is to be compared his invention of {, system of lighting by electricity.
 Edison has himself told of the main incidents in his perfection of the electric light In the trical Review he wrOte Tn 1878 I went down to see Prof. Baker of Philadelphia and he showed me an arc lamp-the first had Then little later l saw another, the whole outfit, engine dynamo and one or two lamps travelling around the country with circus
 Tt happened that at this time was more or less at leisure, and this electric light idea took possess sion of me. It was easy to what the thing needed; it wanted to be subdivdcd. The light was too bright and too big. What wished for were little lights, and distribution of them peoples houses in manner similar gas Governor Lowry thought perhaps that could succeed in solving the problem and he raised little money and formed the Edison Electric Light company
 For a long time We expermented without suits. until finally got an idea. took cylinder of zircOnia and wound about a hundred feet of the fine platinum wire on it coated with massnesia the sirup acetate. But the system constructed short-crcuited self. and after that went around and tried all sorts of shapes and things make a filament that would stand Einay it that a carbon filanent would answer because fine hair of carbon sensitive oxidation.
 We sent out and bought thread carbonized it and made the first filament. We buis the lamp and turned the It lit up and in the first few breathless minutes measured it's resistance quickly and found it 275 ohms- all wanted"
 This satisfactory test took place October 21 1879. Mir. Edison and his assistants about and watched how long it going to burn, and the longer it burned the fascinated they became. Not one of the party could to bed, and there sleep for any of them for forty hours
 Then Mr. Edison began experimenting find something practical take the place of the carbon ized cotton, and he hit upon bamboo His first
  fan. When he found this successful he schOornaster to Sumatra and another fellow up the Amazon, while William H. Moore. of his cates, went to Japan and got what he wanted there. The company made contract with old Jap to went to work and cultivated and -fertiZed bamboo until they got exactly the quality they qured.
 While the discovery of lighting by electricity qured great amount of patient toll. the part of Mr. Edison, it q much bigger prOpOs- tion to install it. Finaly he made arrangements in New York for the laying of mains, and then located placed for the erection of engines and, finally, September 4, 1882, he turned the current the mains for the needed light service and they worked effectively and electric lighting established.
 The system of electric lighting is constantly dergoing change for it's betterment, and today it is of the great marvels Of the age. There has been inventor who has covered such wide field MT. Edison, and each step he takes opens and fascinating vistas to his ever-inquring eyes. Electricity is always his main study, and electricity expects in time will revoutionze mod life by making heat, power and light practically cheap air.