The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, January 24, 1947, Image 3
THE NEWBERRY SUN. NEWBERRY. S. C.
EDISON CENTENNIAL
Early Efforts Backfired but
Lessons Brought Lasting Fame
WNU Features.
During his lifetime Thomas
A. Edison found time to root
around in about everybody’s
backyard, doping out a gadget
or a machine or a formula that
would help his neighbor. He
was crammed with ideas about
many things, some of which, as
everybody knows, brought him
enduring fame. There were
some, however, that his 84 years
did not give him time to perfect.
As the 100th anniversary of his
birth, on February 11, 1847, ap
proaches, there are probably very
few people who know that Edison
once won a patent on a “flying ma
chine.” Back in 1910, he doped out
an idea on a helicopter, in which
field he thought the future of avi
ation lay. On another occasion he
was granted a patent on a method
of preserving fruit, and when he
died he was working on a formula
for extraction of rubber from the
lowly goldenrod.
‘Wizard’ Was Human.
Edison once even worked on an
insecticide, and this experience
shows a human side that belies any
suggestion that he had a “magic
t$iumb” in the inventive business.
He was just coming into fame as
the “Wizard of Menlo Park” when
he was approached by a neighbor
ing farmer whose principal crop
was threatened with destruction by
an invasion of potato bugs. The
year was 1878, Tom was 31, and he
already had to his credit such in
ventions as the phonograph and a
score of telegraph patents. The
farmer allowed as how an up-and-
coming young inventor ought to be
able to find a way to kill off the
potato bugs.
Accepting the challenge, although
he knew relatively nothing about
bugs and plants, Edison collected a
quart bottle full of potato bugs and
set forth to compound a lethal po
tion. Testing every chemical in his
laboratory, he hit upon bisulphide
of carbon as a sure-fire potato bug
killer. Jubilantly, he and the farm
er sprinkled the infested potato
vines and waited to tabulate the re
sults.
The bugs died like flies—but
so did the potato vines; and Edi
son had to pay the farmer S300
damages for, as he put it, “not
experimenting properly.”
He never again made the mis
take of not experimenting enough.
Consequently, some of his inventions
took him years to perfect, and be
cause of his patience the world has
become a much better place in
which to live. His invention of the
electric light made necessary a sys
tem of electrical distribution which
brought not only light but also
scores of electrical gadgets to the
farm home as well as city resi
dence. His phonograph put the best
music into the home, and his numer
ous other inventions, including the
motion picture, made life easier,
more comfortable and entertaining.
Worked Too Well.
There was one other of Edison’s
creations which backfired, but it
wasn’t because he hadn’t perfected
it; this one, on the contrary,
worked too well. At one time he
was working as night telegraph op
erator in the Grand Truck railroad
station at Stratford Junction, Can
ada. One of the requirements of the
MJJJob was that Edison, then 17, must
// check in on the wire every half
hour by sending the signal 6 in
Morse code to the train dispatcher
at a nearby station.
Edison deplored this arrangement
oecause it prevented him from
catching up on the sleep he wasn’t
getting during the daytime, which
he spent in study and experimenta
tion. So he rigged up a device for
automatically sending out the sig
nal 6. He hooked up the instru
ment to the office clock so that ev
ery. 30 minutes the signal went out
ever the wire, thus reassuring the
dispatcher that Edison was on the
job whereas, in fact, he was sound
asleep.
This ruse was successful
until one night the train dis
patcher tried vainly to contact
Edison on the wire during one
of his catnaps. Alarmed by the
prospect that the Stratford Junc
tion telegraph office was un
manned, the dispatcher made
his way to Edison’s office on a
handcar. He arrived just in time
to find Edison blissfully sleep
ing while the young inventor’s
machine obediently dotted-and-
dasbed the prescribed signal.
The next day Edison started
looking for another job, but the ex
periment proved of incalculable
value because it started him on a
Two highlights in Thomas A. Edi
son’s amazing career are shown in
these pictures. Top, Edison is shown
demonstrating his first phonograph
at the White House on April 18, 1878.
Lower, the inventor is shown oper
ating an early and crude model of
his first motion picture machine.
Man About Town:
Memos of a Midnighter; Insiders
hear next year’s flying time from
N. Y. to Miami will be 200 minutes.
I. . . Many of the show gals are
worried silly that their names will
be dragged into the Alvin Paris foot
ball bribe scandal because they were
Paris’ dates. Paris hasn’t had so
. much publicity since French post
cards. . . . John Murray Anderson’s
chums hear he is experimenting
with the Russian “youth” serum. He
is in his 60s. . . . Bing will make
: close to a million dollars out of his
platters this year, not including his
many other chores. . . . Rodgers &
i Hammerstein are taking no risk
with their gold mine, “Annie Get
Your Gun.” They are paying Mary
Jane Walsh the highest wage yet
, for an understudy—just to stand by
in the wings. $750 per week. . . .
Top loss to Moss Hart (whose apt.
was burgled) was the gold ciggie
case signed by the cast of “Winged
Victory.”
train of thought that led him first
to the invention of a stock ticker
and an automatic telegraph, thence
to the phonograph and later to the
motion picture camera.
Earns First Money.
With the idea planted in his mind
of constructing telegraph apparatus
that would automatically send and
record messages, Edison invented
and patented an improved stock
ticker. It was so much better than
the crude tickers which antedated
his that a telegraph company paid
him $40,000 for it—the first money
Edison ever received for an inven
tion.
With the $40,000 Edison estab
lished a shop in Newark, N. J., in
1870, and began the manufacture of
stock tickers. He was 23, and for
the first time in his life he had
enough money to experiment with
the hundred and one ideas that
coursed through his agile mind.
One of a score of telegraphic pat
ents he took out as a result of his
experiments in Newark was on an
automatic telegraph, which could
send and record messages on a
strip of paper tape at a rate far
beyond the speed possible in send
ing and receiving by hand. In seek
ing to improve his first automatic
telegraph, Edison experimented
with a machine employing a turn
table covered with a paper disc.
Perforations in the paper disc sent
out dots and dashes when the turn
table was rotated. One day, how
ever, the turntable was operated
at an excessive speed and, instead
of dots and dashes, the result was
a musical hum. Edison was quick
to sense the possibilities of his dis
covery, and on July 18, 1877, he
made the following entry in one of
the 2,500 notebooks he filled with
scientific data and reports before
his death at 84 on October 18, 1931:
“Just tried experiment with a
diaphragm having an embossed
point and held against paraffin
paper moving rapidly. The
speaking vibrations are indent
ed nicely and there is no doubt
that I shall be able to store up
and reproduce automatically at
any future time the human
voice perfectly.”
Less than a month later he did
just that.
First Movie Was ‘Talkie.’
Ten years later, in 1887, Edison
set out, as he later commented, “to
do for the eye what the phonograph
did for the ear.” The result was |
the birth of what today is probably
the most glamorous industry in the
world—the motion picture industry.
Thus it was that the germ of an
idea which took root in Edison’s
mind when he was fired as a tele
graph operator ultimately led to in
vention of the stock ticker, the au
tomatic telegraph, the phonograph
and the motion picture camera.
fedison probably is best remem
bered as the inventor of the first
practical incandescent lamp. The
lamp was a handy symbol of
achievement seized upon by the pub
lic, but actually it constituted only
a small portion of his work in the
field of electric lighting and power
distribution.
From 1868, when he received
his first patent for an electrical
ly energized voting machine, un
til his death 63 years later, Edi
son created 1,097 patentable in
ventions — by far the greatest
number of patents ever issued
to any one individual by the
United States Patent office.
The wide range of his accom
plishments is almost un
believable.
The carbon transmitter that made
Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone
a commercial success was an Edi
son invention, and for many years
the names of both Bell and Edison
appeared on telephone instruments.
This same transmitter later was
adapted to radio and served as the
first broadcasting microphone.
Perfects Telegraphy.
Edison patented a system of teleg
raphy through space six years be
fore Guglielmo Marconi made the
instrument that earned him the title
of “Father of Wireless Teleg
raphy.”
Edison invented, built and oper
ated the first electric railroad in
America. Some of his patents
caused revolutionary changes in the
cement industry, and as early as
1908 he was building cement houses
with prefabricated molds.
He invented an electric automo
bile, a helicopter, a method of mak
ing plate glass. He patented a
method of preserving fresh fruits
and vegetables in glass containers;
he devised a machine, called the
micro-tasimeter, for measuring
minute heat fractions, and another,
the odoroscope, for registering the
presence of odors, however slight.
Indefatigable Worker.
Before introduction of the type
writer, Edison invented an electric
pen which cut stencils of handwrit
ing so that one letter could be re
produced in illimitable quantities.
Its modem counterpart is the
mimeograph machine.
These and scores of other cre
ations, some of great im
portance and some, like his talk
ing doll, hardly more than nov
elties, came out of Edison’s
mind.
He rued the fact that the day con
tained only 24 hours, because it did
not give him enough time to do
everything he wanted to do. His fa
vorite motto — and one which he
displayed prominently on the walls
of his laboratory and offices—was a
quotation which said: “There is no
expedient to which a man will not
resort to avoid the serious labor of
thinking.”
Although Edison lived to be 84, he
continued to put in long hours of
study and work right up until a few
weeks before his death. When
friends chided him about not re
tiring to a life of ease, his reply
was that “There’ll be plenty of time
to think about retiring when I
reach 100.”
Tom Edison has “reached 100”
and he has “retired,” but his mem
ory lives on in a thousand creations
that have benefitted mankind.
Broadway Ballad: (By Don
Wahn): I do not blame the
young for being sick. ... Of
giving alms to beggars of the
past. . . . Why should they turn
to watch a shabby trick? . . .
Why should they care if terror
joined the cast? . . . We had our
roses, redolent of spring. . . .
We had our nights of revelry
and mirth. . . . We had the soft
est, loveliest songs to sing. . . .
We had the shining rapture of
the earth. . . . Yes, it is gone
and shortly we will go. . . . The
golden girls, the roses and the
wine. . . . And newer lads will
find the nights aglow—with all
the misty magic that was mine.
. . . And when they find that
love and beauty die. ... I hope
they leave — more gracefully
than I.
The Broadway Lights: J. Du
rante, X. Cugat and the dice tables
were the reason the new Flamingo
(Las Vegas) attracted 28,000 patrons
in the first three days. . . . Midtown
hotels had their worst week in five
years. One had 370 empty rooms,
another 320 and another 300. . . .
Buddy Kaye made so much coin out
of the ditty, “Till the End of Time,”
that he is among the prodacers of
the new Jerome Robbins show,
“Look, Ma, I’m Dancing.” ... A
short titled “The Last Bomb” comes
across with atomic impact, particu
larly one episode wherein the cam
era slowly moves through the rows
of graves at Iwo Jima. After view
ing that, you’ll cherish every mo
ment of peace like it was the Iasi
minute of your life.
Broadway Story: The most
valuable song copyright in the
world is “White Christmas.” . . .
It was published in 1942 and
sold over one million copies dur
ing its first four months. . . . On
some days it sold over 50,009
copies. . . . Each year (since)
it was purchased by 350,000 peo
ple. . . . The recordings totaled
five million records—two million
of which were Bing’s version up
to this year. . . . Decca says
this year it out-sold any of the
previous seasons—over 500,000
platters. . . . But this is why it
is the most valuable copyright.
... A copyright lasts 56 years.
... It has over 50 years to go—
and selling at the rate it is going
—you can imagine how much
richer the tax department will
get.
The Story Tellers: The latest edi
tion of Who’s Who reveals that the
American general who has won the
most decorations (40) is Brig. Gen.
Edgar K. Hume. This is the first
time we ever came across his name.
. . . Joff Keate’s cartoon chuckler
has been widely reprinted in the' di
gests. A child specialist is giving
advice to a mother: “You’ll have to
handle this child carefully; remem
ber you’re dealing with a sensitive,
high-strung little stinker.” . . . The
Minnesota state prison’s newspaper
(edited by a convict) ran this edi
torially: “Those caught stealing
items from the papers will be
dropped from our list of contribu
tors. Stealing from another’s writ
ings is one of the lowest bits of thiev
ery!”
Washington newsmen enjoy
spinning this one: A group of
them once accompanied FDR to
a show. They thanked a secret
service man for providing them
with excellent seats.
“Don’t mention it,” the secret
servicer retorted. “Just notice
the seating arrangement. You’ll
discover no one can take a shot
at the President without hitting
one or two reporters first!”
Hypnotism Aids in Tooth Extraction
BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. — Hyp
notism, long considered a good stage
trick but also utilized in medicine
and in curing mental ills during re
cent years, found a new use in den
tistry here.
When Mrs. Violet Nicola went to
a medical-dental clinic to have two
teeth extracted, it was discovered
that she was allergic to all types of
anesthetics. The dentist called two
ioctors and a psycho-therapist into
consultation. The consulting psycho
therapist started talking to the pa
tient and within a few seconds she
was in a hypnotic trance.
Thirty minutes later Mrs. Nicola
was brought out of the trance,
minus her two teeth but completely
unaware that they were gone. Al
though the doctors and two other
witnesses told her the operation was
over, Mrs. Nicola was not convinced
until she looked in a mirror.
Boy Peruses Comics
As Home Fire Flares
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Even a fire
in his own home could not induce
seven-year-old Bernard Burke to
abandon his comic book. Firemen,
called to the Burke home to quell a
blaze, found Bernard in the bath
tub reading a comic book. To
anxious queries, Bernard calmly ex
plained: “I’m busy. The firemen
will put it out.” After the blaze was
out, Bernard was still in the tub.
Quotation Marksmanship: T.
Parker: Democracy means not “I
am as good as you are,” but “You
are as good as I am.” . . . Maurois:
Growing old is a bad habit which
a busy man has no time to form.
. . . E. Brandeis: Sometimes you
pay compliments and sometimes you
pay for them. . . . P. Davis: And
so they were divorced and loved
happily ever after. ... Ed Wynn:
It was so cold my blankets fought
to get on the bottom. . . . M. Kom-
roff: What can you expect of a dpy
that begins getting up in the morn.
■Smart ^t)cnjluner j^or cjCarge Sicjure
Pattern No. 8097 is for sizes 36, 38. 40.
42, 44, 46, 48. 50 and 52. Size 38 requires
4‘/a yards of 35 or 39-inch; 4 , /2 yards of
binding.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT.
530 South Wells St. Chicago 7, III.
Enclose 25 cents in coins for each
pattern desired.
Pattern No Size
Gas on Stomach
Relieved in S minutes or <Mle roar money kook
When excess stomach acid caosea painful, suffocat
ing gas, soar stomach and heartburn, doctors usually
prescribe the fastest-actinff medicines known for
symptomatic relief — medicines like those i n Bell-ana
Tablets. No laxative. Bell-ana brings comfort in *
jiffy or doable your money back on return of bottio
to us. 25c at all druggists.
rMOROLINE
SAFETY \ QUALITY PETROLEUM
OHrcll \ J E LLV - LA ROM JAB
A NARROW harmonizing bind-
ing makes a nice finish on
this simple styled daytime dress
in the larger size range. The flat
tering panelled skirt is beloved by
all women.
Norway Honored Weaver
Of Museum Pieces by Law
Few artists have been honored
during their lifetime as was Nor
way’s celebrated weaver, Frida
Hansen (1853-1927L After her tap
estries had won awards at nine
international expositions and be
come museum pieces, the Nor
wegian government, fearing all
her work might be purchased
abroad, passed a law forbidding
export of any more.
OYAL JUPITER, Grand Champion
steer at the 1946 International Livestock
Exposition, best shows today’s demand in
beef cattle. And on American farms, the
New Firestone Champion Ground Grip
is the Champion among tractor tires.
As the Champion, this new tractor tiro
cleans up to 100% more effectively ...
pulls up to 62% more at the drawbar ...
lasts up to 91% longer . . . and rides
smoother on the highway.
There are sound reasons for this. The
curved traction bars flare outward from
the center, making a wider opening at the
shoulder from which mud and trash fall
easily. The connected bars take a powerful
“center bite” in the heart of the traction
zone. The extra-deep, pyramid-like
curved traction bars cut sharply into the
ground with a cleaving action. The extra
height, plus buttressing at the base and
Triple-Bracing near the center, give the
bars greater strength and stability. Con
tinuous bars give the Champion smoother
contact with the highway . . . lengthen
tire life.
When you order tractor tires, or a trac
tor, ask your Implement Dealer, Firestone
Dealer Store, or Firestone Dealer to specify
Firestone Champion Ground Grips.
WRITE FOR FREE BOOKLET
Firestone has prepared a beautifullf illua- 1
traced 16-page booklet which tells in detail y
how Royal Jupiter was fitted and shown to> 1
the Grand Championship of the 1946 Inter*
national Livestock Exposition. To receiv*
your free copy, clip and mail this coupon
today.
THE FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER CO.
1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron 17. Ohio
Please send me free copy of "Royal Jupiter — Grand
Champion."
Name
ANY OTHER TRACTOR TIRE
Address..
City..„
..Staie..
Copyright, 1947, The Tlreitone Tire ft Rubber CO,