The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-10-26
BY WILLIAM JOSEPH HAMMER
Lifelong Friend and Scientific Associate OF
Thomas a. Edison, as Told to
Willis J. BalIinger.

ANtAAV
yarns in the old days.
Prize Story Teller King
Tt was amazing how human the
very practical scientists could be-
come. Though some very distin-
guished intellectuals like Francis r.
Upton worked at the laboratory, the
atmosphere was very highbrow.
Indeed, some of the stories had a
R~ahelaisian favor, but they never
failed to provoke laughter. In fact,
a game of storytelling was played.
The prize story teller was accorded
the privilege Of sitting at the head
Of the table and getting first crack
at the victuals.
When some one could tell a bet
ter yarn than the chairman had
told, that gentleman Immediately
lost his seat and a new king of
yarns was installed.
Cornelius L. Van Cleve, a brother
in-law of Edison, who was a veteran
Of Libby and A~ndersonville prisons
in the Civil war, was at the head
of the table most of the time.
He was one of the most remark
able story tellers who ever lived,
and many a time he made Edison
laugh so hard that he collapsed on
the table from sheer weakness.
Scientist Was Shocked
Sometimes the stories would fall
on unreceptive ears. This was the
case of Charles l.. Clark, whose con-
ceptions of the proper CONVEX
sational accomplishments of a yung
man excluded anything lower in the
scale than a good old Biblical
aphorism.
Charles was a very highly ed
ucated man, a physicist and general
scientist.
He became shocked at what he
considered the vulgarity of some OF
the reconteurs the first time he sat
down to a midnight feast. Finally
he imagined be couldn't stand the
strain.
Clark took his food and went over
and sat down on the other side of
the laboratory. Upton managed to
side up to him and told him that
If he didn't come off his high perch
he would never get along at Menlo
Park.
A Great Revolution
The next evening a complete rev.
olution had been worked in his
soul. Arising from the table he
nearly knocked every one flat by
challenging the chairman with a
tale that hit the spot.
With whoops of glee the boys
dragged the chairman from his
throne and with Charlie mounted
on their shoulders finally slammed
him in the seat of the mighty.
At these midnight feasts when the
meal was over there generally was
some singing. In n corner of the
laboratory Edison had installed an
organ.
He had a fondness for this kind
of musical instrument and while he
didn't whistle, he often sang. His
favoritc songs, however, we're not
likely to help one out of a state
of mental depression. He went in
for the sad songs, and one of his
favoriteS was My Poor Heart Is
Sad With It's Weeping At times
Edison would play the organ him
self.
Stood On Chair Yelling
After vocal refreshment, boxing
gloves were often brought out of
the corner, and Edison could often
be seen standing on a chair yell
ing like a schoolboy when one of
the scientists was smacked down.
Then came the resumption of
work. 1t often went far into the
early hours of the mroning.
Not only were there no hours
in the Edison laboratory, but
there was also, no ordained day
of rest. This was due to the fact
that Edison never worried about
birthstone and fire or orthodox
religion.
Edison's deafness has been &C
counted for in numerous explana-
tionS. None of them are accurate.
The favorite one is that EdiSon'S
deafness was due to his overwork
on the telephone and telegraph.
But one day Edison told the real
cause.
When Edison was only a STRIPPING
is in fact-he was standing out
side of a freight car one day. A
burly railroad man in the car above
him reached out. grabbed him by
the ears, and lifted him into the
car. This ruptured his eardrums
and later destroyed his hearing en-
tirely.
Whether or not Edison considered
his deafness a handicap in his work
or to his happiness is revealed in
two statements he made.
Told Different Stories
One day he grabbed one of his
arms and said that he wished more
than anything that he could hear
He said that he would be glad to
take every invention he ever made
and every dollar that he made from
all his inventions, pile them up and
give it for his hearing.
At a later date he said something
diametrically opposite.
Il would not give up my deafness
for anything, Edison said.
"You see, I don't hear the book
agents or the insurance men, or a
lot of other interrupting talk. My
deafness is really the key to my
ability to concentrate. 1t makes il
possible for me to work in perfect
quiet"
-Next-Edison as an employer and
as a task master the queer
nicknames he gave some of his men.
some for no apparent reason.
Edison's children, two of whom the