News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 2

FORT MYERS NEWS-PRESS MONDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 19. 1931. GAPT. EVANS DESCRIBES EDISON AS DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER PAGE TWO People VmI Too FT. MYERS RESIDENT Philosophy That Helped Mold Edison's Lift ETCHED IN CONCRETE 10 PROVIDE RECORD Ford )tKartlrt Signature Of IMisoii On As Invaluable i it 4 Further development of the machine age will increase the opportunity of the individual for development, and increase his leisiiie." in; 1 4 Nv i 5 t.

a Hard work out i Unites er cent and talent per rent success. Three things insure success: amhilinii, imagination and the will lo work." Edison's Life lit Brief Some Edison Inveidions Horn at Milan, Erie county, Ohio, February 11. Sets up the first Ellison laboratory at Port Huron, Mich, -llegins business career as newsboy on Grand Trunk trains. -Learns telegraphy from Mount Clemens, station agent. 1847 1857 1859 18C2 The incandescent lamp, which bathed the globe in a new brilliance.

It was given to the world in 1879. The phonograph, 1877, Edison's favorite Invention. The carbon telephone transmitter, 1878, which made telephony commercial art. The microphone, 1 7 and the electric valve which Is now fundamentally essential in radio. Motion pictures, 1891, which have revolutionized the entertainment industry.

An alkaline storage battery. Machines for quadruplex and sextuplex telegraphic transmission, They saved the investment of millions in wires. Many appliances and improvements for the transmission of electric light, heat and power. The electric pen. mimeograph and telescrlhe.

He designed, built and operated several chemical plants us the result of the world war emergency. 1S63-CS Roams central west as telegraph operator. 1 868-- Receives his first patent, for a vote recording machine. 18 69 Develops improved model electric stock ticker. 1870 Opens own shop in Newark, N.

for building stock tickers. 1871 Aids Christopher L. Slides in making working model of first practicable typewriter. 1872 Develops duplex und quadruple telegraph equipment; invents automatic duplicating machine. 1873 Marries Mary 0.

Stillwell, by whom he had three children. Vhe died in 1SS1. 1 870 Improves telephone for commercial use. 1 877 Invents the phonograph. IS 79 Invents the incandescent electric light.

1880 Develops new type dynamo. 1880-82 Huilds pioneer electric railway line. i ISS2 Opens nation's first commercial electric lighting central station, New York, September i. 1886 Marries Miss Mina M. Miller.

Three children were born to thm. 1891 Invents the motion picture camera 1900-1910 Perfects chemistry of concrete. 1912 Introduces talking motion pictures 1914 Devises process for making synthetic phenol (carbolic acid). EDISON AT DEATH SKEPTICAL ABOUT SOUL'S IMMORTALITY 19 1 5 Iiecomes president of naval 191 7-1 Turns energies to naval 19 26 --lk-gins Florida experiments 19 28 Receives congressional gold EDISOiS MADE WOULD WETTER PLACE SAYS GEORGE EASTMAN Much" Is Edison Of? Told Axiom Thomas A. Edison used to in-it thai most people ate loo much inul slept loo iimcli.

When he readied his IWIli Idrtliibiv anniversary he figured '( at Hint time. he had Ihcd 1 1 emu. "That is," he k. lug as other nu do, I have loiK enough lo imike me 113 Jems old. And I hope to keep on for HO jcars more, which, figuring lit I he average man's labor per day, would make me l.W yen i old.

Then 1 may Inn to play bridge wilh the ladies." lu llie later of Ids lift', Mr. Edison's birthday anniversaries were recognized all over the world and were made the occasions for congratulatory messages from rulers ami prominent persons in many countries. And on those days he usually had a message for the world, delivered In the course of interview with newspaper men. FORO SAYS EDISON Famous Auto Magnate Says WorM Passing Through "Etlison Age" DETROIT, Oct. 18 (P) Henry Ford believes that Thomas A.

Edison was in many ways the greatest man since ''the world began." Ford and Edison, who came to be affectionately called "two old cronies," had known and esteemed each other since 18. In his boyhood the automobile king had admired Edison from afar as a hero. Ford paid tribute to Edison for his genius as a scientist, an inventor ami a thinker who created a world era. ''It sometimes has been Ford once declared, "that we live in an industrial age. It might bet ter be said we live in the age of Edison." he said, "did more to, abolish poverty than any other group of persons since the beginning of the world." The inventor's passing removed the second of a famous quartet who a decade ago found delight in annual vacation tours that took them gypsy-fashion into out-of-the-way places.

John Burroughs, the died in 11)21 and the camping tours shortly afterward seemed to lose their attraction for the other three Ford, Edison and Harvey Firestone, the rubber king. Ford first met Edison when he was getting his experiments with gasoline-driven under way. "lie was the only person who gave me any encouragement up to that time," the automobile magnate said. Although they did not meet until 181K), Edison had been one of Ford's boyhood heroes. That admiration increased through the years and perhaps found its most tangible expression in 1929 on the golden jubilee of the incandescent lamp, when Ford opened his Edison Institute of Technology at Dearborn, Mich.

Standing in the same laboratory in which it was originally conducted, Edison reproduced the experiment which resulted in the incandescent lamp. The laboratory had been brought to Dearborn by Ford to take its place in a large collec- "tion of Edisonia. It was at this celebration, that Edison, almost overcome by the tributes of President Hoover and other leaders, voiced his tribute to Ford: "He is my friend in the fullest sense of the Making Money Never Concern Of Edison Once during an interview, Thomas A. Edison was asked, if he thought it a fair question, what was his income from incandescent lamps, phonographs, moving pictures, telephones, storage batteries and other products of his inventions which had been patented and commercialized. "Why, I'd tell you in a minute if knew exactly myself," he replied, "but I don't.

The only way for me get rich is to die. I make a whole lot of money, but I save only what would be the salary of a railroad president. Money always had habit of getting away from me because I am always experimenting and that costs a heap." WAS GREATEST MAN RECALLS FIRST VISIT Wiunl Wu Continually S''Kin? Opinions Of OiIht IVojnV By C.M'T. E. EVANS Thomas Alva Edison, my friend Binoe was a democratic character in the purest sense of Die word.

Me was a man who loved to mingle with his fellow men, not to give to his acquaintances his own opinions, but to query them as to theirs and to give them epial weight on anv subiect conecrninir which he sought information. We were friends from the time lie came to Fort Myers, quite by accident, to find a suitable place to conduct his experiments. At that time, he wanted a spot devoid of frost, and until some time after that frost was never found here. Mr. Kdi.son, with a companion, landed here one winter afternoon from a small schooner in which he was making a coastwise trip.

lie was a lover of outdoor life, on enthusiastic fisherman and a sportsman of the first water. He was a conservationist. He loved his rod and reel. He had no use for the run. Dut 1 nave Known mm io hang up his fishing paraphernalia when he thought the fishing was becoming scarce.

My first impression of Mr. Edi son, when he came into my store in 1883, was that he was a minister. He was a well built man, but his cheeks bore a peculiar pallor. I was surprised to find, eventually, that he was the Edison whose accomplishments were even then startling the world. He was congenial.

He always loved to meet people and to talk with them. He was, contrary to the general practice, a big man who placed himself on the plane of ordinary persons. He never tried to impress others with his knowledge, and to hear him speak of an achievement other than in a depreciating or joking manner was unknown. For example, at one time, the then governor of Florida, two congressmen and a minister from North Carolina called upon me to introduce them to Mr. Edison.

I took them to him. He was working at the time, in his old workshop, the one Henry Ford later took to Dearborn, to add to his museum. I interrupted him as he was experimenting with chemicals he was an enthusiastic chemist in his search for a light metal for construction of electric storage batteries. "Mr. Edison, these gentlemen would like to meet you, but they do not want to stop your I explained.

"Well, do you want me to work all the time?" he laughed. He laid down a metal plate on which he was working and visited with his guests for more than two hours. He loved conversation, but always let the other man do the talking. He was sincere in this, because he wanted to know the viewpoint of every man with whom he talked. He Joved to stop along the street, because then he had opportunity to visit with everyone.

He was a visiting addict. At his home, or on the street, he wanted to talk with everyone he saw. This spirit, shown in spite of his accomplishments as an inventor, endeared him to every person he saw here. In his later years, as he became feeble, he was forced to abandon his life as a fisherman, although he plied this advantage extensively earlier in life. I gave him a rod and reel for tarpon-fishing, and asked him to have his picture taken in action.

"If you think you're going to get me going for tarpon at this late day in my life, you're crazy," he joked. Mrs. Edison suggested he go down on their dock and pose for the picture with his new tackle. "If that will do, I'll be glad to do it," he responded, in his cus-tomary obi i King way. He was like a boy with every new contraption that came his way.

He wanted to see what made it work. That principle, as much as anything else, made him the personal and scientific genius that distinguished him from other men. World Honors Edison As Inventor The whole civilized world took cognizance of Thomas A. Edison In 19 29 when it celebrated with an "Edison Jubilee Year" the fiftielh anniversary of the Invention of the filament lamp. Europe, Asia, Africa and South America joined with North America In doing honor to the man who had freed industry and households from dependence upon oil and gas for illumination.

He took it all with characteristically simple modesty. OF FAMOUS INVENTOR a I to a man can I'ul alter die age cllii ient up lo SU or most use-or anil HO. I never II isn't intend licallh.v. to retire, Ki'sidrnts Hccollt'ct Can'frco Attitude Altout Life IS AKRON. Ohio, Oct.

18 (p) Early day Akron men and women knew "Tom" Edison as that rather carefree fellow who court-! ed Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Miller's daughter, Mina. The Millers were prominent in Akron. Miller was one of the mainstays of the city in its earlier days, as operator of the Buckeye Mower ami Reaper works.

Their home was a large mansion with spacious rolling lawns, great spreading trees and an Iron dog in the front yard. Edison was .9 years old then and was getting his stride as an inventive genius, lie was happy, taktng life as it came, and not in the least considering the potentialities his inventions seemed destined to offer. Children were great favorites of his. People admired him for his aggressiveness and looked on interestedly as the Edison courtship progressed. John I'nangst, the driver of the carriage in which "Tom and Mina" went for a ride on their honeymoon, would often recount the events of their wedding day.

The ceremony was performed on a bright new carpet spread over the lawn at the Miller home, beneath a huge bell of roses suggesting a canopy. Hundreds had come from far and near. There was an orchestra. The ceremony was performed at 3 p.m. After the ceremony there was a wedding feast.

Edison was unusually happy that day. He. often revisited Akron. One of his favorite hobbies was to go with the Miller boys to the basement of their home and rig up systems of electric beils strange, intricate devices -that would do magic things as the inventor pushed button here and there. In those days when the telephone was a new contrivance, Edison received a big thrill when telephoning Miller at the Buckeye Reaper plant.

He liked to attend the old Eirst Methodist church, and in later years whenever he went, there on his visits to the city seats were at a premium. So far as records disclose, the inventor's last, visit to Akron wa.5 in the summer of 1912 when one of his sisters-in-law was married. Miss Miller first, met her inventor-husband in New York city after her return from a visit in Europe. Practical Help For School Hoys Given By Great Inventor A typical action of Thomas A. Edison's late years was the help he gave high school youths ambitious for a technical education.

The typical part of this movement was the practicality with which the scheme was worked out so ns i nring i.n.u ui.ieiuS every state together In a nationwide contest. The examinations which determined the ultimate yearly winners were not only technical, but designed as well to test the general intelligence and Intellectual alertness of the boys. A founda tion of common sense coupled with talent for scientific research was emphasized by the founder of the tests ns requisite for success, Illustrating the tenacity with which he clung through the years to his determination to work only for results which would be useful. ivwi i wi i. ti i square of concrete at tlio entrance' to Henry Kurd's museum of early Americans in Dearborn, Thorns A.

Edison left imprinted records that may prove Invaluable in years to come. Edison came to Detroit as. a guest of his friend Eord in September Puttering happily about in partly-completed build ing while movie catnerus clicked, ho thrust an old spade into a block of cement, left his footprints in a square of concrete, and wrote with a long stick indelibly into the same square: "Thomas A. Edison, Sept. 27.

1928." The spade, once used by the late Luther Burhank, botunlst and horticult urallst, and companion on camping trips of Edison and Ford, i i t-uitiiiin ui iiii luuuy in me cuii- crete bloc at the entrance to the museum. The broad footprints are stamped into the concrete, and the signature, with the famous wide flourish over the first letter is etched deeply Into the square. llenrv u-lwiun Idi.n it u-u today regards the block of concrete, which he placed at the most prominent place in bis museum, as one of his most valuable historical relics. During the same visit Edison put his shoulder to the wheel of a steam engine, gave It a hearty push, and started the motive power for an old dynamo, which In turn lighted some of the first electric light bulbs ever made. All are housed jn the old workshop in which Edison worked many hours 4 5 years ago In Fort Mvers.

Flu. A year later, more bowed and less strong. Edison came back to Detroit, again an honored guest of Ford, to participate In the celebration of the 50th year of the Incandescent lamp, and to recreate the experiment by which he first brought the electric light Into being. He also saw the com- pleteil museum which eld uiowt of the buildings in which he worked during the development of his early inventions. He looked again on the square of cement which bore his lure, and humorously ritlc l.eci his penmanship.

Then, with a grouped newspapermen and prominent men, he entered bis old laboratory a small, shabby building, fallhfully re assembled by Ford workmen. Suddenly, when reporters sought him. he could not be found. Henry Ford found him In the small upstairs room of the old shop, sitting quietly beside a long shelf ranged with chemicals bearing faded labels on the bottles. Hi was studying the labels, smiling happily.

Mr. Ford quietly motioned the reporters away, and left him there, alone, for nearly an hour. Work Of Edison Is Invaluable In War With his appointment ns president of the Naval Consulting Board and the entrance of nited States into the Worw, War, Thomas Edison devoted his time entirely to problems of national defense. This work, which was brought to a close by tha signing of the armistice, lasted nearly two years. During that time Mr.

Edison and his associates gathered on immense amount of data, which was tabulated and charted, and, filling many volumes, finally was placed In the government archives at Washington for possible future use. Inventor Would Not Sell His Birthplace MILAN, Oct. 18 yP) Somo 9 0 years neo Samuel Kdlson. a pioneer of hardy stock, erected his modest brick home in what Is now the quiet village of Milan. And that home, standing today on a sharp enbanknient overlook ing a beautiful little valley.

ma" become a national shrine. For within it, in a first floor room, measuring eight by nine feet, Thomas A. Edison was born on February 11, 184 7. Seeking to honor the Inventor, the state of Ohio sought to pur chase the old home several veara ago, bu' Edison could not bear the thoughts of having the scene of bis childhood become public: property, and he refused to sell. The man who is jears old and intelligent can do anything lie.

make up his mind to do. Many who have passed through college 1 find amazingly ignorant." consulting board. inventions. in production of synthetic rubber. medal.

Loses Pair Of Jobs As Wire Operator While working at Memphis when he was 17, Thomas A. Edison perfected his "repeater" mid by its use was the first telegraph oierator to bring New Orleans into direct communication with York. But he lost his jolt because of jealousy on the part, of the office manager. lie walked hack to Louisville and got his old job, wbjch he retained for two years. Then he lost that when he tipped over a bottle of ehtmical in the course of an experiment.

The fluid trickled through the floor and ruined Hie carpel on the floor of the manager's office. Invention Protects Vessels On Ocean What was regarded as one of the most important of his protective war-time inventions was Thomas A. Edison's device for quickly changing the course of ship out of the path of a torpedo. With his listening device aboard a vessel it was possible to hear a torpedo as far away as 3,000 yards. In a test, a ship 325 feet long, loaded with 4,200 tons of coal, was turned at right angles to her previous course with an advance of only 200 feet.

Long Working Hours Were Edison's Habit Thomas A. Edison was an Indefatigable worker, a fact that was the basis for several stories ra-garding the small amount of sleep in which he indulged. However, he was known to have put In long hours at his laboratory, hours that were Interrupted at times only when Mrs. Edison drove in an electric runabout and its successor automobiles to the laboratory and insisted that he take a recess for a drive. Usually there were argu ments about the useless loss of time, but usually Mrs.

Edison had her way. U.S. Pays Tribute To Edison's Genius Thomas Edison was in his 8 2nd year when the United States government honored him by presenting him with the Congressional Gold Medal, The exercises took place at West Orange, and Included an address by President The ii person slioind give siv lioiii'M to sleep, eight hours lo manual labor or lO to I- hours to mental work." Carbon Litfht Lamp Is Edison Invention Fifty-two years ago this month, carbonizing an ordinary piece thread for a filament Thomas Edison produced the first in uf A. candescent lamp, which, when put into a circuit, maintained Its incandescence for more than 4tJ hours. In two months the thing was so perfected that the first public demonstration of the lamps, Too in number, was given at Menlit 'Park on the night of December 31, 187H, and uttracted hundreds of people.

In less than two years the first factory for manufacturing the lamps was established. The popularity of the new form of illumination was Instantaneous and grew Into the use of almost countless millions of Incandescent lamps the world over. With that success, Edison con tinned his work in the electrical field and Invented radical im provements In the construction of dynamos, making them suitable for generators for systems of distribution, regulation and measurement of tdectrlc: current He also produced sockets, switches and various other appliances and improvements in systems that en abled the introduction commurcl ally of electric light, heat and power. First Edison Device Is Automatic Signal After he learned telegraphy, Thomas Alva Edison became an operator for the Western Union at. I'ort Huron, and later night operator for the Grand Trunk Railway at Stratford Junction, Can.

There, the story Is told, he conceived the Idea for ins iirst contrivance, a device to thwart orders for an all-night vigil promulgated by the circuit manager. The latter, fearing that young Edison might fall asleep at his lonely post, ordered hits to tick off the signal "six" every half hour. That, to Edison, seemed senseless, so he rigged up a wheel with notches that automatically ticked off the equired signal. Phonograph Proves Favored Invention The favorite of Thomas Edison'- early inventions was the phonograph, which, he produced in 1877. When he heard his first crude contrivance repeat after him the verse about Mary's Little Lamb, he remarked that it seemed even to him "almost super-aat 2 It.

wes not ninny years after that the inventor saw his prediction come true, that ths talking machine would be as familiar in as many thousands of homes as was the piano at that time. Inventor Was Willing! To Believe If Ho Could Be Shown WEST ORANGE. N. Oct. 18 Thomas Alva Edison robbed, nature of many secrets for the hap piness of man, uui ne never lounu the sex-ret he sought- proof of the inimoi tality of the soul.

The electrical wizard, long an avowed disbeliever in the existence of life after death, recently camel to the conclusion that it is possible the soul lives on. Edison, although never troubled by his disbelief, was perplexl that be was unable to find proof of immortality, lie uri'cd and promoted investigations. What brought Edison at his health gont, to change his views after 21 years may never be known. That Edison came to believe in the possibility of an hereafter was revealed by Dr. Hubert S.

Howe, his personal physician. Dr. Howe localled a dinner table conversation with Edison in which the inventor explained his theory. Even to Edison it was vague. Dr.

Howe said Edison remarked: "Well, if there is an hereafter it doof n't matter, and if there isn't an hereafter it doesn't matter either. I've lived all my life and done my best." Edison's view on the subject, as he explained it to Dr. Howe, was that ''man may he made up of a lot of intellige nt units which, partially dispersed at death, certain of the intelligent entities might live and persist and prove indestructible and later reunite in another ''Soul? Soul? What do you mean by soul?" Edison asked. ''The brain? There is no more reasoiwto believe that any human brain will i be immortal than there is to think one of my phonograph cylinders will be immortal." In 11)20 in an interview Edison still held to his first conviction that deep investigation was necessary, but he reiterated that data were insufficient and that knowledge of psychic matters was so negligible that investigation and experimentation could not follow lines definite enough to warrant sound conclusions. His view was that the soul could not be analyzed by chemists or weighed in scales or photographed or recorded by instruments.

Edison urged thjit religious teachers si'ek genuine evidence and endeavor to build up proof at which the skeptical cannot laugh. Edison, at death, still a bit skeptical but willing to believe, did not laugh. Rapid Production Of Inventions Notable When he was able to work on his inventions unhampered, Thomas Alva Edison them rapidly. In his first iwo years at Menlo Park he brought out the carbon telephone transmitter, which made telephony a commercial art and included the microphone, which makes radio possible. Kodak Manufacturer raises Inventor For Humanness ity eastm an HOCIIKSTKR.

N. Oct. 18 (A') Thomas A. Edison did nu.re than any other man to make this world an easier, plcasanter, better world to live in. His death closes a career that set the tempo for an unparalleled era of invention.

For the most part, his accomplishments will be measured from the standpoint of pure science. Rut they cannot be measured by such standards alone, for along with his wizardry in matters electrical, went a human kindness that endeared him to the whole world. In him were combined a phenomenal mind, a tiemeiidous energy, and -even up to his declining years an almost boyish enthusiasm for the successful solving of the problem of the moment. Our relations began early in 1892 I think it was when we purchased a small electric lighting plant from Edison for the rooms where our chemical work was done. Hut the most interesting incident was in 199, when Edison was working to perfect his kinetoscope, a nickle-in-the-slot where, after dropping the nickle, one peered through a peep hole and saw a few feet of motion pictures the forerunnery of the present screen pictures, lie had been unable to get a suitable material for his negatives and prints, when one day he heard about our transparent film.

He sent for a few feet and after a trial said: "We've got it boys. Now work like hell." Edison's accomplishments can hardlv be measured by the direct results of his own inventive genius great as such results were for his was the mind that stirred the imagination arid fired the genius of a generation of invention. The world has lost one of its greatest men of all time. French Government Honors Mr. Edison The French government honored Mr.

Edison by making him in turn a chevalier, officer and commander of the Legion of Honor. He received honors from several other foreign governments as well as medals from scientific and engineering societies and honorary degrees from several American colleges and universities..