The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-10-08
insult Began His Career
AS Secretary to Edison

AS SGCf2t(
Kept Building Until He Had
Vast Utilities Empire,
Touching 81 States
Editors Note: This is the Sec
or,d OF six stories on the dramatic
rise and fall of Samuel insult,
Chicago public utility magnate
n, who has been called 1.-The worlds
greatest failure"
copyright, 1892, NEA Service, Inc)
Chicago, Oct. 8.-While Thomas A.
Edison dabbled with inventions.
Samuel insult sat up nights trying to
t1tgure out ways to make money out
the products of the electrical wiz
ards brain.
insult was Edison's business man.
lager for IL years. That's how he
got his start.
What the dreamy Edison lacked in
the way of business acumen, the ag-
gressive insult supplied. It was
perfect team. Fifty years later it led
4 insult to his position as a 73-year-
old Napoleon of the largest industrial
empire the world has ever seen,
which has just been climaxed by his
failure, the greatest business collapse
in history.
It is clear that insult believed him.
self man of destiny. AS early as
1916, speaking before society of
Chicago engineers, he pictured one
vast Super-power electric system for
the United States. It was to turn
the wheels of all industry, light every
Tome, operate all railroads, rescue
the human race from drudgery in
every form. Without directly saying
So he made it clear this industrial
giant was to be an insult enterprise.
He had gone far toward this goal.
When his collapse came it was pos
sible to buy insult electricity in 80
states, in 5000 cities, towns and vii
lagos from Maine to Texas. In point
of capital investment and DISTRIBUTE
ton. he was the largest producer of
electricity In the world. Gradually,
he was linking his plants together.
Always, he was expanding. Finally,
he was stopped. But it took the
worst business depression in history
TO do it.
Markets Edison's Gadgets
insults rise in life is story of a
purposeful character. Born in Lon
don Of middle-class English family,
he became an office boy in an auc-
tioneer's office at IA at salary of
SIPS week and improved himself
by studying shorthand and book
keeping at home. Eventually he got
a job with Edison's London repre-
sentative. Impressed by the boys
ability and his determination to sue
coed, this agent recommended him
for q position as Edison's secretary.
So, in 1880, insult came to America
to take up his new job.
Edison soon discovered that in
stead of mere secretary he had a
first-class business manager. This
aggressive young Englishman began
organizing companies to manufac-
ture and market Edison'S strange
gadgets. Among the enterprises was
the old Edison Electric Co., parent of
Ioday's General Electric company.
In 1892, death claimed the presi-
dent of the old Chicago Edison COM
pany, one of the five electric COM
panies trying to compete with Chi
cago's gas lights and horse drawn
street cars. Young insult was asked
to recommend a man. He chose
himself.
BY 1907 insult had consolidated
Chicago's five independent electric
companies into his own monopolistic
Commonwealth Edison company.
insults next big step came in 1911
when he bought and linked together
the scattered electric plants III
number of small towns surrounding
Chicago. under the name of the Pub
lie Service Company of Northern H.
linois. This was the worlds first in
terconnected super-power system.
An Empire Takes Form
'>The following year insults dream
of empire began to take form. He
launched the vast Middle West USil-
tiles, billion-doll holding
oampany around which he planned
to build his super-power chain that
would span the nation. How we'll
he progressed may be judged by the
fact that when Middle West went
into the hands of receivers recently
it was a $4,000, 100000 concern with
plants in 80 statesO
In 1918, insult added gas to his
holdings. He took over Chicago's old
Peoples Gas Co., then approaching
bankruptcy. Things had reached the
point where dealers would not de-
liver ton of coal to the company
without getting guarantee OF pay
ment from a bank.
insult dug in. He ordered all COM
plants routed over his desk. He in
vestigated each personally. He hired
and fired. Eventually. he got what
he Wanted. BY 1922 the reorganized
Peoples Gas, Light &, Coke COM
pany was paying substantial divi-
dends. It has since been one Of his
soundest companies.
Acquisition and expansion of OPP
Grating companies required more
capital. insult began stacking hold
ing companies on top of holding
companies and selling their stocks
for capital. Always insult kept
enough of the common stock-voting
stock-to retain control.
Gradually more than 100 holding
companies, in various geographical
] group, came under the span of In
Sull's vast Middle West Utilities.
Company Upon Company
The ultimate holding company was
far removed from the operating COM
panies. For example, the Scranton
a@Pa.) Street Railway was owned by
the Municipal Service company.
which was owned by the National
Public Service corporation, which
was owned by the National Electric
Power cOmpany. which was owned by