THE GENIUS OF THE AGE
"I want to tell you something more about the personal side of this great
man," continued the voice from the horn.
"One of the striking things about Thomas Alva Edison is his gameness. In
this respect he has been greater than Napoleon, who was not always a
'good loser,' for he had come to regard himself as bound to win, whether
or no; so when everything went against him, he expressed himself by
kicking against Fate. But when Edison saw the hard work of nine years
which had cost him two million dollars vanish one night in a sudden
storm, he only laughed and said, 'I never took much stock in spilt
milk.'
"When his laboratories were burned or he suffered great reverses, Edison
considered them merely the fortunes of war. In this respect he was most
like General Washington, who, though losing more battles than he gained,
learned to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat,' and win immortal
success.
"Some of Edison's discoveries were dramatic and amusing. During his
telephone experiments he learned the power of a diaphragm to take up
sound vibrations, and he had made a little toy that, when you talked
into the funnel, would start a paper man sawing wood. Then he came to
the conclusion that if he could record the movements of the diaphragm
well enough he could cause such records to reproduce the movements
imparted to them by the human voice.
"But in place of using a disk, he got up a small machine with a cylinder
provided with grooves around the surface. Over this some tinfoil was to
be placed and he gave it to an assistant to construct. Edison had but
little faith that it would work, but he said he wanted to get up a
machine that would 'talk back.' The assistant thought it was ridiculous
to expect such a thing, but he went ahead and followed the directions
given him. Edison has told of this:
"'When it was finished and the foil was put on, I shouted a verse of
"Mary had a little lamb" into the crude little machine. Then I adjusted
the reproducer, which when he began to operate it, proceeded to grind
out--
"'Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go'
"with the very quality and tones of my voice! We were never so taken back
in our lives. All hands were called in to witness the phenomenon and,
recovering from their astonishment, the boys joined hands and danced
around me, singing and shouting in their excitement. Then each yelled
something at the machine--bits of slang or slurs--and it made them roar
to hear that funny little contraption 'sass back!'
"Edison has always had a saving sense of humor. Though such a driver for
work--sometimes twenty hours a day seemed too short and they often
worked all of twenty-four,--there was not unfrequently a jolly,
prank-playing relaxation among the employees in the laboratory. If some
fellow fell asleep and began snoring the others would get a record of it
and play it later for the culprit or they would fix up a 'squawkophone'
to outdo his racket. Most amusing was Edison's means of taking a short
nap by curling up in an ordinary roll-top desk, and then turning over
without falling out.
"Everybody knows Edison really invented the telephone--that is, he made
it work perfectly and brought it to the greatest commercial value, so
that a billion men, women and children are using it in nearly all the
languages and dialects in the civilized world. But he was very careful
to give Dr. Alexander Graham Bell credit for his original work on this
great invention.
"When a friend on the other side of the Atlantic wired that the English
had offered 'thirty thousand' for the rights to one of Edison's
improvements to the telephone for that country, it was promptly
accepted. When the draft came the inventor found, much to his surprise,
that it was for thirty thousand _pounds_--nearly one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars.
"The phonograph or talking machine has been considered one of Edison's
greatest inventions, but it does not compare in importance and value
with the electric incandescent burner light. This required many
thousands of experiments and tests to get a filament that would burn
long enough in a vacuum to make the light sufficiently cheap to compete
with petroleum or gas. During all the years that he was experimenting on
different metals and materials for the electric light which was yet to
be, in a literal sense, the light of the world, he had men hunting in
all countries for exactly the right material out of which the carbon
filament now in use is made. Thousands of kinds of wood, bamboo and
other vegetable substances were tried. The staff made over fifty
thousand experiments in all for this one purpose. This illustrates the
art and necessity of taking pains, one of Mr. Edison's greatest
characteristics. The story of producing electric light would fill a big
volume.
"When the proper filament was discovered and applied there was great
rejoicing in the laboratory and a regular orgy of playing pranks and
fun.
"The philosophers say we measure time by the succession of ideas. If
this is true the time must have been longer and seemed shorter in
Edison's laboratories than anywhere else. The great inventor seldom
carried a watch and seemed not to like to have clocks about.
"Soon after he was married, the story went the rounds of the press that
within an hour or two after the ceremony, Edison became so engrossed
with an invention that he forgot that it was his wedding day. Edison has
declared this story to be untrue.
"'That's just one of the kind of yarns,' said the inventor laughing,
'that the reporters have to make up when they run short of news. It was
the invention of an imaginative chap who knows I'm a little
absent-minded. I never forgot that I was married.
"'But there was an incident that may have given a little color to such a
story. On our wedding day a lot of stock tickers were returned to the
factory and were said to need overhauling.
"'About an hour after the ceremony I was reminded of those tickers and
when we got to our new home, I told my wife about them, adding that I
would like to walk down to the factory a little while and see if the
boys had found out what was the matter.
"'She consented and I went down and found an assistant working on the
job. We both monkeyed with the machines an hour or two before we got
them to rights. Then I went home.
"'My wife and I laughed at the story at first, but when we came across
it about every other week, it began to get rather stale. It was one of
those canards that stick, and I shall be spoken of always as the man who
forgot his wife within an hour after he was married.'
"A similar yarn was told of Abraham Lincoln, which was equally false,
but even more generally believed.
"Out of a multitude of labor savers and world-beaters--and world savers,
too!--to be credited to Mr. Edison, it is impossible to mention more
than these:
"The quadruplex telegraph system for sending four messages--two in each
direction--at the same time; the telephone carbon transmitter; the
phonograph; the incandescent electric light and complete system;
magnetic separator; Edison Effect now used in Radio bulbs; giant rock
crushers; alkaline storage battery; motion picture camera. These are but
few of Edison's inventions, but they are giving employment to over a
million people and making the highest use of billions of dollars.
"With Mr. Edison's modesty it is difficult to get him to talk of the
relative importance of his inventions, but he has expressed the opinion
that the one of most far-reaching importance is the electric light
system which includes the generation, regulation, distribution and
measurement of electric current for light, heat and power. The invention
he loves most is the phonograph as he is a lover of music. He has
patented about twelve hundred inventions.
"Recent developments are proving that the moving picture, because of its
educational and emotional appeal is the greatest of them all. It is
estimated that more than one hundred millions of people go to one of
these shows once every seven days, which is equivalent to every man,
woman and child in the United States of America going to a movie once a
week. The motion picture reaches, teaches and preaches to more people in
America than all the schools, churches, books, magazines and newspapers
put together, and when it teaches, it does it in a vivid way that live
people like.
"Political campaigns are beginning to be carried on with the silver
screen for a platform. Writers in great magazines are proving, on the
authority of the Japanese themselves, that the American moving picture
is re-making Japan. Another, who has studied the signs of the times,
asserts that the only way to bring order out of chaos in Russia is by
means of the motion picture.
"Comparisons are of times odious, but not in this case, for there is no
man living, nor has there ever lived a man, except the Great Teacher,
who has more greatly and generally benefited humanity or cast a stronger
light upon the processes of civilization than Thomas Alva Edison."
At the close of another musical number there was a general expectation
of dismissal, a shuffling of feet and a murmur of voices. This was
checked suddenly by Bill. The boy had been near the receiver all the
while, on the chance of being needed in case of mishap, or for a sharper
"tuning in"; now he got what the others did not and rising he let out a
yell:
"Everybody quiet! Something else!" and in the instant hush was heard the
completion of an announcement:
"--Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts and other organizations of kindred
nature, upon their urgent invitation. We are making this announcement
now for the fourth and last time in the hope that it may be universally
received. Mr. Edison will now probably be here within an hour from this
minute. All the youth of the land who may avail themselves of radio
service will please respond and listen in. In a warmly appreciative
sense this must be a gala occasion."
"That's all, folks; I'm certain." Bill shouted the school yell and the
class year: "Umpah, umpah, ho, ho; it's up to you, Fairview, 1922!"
Then: "Bring 'em all back here, Gus."
But not one of them needed urging nor reminding. Separating themselves
from the rapidly diminishing and retreating audience came Ted, Terry,
Cora, Dot, Grace, with Skeets as a guest, Bert Haskell, Mary Dean, Lem
Upsall, Walt Maynard, Lucy Shore and Sara Fortescue, the entire bunch
eagerly attentive. They crowded around Bill and Gus and were well aware
of the purpose.
"Sure, we'll all be here, I'll bet a cow!" shouted Ted.
"Dot and I could listen in on our own radio," said Cora. "We've got it
finished and it works fine and dandy, Billy. We want you and Gus and
everybody to come over and try it. But we'll join in with the class on
this; eh, Dot?"
"Sure will," agreed Dot. "Ours is only a crystal set, but it has some
improvements you boys haven't seen. Wait till we get it all done, and
we'll give you a spread and a surprise."
"Say, Bill, this thing's great," Terry said. "Father is going to get me
an outfit in the city and I'll pay you and Gus to set it up for--"
"Set it up yourself, you lazy thing!" said Cora.
"If you please, miss, I've got other matters--"
"All right, Terry,--see you later about it. Now, listen, hopefuls.
You'll all be here, but this occasion is going to be incomplete, unless
we have a lot more on deck. We all want to get out, and scout round and
fetch in every kid that wants to amount to anything at all and is big
enough to understand and appreciate what's going on. And even then it
won't be quite up to snuff unless--"
"I know! You want Mr. Hooper here, too!" shouted Skeets. But in trying
to rise to make herself heard, she upset her chair and then sat down on
the floor, jarring the building. When the shout of mirth subsided, Bill
said:
"That's right. Mr. Hooper and Professor Gray. We'll have to tell them
about it."
"Father wrote that he's coming home to-night," announced Grace proudly.
"Great shakes! Did he? Gus, get on the 'phone and find out!" Bill
commanded. "Now, then, let's all get busy and----"
"Righto, Billy, but what will our folks think has become of us when it's
so late?" Dot questioned.
"I move we go into executive session!" shouted Walt Maynard.
"Sure, and the president of the class can call a meeting," said Terry
Watkins.
"It's up to you then, Billy," Cora agreed.
"I call it. Come to order and dispense with the minutes, Miss
Secretary," Billy grinned at Dot. "Motion in order to send a committee
to inform all the girls' parents."
"I make that motion," said Bert.
"Second it. The boys' parents can get wise by radio," asserted Ted.
"Bert and Ted appointed. Get out and get busy!" Bill was no joke as an
executive. "Here's Gus. Did you get Mrs. Hooper?"
"I sure did. Mr. Hooper got home an hour ago."
"Glory!" Grace, you're driving your little runabout? I appoint Grace and
Mary a committee to go and get Mr. and Mrs. Hooper here right off. No
objections? Don't fail, Grace, or we'll send the entire bunch."
"We'll fetch him," laughed Grace as she and Mary hurried out.
"Now then, everybody else, including the chair, is appointed a committee
to bring in every boy and girl in the town who will come. Work fast! I
wonder if we could promise some eats." Bill glanced at Terry.
"Yes; tell them there'll be refreshments!" shouted the rich boy. "It'll
be my treat. Bill, make me a committee of one to hive the grub. Cakes,
candy, bananas and ice cream; eh?"
"Done!" declared Bill. "Go to it, with the class's blessing!"
"Yes and Heaven's best on Terry Watkins," said Cora.
In a moment the hall was empty. Twenty minutes later the Hooper party
arrived and about three minutes thereafter who should appear but
Professor Gray, hurried, eager, registering disappointment when he saw
the empty room, then smiling as the Hoopers and Mary Dean came to greet
him.
"I had hoped to find my class here," he began and was interrupted by the
thump of Bill's crutch on the steps without. Forgetting his support the
boy leaped, rather than limped, forward, followed more sedately by
several lads and lasses he had rounded up.
"If this isn't the best thing that _ever happened_!" shouted Bill,
grasping the hands of the two men held out to him. "Both of you! And
you, too, Mrs. Hooper. Great! Just got back, Professor! And now we're
going to get the very thing we talked about, Mr. Hooper: we're going to
hear Mr. Edison's voice or that of his right-hand man, nearly three
hundred miles away. The rest of the bunch will be here in a minute. I
expect Gus and Ted and Cora to fetch in a few dozen besides. Hello,
here's Terry with the eats."