Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-02-11
EDISON AT sIXfY.NINE
Famous Inventor Says He Does Not
Have Time to Grow Old

| Orange. n. j., Feb. l1-Thomas
Alva Edison reached the slXty-nlntt
milestone of his life today. The year:
seem to rest lightly on the great IN
ventor. He is still hale, hearty and
active and as deeply interested IN
what the coming year has in store
as youth with all of life ahead.
Asked for a little birthday talk, Mr.
Edison replied: "The way to be happy
and healthy is to be busy all the
time. find that as ! approach sixty
nine I have just begun to live. II you
are busy you don't have time to grow
old. don't work by the clock and ac-
cordingly don't feel that am get
ting any older. l work till | finish a
thing, and then" here Mr.. Edison
smiled, "if there is nothing else to be
done, | go home.
81 hope that everyone will feel as
young and as pleased with life as ]
do when their siXty-ninth birthday
comes along"
It safe to say that no man on earth
has ever crowded so much usefulness
into single lifetime The genius OF
Edison which evolved the electric
light-a single invention which prac
tically turned night into day through
out the world and did more to sup
press crime than all the laws passed
in the last century--is still undimmed
Just a few years ago he gave to the
world his latest and favorite inven-
ton. The Diamond Disc Photograph,
which actually Re-Creates music, as
distinguished from mere mechanf
cal reproduction of musical sounds.
Edison was born ut Milan, Ohio, on
February II, 1S47. He early evinced
love for chemistry and its kindred
subjects. Few men have ever run at
swifter pace up the stepping stones
to fame. His first employment was as
newsboy on the Grand Trunk Rail
way where he started small weekly
paper which at one time had four
hundred paid subscribers. He next
took up telegraphy and soon became
an expert telegrapher. After five
years of telegraphy he came to New
York where after Il short time he
sold his first invention for about $40
900. Then he plunged into the realm
of invention where his genius seem
ed to run riot Take his major inven-
tions as they come:
The Duplex and Quadruplex Teie-
graphs and the Electromotograph
which revolutionzcd telcgraphy; the
Cylinder Phonograph in 1877. now
the Diamond .Amberola Phonograph: !:
in 1879 the Electric Light which needs
no words to tell its wonders; in 1891
the Moving Picture, which today, as
"The Movies" are furnishing amuse
ment to thousands upon thousands;
method of crushing ore. by which
rocks weighing as much as ten tons
each are reduced to bits in a few
seconds; the Storage Battery; then
his last and favorite invention. the
Diamond Disc Phonograph. From
1860 to the present time Edison has
filed more than !,400 applications for
patents.
Just few years ago Edison re-
sumcd his research in acoustics he left
off when he invented the Cylinder
Phonograph He was dissatisfied with
the efforts of other inventors in this
field. He set before him the goal of
absolute e-Creation of music. After
countless experiments and the eN-
penditure of nearly two millions OF
dollars in experiments alone. Edison
announced that he had succeeded in
e-Creating the human voice. He said
that he had found the touchstone of
acoustics. The Edison Diamond Disc
Photograph was given to the world
as the instrument of Music's Re-
Creation.