The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-07-20

The total is $15,5OO, 10000.
1t Will at once be objected that Ed
ison did not invent the telephone, for
instance. True. But he did invent
the carbon transmitter-he Is said to
have sold 1t for OOO-without
which the telephone would not have
been commercially practicable on q
large scale.
II there are items In the table
which IN fairness should not be en-
tirely placed to Edisons credit, there
are still others not mentioned at all
which would in the aggregate run his
brain value up to more than the total
as given.
Take copper, for example. 1t came
to the fore with the growth of cleo
tricity. Indirectly 1t was Edison who
made 1t the spectacular metal. as q
result Of copper's merits as q conduc-
tor.
How X AnaIyxes.
A little analysis helps to make the |
worth Of Edison more COM
prehensible. The number Of persons |
employed In the Industries Of the Ed
ison brain-value table is more than
], 100000. Moving pictures, electric
railways and the telephone have 3OO,-
300 a piece. Electrical supplies and
the telegraph overtop 100000 each.
Electric lighting keeps 100000 en-
ployees busy. The other industries In
the list run from 10000 to 10000.
Central station, electrical service Of
Ill sorts, forming Americas fifth larg- ,
'st industry, has 100000 employees.
The annual income of the people
Who have Jobs because Edison had
deas-the aggregate wage and sal {
ry account Of the specified industries
is $1,664.OOO,OOO. In 1919 the total +
ross sales value, at point Of produc- +
lon, In five Of the Industries was ST. L.
81, 7O1, 500. Electrical machines, ap- :,
liances and supplies alone came to
lmost $1,00O,OOO,OOO. The baby item, g
as fixtures, at $40, 267, 593. :
1t Is all the development of 46 :
ears. Edison was born In 1847. In
1868 he patented his first machine,
n electric vote counter. The con-
'essmen of the day wanted nothing
SIS than they wanted that. He got
S first big Invention money, $4,000,
r stock ticker, an improved model,
1870 1t was not till 1877, however,
at he produced the first of the de-
ces that have piled up the fifteen
llion-dollar investment In thousands
plants and factories. In that year
brought forth the telephone trans
tier and the photograph. The lat
: lay idle for years.
Hundreds Of Patents.
All in all, Edison has taken out
re patents than any other individ-
|. In Edison, His Life and In
by Frank L. Dyer and
omas G. Martin, list Of more than
thousand patents, complete to 1909,
'ers u pages, aside from 1899 for y
n patents. BY 1917 the total had
sed the 1900 mark, even though in
years Edison devoted himself
ef1y to perfecting his work. To the
II must be added the 40 Inventions
oh Edison contributed as president
the naval consulting board and
oh were in use or ready to use
the end of the war. All this is
result, as Edison says facetiously,
two short lives; he has always
ked 16 hours a day or Whereabouts.
ley has not been his object, save as Pr
nabled him to pursue his work.
ears ago Mr.. Dyer, his biograpfer
patent attorney, was discussing rho
Edison new invention, ma. nv
e for taking pictures ON con-
Gus strip of negative. When they
discussed and decided the de-
of the American patent appl.ca-
Mr.. Dyer said: "And do YOU
patent in England, too?"