Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-07
PRESIDENT TO Join
! in EDISON HOOK-UP
1WiII Participate in Hcnoring
6 Scientific Achievements
October 20.

s 81 WEST ORANGE. N. j., october g.
: President Coolidge will participate in
! a Nationwide radio hook-up on Octo-
S Der 20 in glorihcation of the scientific
achievements CT Thomas A. Edison.
~ s The date will represent the fiftieth
y anniversary of the incandescent lamp,
s and will center about the presentation
s of q gold congressional medal to Mr..
1 Edison at his laboratory here, whence
the radio talks will erlanate.
: N The President, however. will Join in
81e hook-up from the White House. He
$has promised to speak over the cir for
20 minutes.
y Secretary Of the Treasury Mellon will
eficiate at the celebration here and will
make the formal presentation to Mr..
\ Edison. His talk, however. will be brief.
! Mr.. Edison, who heretofore has con-
fined his radio responses to hello" and
''good-by," has agreed to make some
what extended speech of thanks. Sew
eral other members of the cabinet are
! expected to be present. and say son1e-
thing over the radio.
British Envoy to Participate.
IS Sir Esme Howard. the British AM
! bessador, now in England, is another
: who will return in time to be in the
!. radio lineup. Henry Ford and Harvey
.S,J. Firestone. Edison cronies, will likewise
be on hand, and Vice President Dawes
and Speaker Longworth. who had their
/ part in the medal legislation last
I Winter, have tentatively agreed to be
n present. Senator Walter E. Edge ana
& Representative Randolph Perkins of New
Jersey, actual sponsors for the Edison
] medal bill, will similarly participate.
5 & The affair will be the first radio
medal presentation by the Government
sand may be said to be a renewed rep
Z yesentation of the Importance of this
Invisible air medium. Ordinarily the
& procedure In such matters is to invite
!, the recipient of the medal to come to
s$wsshington and get his medal from
8 Mr. Mellon, with the President an oc-
SEASONAL eyewitness when photography
, Is desired.
In Mr. Edison's case, however, his ad-
sSvanced age was considered factor
8 AGAINST this. as well as his importance
( in the scientific field It was thought
5 he should be honored in every sense OF
Z, the word and that the honor should be
bestowed by coming to him. The pres
3 ertation at his laboratories is being
! HlaNS D5GdNS6 bIlSSC AA1bAC ACA
! Buildings may be said to represent the
{ locale of his principal achievements.
100 Specially Invited Guests.
4 1t was at first planned to have the
take place in the Llewellyn
Park grounds surrounding the Edison
/ home. 50 that large multitude OF
{ neighbors and admiring friends could
1 be in on 1t. This plan was changed,
1lowever, on the suggestion of Gerard
'%B. Swope, president of the General
Electric Co.. which has arranged for
5 The radioing of the messages Of honor:
Not more than 100 specially invited
.Sguests, representing the elite in the SCI
sentific world, will be asked to witness
s the formal prsntation.
3 \ The bill providing for the Edison
medal was introduced last Winter more
COR less at the suggestion of Secretary
mellon. He became annoyed at the
4 great raft of medal bills INTRODUCED in
Congress and remarked over the tele-
phone one day. why don't you put IN
" bill for q medal for Tom Edison?
N Congress Action Delayed,
) s The response was immediate, but
S Congressional action was not Odd as 1t
may seem, numerous protests were
made against so honoring Mr.. Edison,
several cbjectors claiming that he was
not the great inventor the world be-
Heved. and that many of his patents
were infringements. After two months
@of fussing and fretting in both houses,
.the bill was finally whipped through
and signed by the President.
s Il Then it was found that no appropria-
s zion had been provided to make the
81, 900 gold insignia of honor In or
der that the presentation might be
S made on October 20 Government red
L tape was cut right and left so as to
s permit again for the first time, pri-
Svate donation in lieu of formal ap-
propriation. The money was provided
4 by the Chamber Of Commerce of the
] Oranges N j. 1t viii be repaid, OF
course, by the next Congress.
(Copyright 1927