New-York tribune., 1922-12-20
Young Boswell
InterOieWS
Michael Pupin

BECAUSE hs is he inventor Of ths
electric tuner, which u used on
euerp radio receiving set.
he e IRE originator Of long distoHes
telephozv,
hs has besn proisssor Of slsetro-Bs-
tkanies az Colunibil siHee 1901,
ne s MEMBER Of the Noitonal Aead-
emy Of Sciences.
his name hos been made an adjective
10 four languages.
n icns Sunday morning. Outside a
cold driEsle and gloomy skY had giysH
Young BofDeU ikdt hopeless Sunday
feeling. PROFESSOR PUPIN, IN black
dressiHg got0n. eat looking over ne let
tsrs at a large table IN fks dining room.
As PROFESSOR PUPIN, irith his hs-
nor and snthusiosrs, talked o. h0 On
vsHti0ns and Of phV the public eonsid-
cred certain men great, YouAe BosweH
forgot the De0ther ard the Sunday
feeling.
MICHAEL PUPIN-Take INaAe New
ton or Edwin Boo'h. They are rcmem-
berct By tho public because they did
something tangible for the public. Take
Morse, for instance. As matter OF
fact, he didn't invent the telegraph II
was invented BY n professor at Prince
ton--JoAcph Henry. He invented II and
used IL for himself What Morse did
was to 90 10 Congress and get an appro-
priation 10 build a telegraph line be-
tween Washington and Baltimore. The
people said. Morse has done something
for u.s." so In the popular mind Morse
stands as the inventor Of the telegraph,
while Joseph Henry was content 70 sit In
his laboratory and call his servant 20
bring In tea. ! simply say this 20 show
that the people remember a man who has
done something for them.
Marconi Is another example. He took
perfectly well known things, put them
together and showed that these well
known things could be used to transmit
messages without wires as well as With
them. Being a young man about twenty,
he hustled 70 Paris and London and got
the authorities 70 take up his idsas Ths
people DONE care hbsut the scientific
facts OF thls new form Of telegraphy,
but they arc interested In the man who
can do things for them With this new
form Of telcgruphy. Sometimes Il hap
pens that q very great man or very
great professor win be working In n
university, say, for twenty-five years,
without any Of the students even hear
ing Of him.
he chose a cigar from the boz on the
table and lighted II deliberately. He
face was roihcT r0und dnd jovidL ne
/ hair black and his miistdche dark. Bone
rimmcd glasses wcTc the only profes-
serial touch. He looked toWdrd The dark
scindors aud then up az tho bright elee-
I frio chandelier.
MICHAEL PUPIN-CompAre such a
professor, unknown except 70 seienuhe
men and 20 the highbrows, with Edison:
/ There isn't a single person in the Unit
states who doesn't know Edison, be-
cause the ineandescent lamp and tho
phonograph arc in every home. The
plain people consider him n public bene-
: factor. SO do I. II 4 wasn't for him, |
wouldn't have this beautiful electric light
and the people In the baekwoods couldn't
hear CaTuso's voice.
Young Boswell-And then Mr.. Edison
would be famous. anyway, for his ideas
about college men. He has found out
/ just what all college men discover at ex-
animation time.
MICHAEL PUPIN-WhAt's that7
: Young Boswell-That they don't know
| anything.
MICHAEL PUPIN-ohl No one man
ever made more than one great inven-
ton, YOU know. We inventors are Ike
swans; we sing one song. Take Bell,
who invented the telephone and nothing
else considerable. But, by cash, II was
great inventionl
Young Boswell-But you invented two
I things.
MICHAEL PUPIN-But the public
isn't interested In my inventions. I'm
not IN the public eye. And people who
are in the public eye are in the pubic
heart. That sort Of gratitude In natural
I invented the instrument for electric
tuning which people who have a radio
set use every day, and invented coll
which enables you TO talk over under
ground cables az long distances. Other
wise you could talk only twelve miles
over a cable. But the public isn't inter
es.ed in that. They can't sec u. They
want something tangible, something that
benefits them directly, like the automo-
bile or the phonograph.