A. BOOK NO. 1

The following is a transcription of a typescript that William Meadowcroft prepared from reminiscences that were originally written by Edison in a notebook labeled “Book No. 1” and dated 11 September 1908. The contents of the notebook pertain to the period covered by this volume with the exception of the initial five paragraphs, which describe Edison’s 1878 western trip, and a short paragraph (14), which relates Edison’s alleged discovery of a Morse diary.

[6] After my father moved to Port Huron, he engaged in lumbering, and also had a 10 acre field of very rich land which was used for truck gardening. After the field was ploughed, I, in conjunction with a German boy of about my age, did the planting. About eight acres were planted in sweet corn, the balance in radishes, onions, parsnips, and beets, etc.; I was very ambitious about this garden and worked very hard. My father had an old horse and wagon and with this we carried the vegetables to the town which was 1½ miles distant and sold them from door toPage 629 door. One year I remember turning in to my mother 600 dollars from the farm— After a while I tired of this work as hoeing corn in a hot sun is unattractive and I did not wonder that it built up cities. Soon the Grand Trunk R.R. was extended from Toronto to Port Huron at the foot of the Lake Huron and thence to Detroit, at about the same time the war of the Rebellion broke out. By a great amount of persistence I got permission from my mother to go on the local train as a newsboy. The local train from Port Huron to Detroit, a distance of 63 miles left at 7 A.M. and arrived again at Port Huron at 9 P.M. After being on the train for several months, I started two stores in Port Huron, one for periodicals and the other for vegetables, butter and berries in the season, these were attended by two boys, who shared in the profits. The periodical store I soon closed, as the boy in charge could not be trusted. The vegetable store I kept up for nearly a year. After the railroad had been opened a short time they put on an express which left Detroit in the morning and returned in the evening. I received permission to put a newsboy on this train—connected with this train was a car, one part for baggage and the other part for U.S. mail, but for a long time it was not used. Every morning I had two large baskets of vegetables from the Detroit Market loaded in the mail car and sent to Port Huron where the German boy would take them to the store. They were much better than those grown locally and sold readily. I never was asked to pay freight and to this day cannot explain why, except that I was so small and industrious and the nerve to appropriate a U.S. mail car to do a free freight biz so monumental that it probably caused passivity. However, I kept this up for a long time and in addition bought butter from the farmers along the line and an immense amount of blackberries in the season; I bought wholesale and at a low price and permitted the wives of the engineers and trainmen to have the benefit of the rebate. After a while there was a daily immigrant train put on— this train generally had from seven to ten coaches’ filled always with Norwegians, all bound for Iowa and Minnesota. On these trains I employed a boy who sold bread, tobacco and stick candy. As the war progressed the daily newspaper sales became very profitable and I gave up the vegetable store, etc. Finally when the battle of Pittsburg Landing occurred (now called Shiloh) I commenced to neglect my regular business. On the day of this battle when I arrived at Detroit, the bulletin boards were surrounded with dense crowds and it was announced that there were 60 thousand killed and wounded and the result was uncertain. I knew that if the same excitement was attained at the various small towns along the road and especially at Port Huron that the sale of papers would be great. I then conceived the idea of telegraphing the news ahead, went to the operator in the depot and by giving him Harper’s Weekly and somePage 630 other papers for three months, he agreed to telegraph to all the stations the matter on the bulletin board. I hurriedly copied it and he sent it, requesting the agents who displayed it on the blackboard, used for stating the arrival and departure of trains, I decided that instead of the usual 100 papers that I could sell 1000, but not having sufficient money to purchase that number, I determined in my desperation to see the Editor himself and get credit. The great paper at that time was the Detroit Free Press. I walked into the office marked Editorial and told a young man that I wanted to see the Editor on important business— important to me anyway. I was taken into an office where there were two men and I stated what I had done about telegraphy and that I wanted 1000 papers, but only had money for 300 and I wanted credit. One of the men refused it, but the other told the first spokesman to let me have them. This man I afterwards learned was Wilbur F. Storey, who subsequently founded the Chicago Times and became celebrated in the newspaper world. By the aid of another boy we lugged the papers to the train and started folding them. The first station called Utica, was a small one where I generally sold two papers. I saw a crowd ahead on the platform, thought it some excursion, but the moment I landed there was a rush for me; then I realized that the telegraph was a great invention. I sold 35 papers; the next station, Mt. Clemens, now a watering place, but then a place of about 1000. I usually sold 6 to 8 papers. I decided that if I found a corresponding crowd there that the only thing to do to correct my lack of judgment in not getting more papers was to raise the price from 5 cents to 10. The crowd was there and I raised the price; at the various towns there were corresponding crowds. It had been my practice at Port Huron to jump from the train at a point about ¼ mile from the station where the train generally slackened speed. I had drawn several loads of sand at this point to jump on and had become very expert. The little German boy with the horse met me at this point; when the wagon approached the outskirts of the town I was met by a large crowd. I then yelled 25 cents apiece, gentlemen, I haven’t got enough to go round. I sold all out and made what to me then was an immense sum of money. I started the next day to learn telegraphy and also printing. I started a newspaper which I printed on the train, printing it from a galley proof press, procuring the type from a junk dealer who had a lot nearly worn out. (You have a copy of the newspaper)

[7] When Stephenson who built the Victoria bridge at Montreal came over the Grand Trunk, he saw me printing an edition on the train; he bought the whole and it was afterwards mentioned in the London Times as the 1st newspaper in the world to be printed on a train in motion.

Page 631[8] I commenced to neglect my regular business until it got very low, although I managed to turn one dollar each day to my mother. The station agent at Mt. Clemens permitted me to sit in the Telegraph office and listen to the instrument; one day his little boy was playing on the track when a freight train came along—and I luckily came out just in time to pull him off the track; his mother saw the operation and fainted. This put me in the good graces of Mr. Mackenzie, the agent, and he took considerable pains to teach me, as I kept at it about 18 hours a day I soon became quite proficient. I then put up a telegraph line from the station to the village a distance of i mile and opened an office in a drug store, but the business was small and the operator at Port Huron knowing my proficientcy and who wanted to go into the U.S.M. Telegraph, where the pay was high, succeeded in convincing his brother-in-law (Mr. Walker) that I could fill the position all right. Mr. Walker had a jewelry store and had charge of the W.U. Tel. office. As I was to be found at the office both day and night, sleeping there, I became quite valuable to Mr. Walker. After working all day I worked at the office nights as well for the reason that press report came over one of the wires until 3 A.M., and I would cut in and copy it as well as I could, to become more rapidly proficient; the goal of the rural telegraph operator was to be able to take press. Mr. Walker tried to get my father to apprentice me at 20 dollars per month, but they could not agree. I then applied for a job on the Grand Trunk R.R. as a railway operator and was given a place nights at Stratford Junction, Canada. This night job just suited me as I could have the whole day to myself. I had the faculty of sleeping in a chair any time for a few minutes at a time. I taught the night yardman my call, so I would get ½ hour sleep now and then between trains and in case the station was called, the watchman would awaken me. One night I got an order to hold a freight train and I replied that I would. I rushed out to find the signalman, but before I could find him and get the signal set, the train run past. I ran to the Telegraph Office and reported I couldn’t hold her, she had run past. The reply was “Hell”. The despatcher on the strength of my message that I would hold the train, had permitted another to leave the last station in the opposite direction There was a lower station near the Junction where the day operator slept. I started for it on foot. The night was dark and I fell in a culvert and was knocked senseless.

[9] However, the track was straight, the trains saw each other, and there was no collision. The next morning Mr. Carter, the station agent and myself were ordered to come at once to the main office in Toronto. We appeared before the General Superintendent, W.J. Spicer who started in hauling Mr. Carter over the coals for permitting such a young boy to hold such a responsible Page 632position. Then he took me in hand and stated that I could be sent to Kingston States Prison, etc. Just at this point, three English swells came into the office. There was a great shaking of hands and joy all around; feeling that this was a good time to be neglected I silently made for the door; down the stairs to the lower freight station, got into the caboose going on the next freight, the conductor who I knew, and kept secluded until I landed a boy free of fear in the U.S. of America.

[11] After selling papers in Port Huron, which was not reached until about 9.30 at night, I seldom reached home before 11 or 11.30 at night, about ½ way from the station and the town and within 25 feet of the road in a dense woods was a soldiers graveyard, where 300 soldiers were buried, due to a cholera epidemic which took place at Fort Gratiot near by many years previously. At first we used to shut our eyes and run the horse past this graveyard, and if the horse stepped on a twig, my heart would be given violent movement and it is a wonder that I haven’t some valvular disease of that organ, but soon this running of the horse became monotonous and after a while all fear of graveyards absolutely disappeared from my system. I was in the condition of Sam Houston, the pioneer and founder of Texas, who it was said knew no fear. Houston lived some distance from the town and generall went home late at night, having to pass through a dark cyprus swamp over a corduroy road; one night to test his alleged fearlessness, a man stationed himself behind a tree and enveloped himself in a sheet; he suddenly confronted Houston, who stopped and said—If you are a man you can’t hurt me; if you are a ghost you dont want to hurt me; if you are the devil, come home with me, I married your sister.

[12] When a boy, the Prince of Wales, now King Edward, came to Canada. Great preparations were made at Sarnia, a Canadian town opposite Port Huron. About every boy, including muself, went over to see the affair. The town was draped in flags most profusely and carpets were laid on the crosswalks for the Prince to walk on; there were arches etc. A stand was built, raised above the general level, where the Prince was to be received by the Mayor. Seeing all these preparations, my idea of a prince was very high, but when he did arrive, I mistook the Duke of Cambridge for the Prince. He, (the Duke) being a large fine looking man, I soon saw that I was mistaken, that the Prince was a young stripling and did not meet expectations. Several of us started to express our belief that a prince wasn’t much after all and that we were thoroughly disappointed. For this, one boy was whipped. Soon the Cunnock boys attacked the Yankee boys and we were all badly licked. I, myself, got a black eye. This has always prejudiced me against this kind of ceremonial and folly.

[13] While a newsboy on the train, one day a messenger fromPage 633 the office of E. B. Ward & Company came to the train and wanted me to come quickly to the office. The firm of E. B. Ward at that time was the largest owner of steamboats on the Great Lakes. It seems that one of the captains on their largest boat had suddenly died, and they wanted me to take a message to another captain, who lived about 14 miles from Ridgeway station on the railroad. This captain had retired and had taken up some timber land and cleared part of it. Mr. Ward said he would give me 15 dollars if I would deliver the message that night. I told him I was afraid to do it alone as it was a wild country and it would be dark, but if he would pay me $25 I would get the help of another boy and do it. To this he agreed. I arrived at Ridgeway at 8:30 at night, it was raining and dark as ink. After trying 2 or 3 boys, I got one and we started out with lanterns for the place. We had the location explained, and there was only one road, if a road it could be called, all through a dense forest. We hadn’t gone far before we became apprehensive of bears, the more we thought of the subject, the more stumps looked like bears. The country at that time was wild and it was a usual occurence to see deer, bear and coon skins nailed on the side of the house to dry, and I had read about bears, but couldn’t remember if they were night or day prowlers. My companion proposed that we climb a tree and wait till morning. I wouldn’t agree to this, as I knew that we were no safer up a tree than on the ground, as bears could climb trees and besides that message had to be delivered that night, so the captain could catch the morning train. We kept on, after a while one lantern went out, not being filled with enough oil. When we started then, within two miles of the place the other lantern went out. Then we leaned up against a tree and cried. I thought if I ever got out of this scrape alive, that I would know more about habits of animals and everything else and be prepared for all kinds of mischances when I undertook an enterprise. However, the dense darkness dilated the pupils of our eyes to make them very sensitive and we could see at times the outlines of the road and finally just as a faint gleam of daylight arrived, we entered the captain’s yard and delivered the message. In my whole life, I never spent such a night of horror as this, but I got a good lesson.

[15] While working in the W.U. Telegraph office in Boston, a position obtained for me by my friend Adams, who worked in the Franklin Telegraph office, which company was competing with the W.U. Mr. Adams was laid off, and as Adams’ finances had reached absolute zero centigrade, I undertook to let him sleep in my hall bedroom. I generally had hall bedrooms, because they were cheap and I needed money to buy apparatus. I also had the pleasure of his genial company at the boarding house, about a mile distant, but at the sacrifice of some apparatus. One morning as we were hastening to breakfast, we came into Tremont Row,Page 634 and saw in front of two small gents furnishing goods stores, a large crowd. We stopped to ascertain the cause of the excitement. One store put up a paper sign in the display window, which said “300 pairs of stockings received this day 5 cents a pair—no connection with the store next door”. Presently the other store put up a sign, stating they had received 300 pairs, price 3 cents per pair and stated that they had no connection with the store next door. Nobody went in. The crowd kept increasing. Finally, when the prices had reached 3 pair for 1 cent, Adams says to me “I can’t stand this any longer, give me a cent”. I gave him a nickel and he elbowed his way in and throwing the money on the counter, the store being filled with lady clerks, said, give me 3 pairs. The crowd was breathless and the lady took down a box and drew out 3 pairs of baby socks. “Oh”, said Adams, “I want mens’ size”. “Well sir, we do not permit one to pick size for that amount of money” and the crowd roared and this broke up the sales.

[16] Adams was one of a class of operators, who was never satisfied to work at any place for any great length of time. He had the Wanderlust. After enjoying my rather meagre hospitality on the floor of the hall bedroom, which in Boston was a paradise for an entomologist, and the boarding house run on the Banting system of flesh reduction, he came to me one day and said, goodbye Edison, I have got 60 cents and I am going to San Francisco, and he did. How, I never knew. I afterwards learned that he got a job and within a week they had a strike; then he got a big torch and sold patent medicine in the streets at night to support strikers; then went to Peru as partner of a man who had a grizzly bear, which they proposed entering against a bull in the Bull Ring in that city. The grizzly was killed in five minutes and this scheme died. Then Adams started a market report bureau in Buenos Aires. This didn’t pay, then he started a restaurant in Pernambuco, Brazil. Here he did very well, but something went wrong, as it always does to a Nomad and he went to the Transvaal and ran a panorama, called “Paradise Lost” in the Kaffir Kraaks. This didn’t pay and he became the Editor of a newspaper, then went to England to raise money for a railroad in Cape Colony. Next I hear of him in N.Y., having just arrived from Bogata, U.S. of Columbia with a power of attorney and $2,000 from a native of that Republic, who had applied for a patent for tightening a belt to prevent it from slipping on a pulley, a device which he thought new and a great invention, but which was in use ever since machinery was invented. I gave Adams a position as salesman for electrical apparatus. This he soon got tired of and I lost sight of him.

[17] One day a lady came to the W.U. office in Boston and stated that she had a school and would like to get one of theirPage 635 operators to explain the telegraph to her scholars, illustrating the explanation with actually working apparatus. She was told to call around in the evening when I would be at work. She arranged with me to give the explanation with apparatus two weeks from that date— in a few days before I carried the the apparatus and with Adams’ assistance, set it up in the school, which was in a double private house near the public library. The apparatus was set up when school was out. I was then very busy building private telegraph lines and equipping them with instruments which I had invented, and forgot all about the appointment and was only reminded of it by Adams who had been trying to find me and had at last located me on top of Jordan, Marsh & Company’s store, putting up a wire. He said, we must be there in 15 minutes and I must hurry. I had on working clothes and I didn’t realize that my face needed washing. However, I thought they were only children and wouldn’t notice it. On arriving at the place, we were met by the lady of the house and I told her I had forgotten about the appointment and hadn’t time to change my clothes. She said that didn’t make the slightest difference. Adams’ clothes were not of the best, because of his long estrangement from money. On opening the main parlor door, I never was so paralyzed in my life; I was speechless, there were over 40 young ladies from 17 to 22 years, from the best families. I managed to say that I would work the apparatus and Mr. Adams would make the explanantions. Adams was so embarrassed that he fell over an ottoman, the girls tittered and this increased his embarrassment, until he couldn’t say a word. The situation was so desperate that for a reason I never could explain, I started in myself and talked and explained better than I ever did before or since. I can talk to two or three person, but when there are more they radiate some unknown form of influence which paralizes my vocal cords. However, I got out of this scrape and many times afterwards, when I chanced with other operators, to meet some of the young ladies on their way home from school, they would smile and nod, to the great mystification of the operators, who were ignorant of this episode.

[18] The reason I came to go to Boston was this. I had left Louisville the second time and went home to see my parents. After stopping at home for some time, I got restless and thought I would like to work in the East and knowing that a former operator named Adams, who had worked with me in the Cincinnati Office was in Boston, I wrote him that I wanted a job there. He wrote back that if I came on immediately he could get me in the W.U. office. I had helped out the Grand Trunk R.R. Telegraph people by a new device when they lost one of the two submarine cables they had across the river, making the remaining cable act just as well for their purpose as if they had two. I thought I was Page 636entitled to a pass, which they conceded, and I started for Boston. After leaving Toronto, a terrific blizzard came up and the train got snowed under in a cut. After staying 24 hours, the trainmen made snowshoes of fence rail splints and started out to find food which they did about ½ mile away. They found a roadside inn and by means of snow shoes, all the passengers were taken to the inn. The train reached Montreal 4 days late. A number of the passengers and myself went to the Military headquarters to testify in favor of a soldier who was on a furlough and was two days late, which was a serious matter with military people, I learned. We willingly did this, for this soldier was a great story-teller and made the time pass quickly. I met here a telegraph operator, named Stanton, who took me to his boarding house, the most cheerless that I have ever been in. Nobody got enought to eat, the bed clothes were too short and too thin, and it was 28 degrees below zero, and the wash water frozen solid; The board was cheap, being only $1.50 per week. Stanton said the usual live stock accompaniments of operators’ boarding houses were absent; he thought the intense cold had caused them to hibernate. Stanton, when I was working in Cincinnati left his position and went out on the Union Pacific to work at Julesburg, which was a cattle town at that time and very tough. I remember seeing him off on the train, never expecting to see him again. Six months afterwards, while working press wire in Cincinnati about 2 A.M., there was flung into the middle of the operating room, a large tin box. It made a report like a pistol and we all jumpted up startled; in walked Stanton. Gentlemen, he said, I have just returned from a pleasure trip to the land beyond the Mississippi. All my wealth is contained in my metallic traveling case and you are welcome to it. The case contained one paper collar. He sat down and I noticed that he had a woolen conforter around his neck with his coat buttoned closely. The night was intensely warm; he then opened his coat and revealed the fact that he had nothing but the bare skin. Gentlemen, said he, you see before you an operator who has reached the limit of impecuniosity.

[19] On reaching Boston, I found my friend Adams and went over to the W.U. Office to see the manager. On entering the office, where there were perhaps 30 or 40 men, I noticed that they were dressed very neatly, which was very unusual in the offices in the West. I myself, at the time, had on a blue shirt and clothes not of the best, and somewhat wrinkled from the long journey. I was introduced to the Manager, Mr. Milliken, who I thought gave a start of surprise. Adams had told him I was an A1 man and had worked two or three years on associated press wire. After asking me to confirm Adamds’ statements, he asked when I could come to work. I said “Now”. Very well, come around at 5.30 and I will leave instructions. I came at 5.30 P.M. and was introduced to thePage 637 night manager, and told that I was to work N.Y. No. 1 wire. I was furnished with one of those cheap pens that the W.U. used to economize on and waited for business. I noticed considerable talk and laughter on the part of the other operators and surmised that it was at my expense, as my clothes certainly did not fit extreme Eastern civilization.

[20] After waiting ½ hour my wire was switched over on a test table in the middle of the room and I was told to take a 1500-word special for the Boston Herald. The N.Y. operator started at a rapid gate, the sending being perfect and the wire was good. After a few minutes, his gait got very rapid and I noticed he was getting up to his limit, turning my head I found nearly every operator in the office watching me from behind. I knew then they had put up a job to roast me, as they say. They had gotten Hutchinson, one of the lightning senders in the N.Y. office to do it. Now I had experimented a long time to acquire rapid penmanship. I indulged in no flourishes and each letter was separate and not connected, as I found that there was a gain in time in not connecting the letters and also that rapidity was increased by writing very small; I had been used to forcing the writing in taking press through 8 sheets of manifold paper with an agate stylus, so writing with a pen was easy. I then started writing very small and I knew I could do 4 or 5 words per minute more than he could send; after taking about ¾ of the special, Hutchinson got nervous and commenced to abbreviate. As I had to write out in full I knew that soon I would have to break, so to save the day before this took place, I opened the key and said “You seem to be tired, suppose you send a little while with your other foot” This saved me. Hutchinson quit and the special was finished by the regular man.

[21] After this, I was all right with the other operators.

[22] In the Boston office there were operators studying to enter Harvard; they were on nights. They paraded their knowledge rather freely and it was my delight to go up to the second-hand book stores on Cornhill and study up questions which I would spring on them when I got an occasion. We got our midnight lunch from an old Irishman, called the “Cake Man”, who appeared regularly at 12 midnight. The office was on the ground floor and had, previous to occupation by the Telegraph Co., been a restaurant. It was literally loaded with cockroaches, who lived between the wall and the board running around the room at the floor. These were such a bother on my table that I pasted two strips of tinfoil on the wall at my desk connecting one piece to the positive pole of the big battery supplying current to the wires and the negative pole to the other strip. The cockroaches moving up on the wall would pass over the strips, and the moment the got their legs across both strips, there was a flash of light and thePage 638 cockroach went into gas. This automatic electrocution device attracted so much attention and got a ½ column description in an evening paper, that the Manager made me stop it.

[23] After being in Boston for several months, working N.Y. wire No. 1, I was requested to work the press wire. This wire was called the milk route, as there was so many towns on it taking press simultaneously. N.Y. office has reported great delays on the wire, due to operators constantly interrupting or breaking as it was called, to have words repeated which they failed to get, and N.Y. claimed Boston was one of the worst offenders. It was a rather hard position for me, for if I took the report without breaking, it would prove the Boston operator incompetent. The results made the operator have some hard feelings against me. He was put back on the wire and did much better after that. It seems that the office boy was down on this man and one night he asked me if I could tell him how to fix a key so it would not break, even if the circuit breaker was open, and also, so it could not be easily detected. I told him to jab a pen full of ink on the platinum points that there was enough sugar to make it thick enough to follow up; when the operator tried to break, the current going through the ink so he couldn’t break. The next night about 1 a.m. the operator on the press wire, while I was standing near a house printer studying it, pulled out a glass insulator, then used upside down as a substitute for an ink bottle, and threw it with great violence at me, just missing my head. It would have certainly killed me if it had not missed. The cause of the trouble was that this operator was doing the best he could not to break, but being compelled to, opened his key and found he couldn’t; the press matter coming right along and he couldn’t stop it. The office boy had put the ink in a few minutes before, when the operator turned his head during a lull. He instinctively blamed me as the cause of the trouble. This operator and I afterwards became good friends—he took his meals at the same emaciator that I did and his main object in life seemed to be acquiring the art of throwing up wash pitchers and catching them without breaking them. About ⅓ of his salary was used up in paying for pitchers.

[24] While taking a long monotonous proceeding of a synad of some kind, which was being held at Cleveland, the word “Jesus Christ” occurred with extreme frequency, so I got to abbreviating it by using J. C. Pretty soon the assistant agent of the associated press came down stairs into the office and wanted to know what d—d operator was abbreviating Jesus Christ with J. C.; that he wouldn’t stand for it. He cursed around for a while and I stopped it. It seemed very incongruous, as B.C. was regularly used.

[25] At that time the firm of Chas. Williams, Jr. was making telegraph instruments and doing experimental work for Moses G. Farmer and Gainwell, the inventors of the Fire Alarm telegraphPage 639 system. I, as far as my money would go, was also having work done there of an experimental character. I became acquainted with a man who was having made some electrical apparatus for a sleight-of-hand performance and we did a lot of experimenting. One day I found in my copy of the Scientific American a complete description of a method of making nitroglycerin. The sleight-of hand man and myself one night after Mr. Williams had gone home started in to make some. The product came out rather brown and the article warned makers that brown nitro-glycerin was impure and dark in color, that it was due to impurities and in this condition was dangerous and might explode spontaneously. To see if the quality was O.K. we exploded a few drops and the results were so strong that we both got frightened, so we put the nitro in a pop bottle, wound waste around it, tied a cord to the end of the bottle and let it down a sewer inlet on the street at the shop. Williams, who just managed to make a living off of poor inventors, etc. afterwards became a manufacturer of telephones and died a millionaire.

[26] I established a Laboratory over the Gold room and put up a line on which I opened a stock quotation circuit with 25 subscribers, the ticker being of my own invention. I also engaged in putting up private lines upon which I used a dial instrument. This instrument was very simple and practical and any one could work it after a few minutes explanation. I had these instruments made at Mr. Hamblets who had a little shop where he was engaged in experimenting with electric clocks. Mr. Hamblet was the father and introducer in after years of the W.U. telegraph system of time distribution. My laboratory was the headquarters for the men and also of tools and supplies for these private lines. They were put up cheaply, as I used the roofs of houses as the W.U. did. It never occurred to me to ask permission from the owners; all we did was to go to the store, etc. and say we were telegraph men and wanted to go up to the wires on the roof and permission was always given.

[27] In this laboratory I had a large induction coil, which I had borrowed from Mr. Williams to make some experiments with. With this coil I had ten large cells employing nitric acid. One day I got hold of both electrodes and it clinched my hand on them so I couldn’t let go. The battery was on a shelf. The only way I could get free was to back off and pull the coil, so the battery wires would pull the cells off the shelf and thus break the circuit. I shut my eyes and pulled, but the nitric acid splashed all over my face and ran down my back. I rushed to the sink which was only half big enough and got in and wiggled around for several minutes to permit the water to dilute the acid and stop the pain. My face and back were streaked with yellow, the skin thoroughly oxidized. I did not go in the street by daylight for two weeks, as the appearancePage 640 of my face was dreadful. The skin, however, peeled off and new skin replaced it without any damage.

[28] On the N.Y. No. 1 wire that I worked there was an operator named Jerry Borst; he was a first class receiver and rapid sender. We made up a scheme to hold this wire so he changed one letter of the alphabet and I soon got used to it and finally we changed three letters. If any operator tried to receive from Borst he couldn’t do it, so Borst and I always worked together. Borst did less talking than any operator I ever knew. Never having seen him, I went while in N.Y. to call on him. I did all the talking, he would listen and stroke his beard and said nothing. In the evening I went over to an all-night lunch house in printing house square, which was in a basement kept by a man whom they called “Snotty Oliver”. Night Editors, including Horace Greeley and Raymond of the Times, took their midnight lunch there. When I went with Borst and another operator, they pointed out two or three men who were then celebrated in the newspaper world. The night was intensely hot and close. After getting our lunch and upon reaching the sidewalk, Borst opened his mouth and said: “That’s a h—1 of a place, a plate of cakes and a cup of coffee, and a Russian bath for 10 cents.” This was about 50% of all his conversation for two days.

[29] Towards the end of my stay in Boston, I obtained a loan of money, amounting to 800 dollars to build a peculiar kind of a duplex telegraph for sending two messages over a single wire simultaneously. The apparatus was built and I left the W.U. employ and went to Rochester, N.Y. to test the apparatus on the lines of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph between that city and N.Y., but the assistant at the other end could not be made to understand anything, notwithstanding I had written out a very minute description of just what to do. After trying for a week, I gave it up and returned to N.Y. with but a few cents in my pocket. I slept in the Battery room of the Gold Indicator Company, owned by S. S. Laws, former college professor, who had invented an instrument for indicating the price of gold in broker’s offices. I applied for a position as operator at the W.U., but had to wait a few days during which time I thoroughly studied the indicators and the complicated general sender in the office which was controlled by a keyboard manipulated by the operator on the floor of the Gold Exchange. On the third day of my arrival and while sitting in the office, the complicated general instrument for sending on all the lines and which made a very great noise, suddenly came to a stop with a crash. Within two minutes, over 300 boys (a boy from every broker in the street) rushed upstairs and crowded the long aisle and office that hardly had room for 100, all yelling that such and such broker’s indicator was out of order and to fix it it at once. It was a pandemonium, and the man in charge became soPage 641 excited that he lost control of all the knowledge he ever had. I went to the indicator and having studied it thoroughly knew where the trouble ought to be and found it. One of the innumerable contact springs had broken off and had fallen down between the two gear wheels and stopped the instrument, but it was not very noticeable. As I came out to tell the man in charge what the matter was, Mr. Laws appeared on the scene, the most excited person I have seen. He demanded of the man in charge the cause of the trouble, but the man was speechless. I ventured to say that I knew what the trouble was and he said—fix it, fix it, be quick. I removed the spring and set the contact wheels at zero and the line, battery and inspecting men, all scattered through the financial district to set the instruments. In about two hours things were working again. Mr. Laws came in and asked my name and what I was doing. I told him and he requested that I should come to his private office the next day. His office was filled with stacks of books all relating to metaphysics and kindred matters. He asked me a great many questions about the instruments and his system and I showed him how he could simplify things generally. He then requested that I should call the next day. On arrival he stated at once that he had decided to put me in charge of the whole plant and that my salary would be $300 per month. This was such a violent jump from anything that I had ever received before, that it rather fazed me for a while. I thought it was too much to be lasting, but I determined to try and live up to that salary if 20 hours a day of hard work would do it. I kept this position, made many improvements, devised several stock tickers, until the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company consolidated the Gold Indicator Company.

[30] I then went into the firm of Pope and Ashley. Mr. Ashley was the editor of a telegraph journal published for telegraph operators. While with them I devised a printer to print gold quotations, instead of indicating them. The lines were started, the whole was sold out to the Stock Telegraph Company. My experimenting was all done in the small shop of one Dr. Bradley, located near the station of the P.R.R. in Jersey City. Every night I left for Elizabeth on the 1 a.m. train and then walked one-half a mile to Mr. Pope’s home and up at 6 a.m. for breakfast to catch the 7 a.m. train. This continued all winter and many were the occasions when I was nearly frozen in the Elizabeth walk.

[31] Dr. Bradley was the first man to my knowledge who introduced the galvometer in telegraph and other work in this country. He was one of the old style experimenters, who would work for years on an instrument which he thought worth thousands, but which did not have any commercial value. His business sense was nil. He was rather old when I was at his shop and very irascible. On one occasion a wire connected to one of thePage 642 binding posts of a new galvanometer wouldn’t come out, so he yanked it, pulled the galvanometer on the floor and then jumped on it. The hobby he had at the time I was there was the ageing of raw whiskey by passing strong electric currents through it. He had arranged 20 jars with platinum electrodes held in place by hard rubber. When all was ready he filled the cells with whisky, connected his battery, locked the door of the small room in which they were placed and gave positive orders that no one should enter. He then disappeared for three days, on the 2nd day we noticed a terrible smell in the shop, as if from some dead animal. The next day the Doctor arrived and noticing the smell asked what was dead. We all thought something had gotten into his whiskey room and died. He opened it, and was nearly overcome. The hard rubber he used was, of course, full of sulphur and this being attacked by the nascent hydrogen, had produced sulphuretted hydrogen gas in torrents, displacing all of the air in the room. Sulphuretted hydrogen gas is the gas given off from rotten eggs. As the experiment was a failure, the Doctor got very irascible, and no one dared say a word when he was around. In the sale of the Company for printing gold quotations, I was entitled to $1200, but Mr. Ashley thought that amount excessive, although his part was to be 20,000 dollars profit, for which he did absolutely nothing. Thinking that perhaps I might not get anything at all, I told General Lefferts, who was at the head of the Company making the purchase, all about my relations. He said, say nothing, do nothing, leave it to me. When the deal went through, the General handed me $1500 and said that was my share, he had saved it out when he made the payment. I was attacked savagely after that by Ashley in his paper. This was about the first time I realized that human nature had a slight tinge of selfishness connected therewith. General Lefferts, who was a very prominent man at the time, being colonel of the N.Y. Seventh Regiment, was president of the Gold & Stock Telegraph Company, which supplied tickers to Wall Street and connected with various other companies. He requested me to go to work on improving the ticker he furnishing the money for the work. I made a great many inventions, one was the special ticker used for many years outside of N.Y. in the large cities. This was made exceedingly simple as the outside cities did not have the experts we had in New York to handle anything complicated. The same ticker was used on the London Stock Exchange. After I had made a great number of inventions and obtained patents, the General seemed anxious that the matter should be closed up. One day after I had exhibited and worked a successful device, whereby if a ticker should get out of unison in a broker’s office and commenced to print wild figures, it could be brought to unison from the central station and which saved the labor of manyPage 643 men and much trouble to the broker. He called me into his office and said, “Now, young man, I want to close up the matter of your inventions, how much do you think you should receive?” I had made up my mind that taking in consideration the time and the killing pace I was working that I should be entitled to $5,000, but could get along with $3,000, but when the psychological moment arrived, I hadn’t the nerve to name such a large sum, so I said, “Well, General, Suppose you make me an offer.” Then he said, “How would forty thousand dollars strike you” This caused me to come as near fainting as I ever got. I was afraid he would hear my heart beat. I managed to say that I thought it was fair. “All right, I will have a contract drawn, come around in three days and sign it, and I will give you the money.” I arrived on time, but had been doing considerable thinking on the subject, the sum seemed to be very large for the amount of work, for at that time I determined the value by the time and trouble and not what the invention was worth to others. I thought there was something unreal about it. However, the contract was handed to me, I signed without reading it. The General called in the Secretary and told him to fix it up and pay the money. I was then handed a check for $40,000 on the bank of the State of New York, which was at the corner of William and Wall Streets. This was the first check I ever had. I went to the bank and noticed the window marked “Paying Teller”, got in line with about a dozen men and a dozen messenger boys and slowly approached the window. When directly in front of the window passed in the check, he looked at it, turned it over and handed it back, making a few short remarks which I could not understand, being at that time as ever since, quite deaf. I passed outside to the large steps to let the cold sweat evaporate and made up my mind that this was another Wall Street game like those I had received over the press wire, that I had signed the contract whatever was in it, that the inventions were gone and I had been skinned out of the money. But when I thought of the General and knowing he had treated me well, I couldn’t believe it, and I returned to the office and told the secretary what occurred. He went in and told the General and both had a good laugh. I was told to endorse the check and he would send a young man down with me to identify. We went to the bank, the young man had a short conversation with the Paying Teller, who seemed quite merry over it, I presented the check and the Teller asked me through the young man, how would I have it. I said in any way to please the bank Then he commenced to pull out bundles of notes until there certainly seemed to be one cubic foot. These were passed out and I had the greatest trouble in finding room in my overcoat and other pockets. They had put a job up on me, but knowing nothing of bank customs in those days, I did not even suspect it. I went to NewarkPage 644 and sat up all night with the money for fear it might be stolen. The next day I went back with it all and told the General about it, and he laughed very gready, but said to one of his young men—Don’t carry this joke on any further, go to the bank with Edison and have him open an account and explain the matter, which I did.

[32] I have too sanguine a temperment to keep money in solitary confinement, so I commenced to buy machinery, rented a shop and got some manufacturing work to do from the first shop; I moved into a large shop Nos. 10 and 12 Ward Street, Newark. I got large orders from the General to build tickers and had over 50 men, and as orders increased I put on a night shift. I was my own foreman on both shifts, one-half hour of sleep three or four times in the twenty-four hours was all I needed. Nearly all my men were on piece work and I allowed them to make good wages and never cut until their wages became absurdly high, as they got more expert. I kept no books. I had two hooks, all the bills and accounts I owed I jabbed on one hook and memorandum of all owed to myself I put on the other. When some of the bills fell due and I could not deliver tickers to get a supply of money, I gave a note/ These notes were payable at the Germania or German National Bank, I forget which. When the notes were due, a messenger came around with the note and a protest pinned to it for $1.25. Then I would go to New York, get an advance or pay it, if I had the money. This method of giving notes for my accounts and having all the notes protested I kept up over two years, yet my credit was fine; every store I traded with was always glad to furnish goods. Perhaps in amazed admiration of my system of doing business, which certainly was new. After a time I got a bookkeeper, but never could understand or believed in it, but the business got so large I had to do it. The first three months I had the bookkeeper go over the books to find out how much we made. He reported $3,000. I gave a supper to some of my men to celebrate this, only to be told two days afterwards by this alleged accountant that he had made a mistake and that we had lost $500 instead of making $3,000, and then a few days after coming to me again and said he was all mixed up and now found we had made $7,000. I discharged him and got another man, but I never counted anything thereafter as real profits, until I had paid all my debts and had the profits in the bank. Soon after starting the large shop, I rented shop room to the inventor of a new rifle. I think it was the Berdan rifle. In any event it was a rifle, which was subsequently adopted in the British Army. The inventor employed a tool-maker who was the finest and best tool-maker I had ever seen. I noticed that he worked pretty near the whole of the twenty hours. This kind of application I was looking for. He was getting $21.50 a week and was also paid forPage 645 overtime. I asked him if he could run the shop. I don’t know, try me, he said. All right, I will give you $60.00 per week to run both shifts. He went at it. His executive ability was greater than any man I have yet seen. His memory was prodigious, conversation laconic and movements rapid. He doubled the production inside of three months, without materially increasing the pay-roll, but increasing the cutting speed of tools and by the use of various devices. When in need of rest he would lay down on a work bench, sleep twenty or thirty minutes and wake up fresh. As this was just what I could do I naturally conceived a great pride in having such a man in charge of my work, but almost everything has trouble connected with it. He disappeared one day and although I sent men everywhere that it was likely to be found, he was not discovered. After two weeks, he came into the factory in a terrible condition as to clothes and face. He sat down and turning to me said, “Edison, it’s no use, this is the third time, I can’t stand prosperity”. Put my salary back and give me a job”. I was very sorry to learn that it was whiskey that spoilt such a career. I gave him an inferior job and kept him for a long time.

[33] There worked at one time along the same bench, several men who in after years became very rich and prominent, One was S. Bergmann, who afterwards, when I invented the incandescent electric lighting system became my partner with E. H. Johnson in the large works, once at Avenue B and 17th Street, and who is now at the head of the great Bergmann Electric Works in Berlin, employing 10,000 men. Mr. Bergmann is many times a millionaire. The next man adjacent was John Kreuzi, who became an engineer of the Works of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, and now deceased. The next was Shuckhart, who left the bench and went back to Nuemberg to settle up his father’s estate, remained and started a small electrical works, which grew into the great Shuckhart Works, the third largest in Germany, employing 7,000 men. Shuckhart died worth several millions. I gave them a good training as to working hours and hustling.

[34] I started an annex shop in Mechanic Street and also in the building occupied by the Richardson Saw Works; also one on R.R. Avenue. While running these shops I was engaged by the Automatic Telegraph Co. of N.Y., who had a line running between N.Y. and Washington to help them out of their trouble. It seems they had organized a company and built a line on the strength of some experiments by an English Inventor. The apparatus worked all right on a short wire in an office, but when put on the actual line, no results could be obtained. Connected with me was E. J. Johnson, who afterwards was associated with me in Electric Lighting and the introduction of the trolley with E J. Sprague. After experimenting for several weeks, I devised newPage 646 apparatus and solved the problem of rapid transmission so we succeeded in transmitting and recording 1000 words per minute between Washington and N.Y., and 3500 words per minute between Phila. and N.Y. This system was put in commercial operation. These experiments, with running my four shops, made sleep a scarce article with me. Then the automatic Company wanted to spread out and have devised for them an automatic high speed telegraph, which would print the message in Roman letters instead of dots and dashes, and so they rented a large shop over the Gould factory in Newark, installed 25,000 dollars worth of machinery and gave me full charge. Here I devised and manufactured their instruments for commercial use and also started experiments on the Roman letter systems. I finished this and had a test between Phila. and N.Y., sending and receiving 3,000 words in one minute, and recording the same in large Roman letters. Mr. D. H. Craig, then the agent of the associated press became interested in the Company, of which Mr. J. C. Reiff was Vice President and Manager, and Geo. Harrington, former assistant Secretary U.S. Treasury, the President. Mr. Craig brought on from Milwaukee Mr. Sholes, who had a wooden model of a machine which was called a typewriter. Craig had some arrangement with Sholes and the model was put in my hands to perfect. This typewriter proved a difficult thing to get commercial, the alignment of the letters was awful, one letter would be 1/16 of an inch above the others, and all the letters wanted to wander out of line. I worked on it till the machine gave fair results. Some were made and used in the office of the Automatic Company. Craig was very sanguine that some day all business letters would be written on a typewriter. He died before that took place, but it gradually made its way.

[35] The typewriter I got into commercial shape and is now known as the Remington typewriter. About this time I got an idea I could devise an apparatus by which four messages could be simultaneously sent over a single wire, without interfering with each other. I now had five shops and with experimenting on this new scheme I was pretty busy, at least I didn’t have ennui.

TD (transcript), NjWOE, Meadowcroft. Because this transcription of Edison’s manuscript is presented only as a reference text, typographical errors have not been reproduced or noted.

B. FIRST BATCH

The following is a transcription of a typescript that Edison revised. At the top of the first page is a handwritten note: “First Batch Notes dictated by Mr Edison to T. C. Martin June,Page 647 1909.— Pencil indicates Mr. Edison’s revision”. Only one anecdote relates to the period covered by this volume.

George Little and Automatic.

[8] In 1872 an English electrician named George Little came to this country with a system of automatic telegraphy. He got interested with him George Harrington ex-Assistant treasurer of the U.S.; Erastus Corning of Albany and General Palmer of Colorado, and others, and they formed a company to exploit the invention. When they came actually to try it one a wire, they found that while as a laboratory experiment it was successful, it would not work at all on an actual circuit. I was called in to get them out of their difficulty and I devised my automatic. It was in this automatic telegraph that the first typewriters were introduced and used. I made six of them and David H. Craig of the Associated Press who was interested with Sholes, the inventor,^a was also interested in the automatic. This is the present Remington.^b

C. SECOND BATCH

The following is a transcription of a typescript that includes Edison’s revisions. At the top of the first page is a handwritten note: “Second Batch Mr Edison’s notes dictated Mr Martin June 1909 Pencil indicates revision by Mr Edison”. Only one anecdote relates to the period covered by this volume.

A Cipher Message for Thomas.

[1] When I was an operator in Cincinnati working the Louisville wire nights for a time, one night a man over on the Pittsburgh wire yelled out: “D. I. cipher” which meant that there was a cipher message from the War Department at Washington and that it was coming—and he yelled out “Louisville”. I started immediately to call up that place. It was just at the change of shift in the office. I could not get Louisville and the cipher message began to come. It was taken by the operator on the other table direct from the War Department. It was for General Thomas, at Nashville. I called for about 20 minutes and notified them that I could not get Louisville. I kept at it for about 15 minutes longer and notified them that there was still no answer from Louisville. They then notified the War Department that they could not get Louisville. Then we tried to get it by all kinds of round about ways, but in no case could anybody get them at that office. Soon a message came from the War Department to send immediatelyPage 648 for the manager of the Cincinnati office. He was brought to the office and several messages were exchanged, the contents of which, of course, I did not know, but the matter appeared to be very serious as they were afraid of General Hood of the Confederate Army who was then attempting to march on Nashville; and it was very important that this cipher of about 1200 words or so should be got through immediately to General Thomas. I kept on calling up to 12 or 1 o’clock but no Louisville. About 1 o’clock the operator at the Indianapolis office got hold of an operator on a wire which ran from Indianapolis to Louisville along the railroad, who happened to come into his office. He arranged with this operator to get a reley of^a horses, and the message was sent through Indianapolis to this operator who had engaged horses to carry the dispatches to Louisville and find out the trouble, and get the dispatches through without delay to General Thomas. In those days the telegraph fraternity was rather demoralized, and discipline was very lax. It was found out a couple of days afterwards that there were three night operators at Lousiville. One of them had gone over the^a to^b Jeffersonville and had fallen off a horse and broken his leg and was in a hospital. By a remarkable coincidence another of the men had been stabbed in a keno room and was also in hospital, while the third operator had gone to Cynthiana to see a man hung and had got left by the train!

D. BOOK NO. 2

This undated notebook, labeled “Book No. 2,” contains a mix of narrative passages, questions, and notes in Edison’s hand. The first two pages are a memo by Meadowcroft, dated 9 January 1920, recounting the preparation and use made of this material between 1907 and 1910. The next sixty-six pages alternately present narrative passages and brief references to various anecdotes, most of which relate to the period covered by this volume. The next nine-page section is labeled “Martin’s Questions.” The remaining twenty-one pages contain only notes, all of which, with the exception of a few lines transcribed below, relate to events that occurred after June 1873.

[1] Notes

[2] 〈—Dyer my wife says I am related to Perry of Battle Lake Erie fame〉

[3] On my maternal side one of ancestors was Capt Ebenezer Elliott who fought in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War =

Page 649[4] Cousin Commadore Perry.

[5] On my fathers side ancestors came from Holland— They were millers of grain on the Zuyder Zee in that Country— They landed at Elizabethport NJ & settled near or at Caldwell NJ. My grandfather was a Tory in the war of the revolution & had to flee to Nova Scotia losing all his property at Caldwell. He setldtled at Digby Nova Scotia where my father was born in 1803. My great grand father was a banker on Manhattan Island & his name is signed to Continental money

[6] (I have a bill at house with his sig)

[7] My grandfather moved to Vienna Canada. My father wsettled at Milan Ohio where he became a buyer of wheat

[8] When I was 5 years of age I was taken by my Father & mother on a visit to Vienna. We left Milan & was driven by carriage to a Railroad then to a port on the Lake Erie & thence by a Canal boat in a tow of several to Port Burril Canada from where we drove to Vienna—

[9] I remember my grandfather very perfectly when he was 102 years of age at which age he died”— [We?]In the middle of the day he sat under a large tree in front of the house facing a well travelled road, his head was covered with completely with a large amount of very white hair and (he chewed tobacco incessantly.) 〈Dont call for this〉 & nodded to friends as they passed by—he used a very large cane & walked from his chair to the house resenting any assistance. I viewed him from a distance & never could be got near very close to him—

[10] MI remember some large pipes & especially a Molasses jug which a trucktrunk & several other things which came from Holland—

[11] My great grand father reached the age of 104.

[12] My father had several brothers all of which reached the age of 90 or more my father died at the age of 94—

[15] Louisville—

[16] Louisville office. Billy Lewis—

[17] Tyler & Geo D Prentice— speech 3 am— pasting up jokes from all over us for day opr Mixer me took from main & mixer abusing him on another wire^b

[18] Treasurer of night gang— new man, hit me 2nd time at Lvl

[19] Two oprs tramps went my^c bed boots on Had printing office— took A Johnson veto Dist Col bill & presidents message same day— press gave me dinner

[20] North Amer review auction shot at by police 2nd time atLvl

[21] Room of over Lager beer saloon, machine shop— Boyd—^c Shorthand man read notes Andy Johnson speech swing around circle Full whiskey— guessed at half of it.

[22] First drank Corn whisky

Page 650[23] Got into Lvl Louisville from Memphis where dischgd for putting in Repeater NY & NO together. Foley couldnt get job I got one & after 2 days was put on press report Arrived Linen duster & Army shoes Ice in streets

[24] Left for NO— to go on c[h?]arter ship to Brazil—^d arrived [----] vessell seized advised by old man not to go back home—

[25] Memphis—

[26] Confiscated bldg— slept on floor Drunken Opr came in one night got 4 bottles ink & poured it all over evrything

[27] Next night came in & kept throwing catridges in the fire grate.

[28] Midnight Lunch Faro bank—

[29] Keno in church man in pulpit

[30] Manager in confinement, signalled & friends got him out.

[31] Confederate stationary Capitals each sheet.

[33] Sholes, CKorty= operat

[34] Repeater invented putting NY & NO in communication 1st after war— Manager had a pet supt trying do same thing I beat him Noticed in Memphis appeal—got dischgd

[35] Louisville.

[36] [-----] 2nd time at Lvl in New office— Report on blind

Point repeater— bad cable over Ohio River— 4 relays 4 sounders spilt acid— eat book up sdischarged—

[37] Went to newspaper ofs got exchanges Cut jokes & scientific items scrap book lost both— Newspaper man kind as I paragraphed late news to end even on takes

[39] Cincinnati

[40] IWorked comcl wire Di cipher Oprs gone at Lvl— etc—

[41] Then put on press wire—

[42] Working on Duplex

[43] John Morgan guerella opr— Geo R Ellsworth—^e Secret way sending messages Shop in ofs building— slept there— Cooked got run down—

[44] Presdt Lincoln message to all mayors— did know about it—

[45] Formation Union took press got promoted— worked free to learn quick considered crazy^f

[46] Savings bank Lvl Cin NY Boston Copied plays for Theatre Gilliland send I copied—

[47] Somers & I induction coil round house, nobody could touch engines—

[48] Grave yard Ft Gratiot—

[49] Notes.

[51] When boy went Sarnia see prince Wales now King Edwards— Carpets laid Expected something great Mistook DukePage 651 Cambridge for prince— Indians in war Dress Massasgua— got likcked

[52] Published paper Pt H called Paul pry

[53] Published newspaper on Train same time had chem Lab.

[54] Had 2 stores Pt H one newspaper other vegetable— bought most vegetables in Detroit, bot berries & butter along RR—

[55] Walked 8 miles buy a sounder

[56] Eber B Ward 15 miles from Ridgeway in country bears

[57] Boston. Stockings on Tremont row

[58] job got by Adams snow putting Repeater in at Pt H & Sarnia single cable— Ben T[-]ayes= got pass snowed in near Coburg— Soldier & funny stories Country Inn—

[59] Met Stanton man who threw tin box in Cincinnati ofs 2:30 am startled us all said welcome to all he had left from wkg on UPRR Boarding House Montreal, abstemous grub frozen bedroom— went with Solider

[60] Arriving Boston small black satchel Blue shirt.

[61] Saw Milliken. [----]ing, seedy clothes went wk NY No

1 same night roasted on Boston specl—

[62] Hutchinson.—

[63] Coffeeman— gambling— Harvard student

[64] Ink stand Insulator Heman Grant viscous ink^g nearly killed me— grant spent ⅓ sal breaking pitchers boarding house—

[65] Cockroach killer— paper got hold it had stop—

[66] Young ladies school— on Jordan Marsh bldg— I speechless— I never could talk to more than 4 if more present radiated something that paralized my vocal cords—

[67] Hamblets place. Chas. Williams jr— making nitrogly

[68] Started private lines—

[69] Lab over stock Exchg got up printer— Nitric acid accident.

[70] Synoid Meth Church JC & agt assd press— BC OK why not JC^h

[71] Heman grant & viscous

[72] Jerry Borst, changed letters alphabet—

[73] Haunting Cornhill old books.

[74] Boarding Adams— Adams leaves for San Fran.

[75] Breaks— shoes

[76] got Then got up a Duplex went to Rochester— Expmted bet there & ny— Chump at other end couldnt understand— sturuck ny Broke. BSlept telgh ofs—

[77] SS Laws. Gold Indicator— broke down— Hired by Laws 225 month. 375 boys— Black Friday— Opr shake hands congrat we didnt have any mony Opr a friend men in back room of Wm Belden—Jim Fisk etc—

Page 652[78] Laws sells out got up printer for Laws. G&S buys him out. went into to Partnership P & Ashley— gold printer— Sold out Genl Lefferts fixed it so got something & Then in automatic. Jay Gould line to Washn— Tailing stopped, EHJ— Then HCraig & Sholes— made 1st Remington typewriter over Goulds shops RR ave Newark— Roman letter— NY & Phila test.

[79] Kahns Museum

[80] Knew Bunnell night opr on Fre[n]ch Cable— Chicamauga junction— Capt. Van Duzer—

[81] Always saved 1 dollar for Mother—

[82] Sold bread to Norwegians— Employed extra boy— & several boys on excursions

[83] Run train from Pt H to GTR Junct Engr & fireman asleep— Mudy Eng— allowed to switch way^c frt for until got[-] into depot—

[84] Stop shoot Turkeys—

[85] One week before Christmas run off track, old cars bursted open got sick Eating

[86] Corporral of the guard No 1— Mike got in jail— I pulled Bbl over me— father got him out—

[87] 2½ years passed graveyard 12 to 1 oclock night— started horse running pass finally stopped this & at the end it got monotonous & didnt care about grave yards—

[88] Fathers Observatory— Folly that paid—

[89] Truck farming— I peddled the truck until went on train—

[90] Jumping off train at Pt H— Sand drawn by father—

[92] Milan— Lockwoods boy & I went swim he went down I waited then went home—

[93] barn on fire

[94] Set in bank. 1 suspender 40 sesions a day Employed 3 boys at Pt H nights to sell papers—

[95] Mac Walker apprentice proposition worked days & then copied press till 1 to 3 am to get expert—

[96] At St[---]ratford opr run trains head on fell culvert— string across track water between 6s— Got habit sleeping 15 min— Carter & I to Union station— W J Spicer threat send me to stprison at Kingston Oppertune arrival 2 English swells grt joy on part Spice— Physiological moment left for Lowe Frt station caboose & USA— 1½ dolls weak board fell in culvert.

[97] Battle Pittsburgh Landing. Wilbur F Story 1000 papers—

[98] Telegh from James Clancy to mine sent news to Father &

[99] got chemical appartis made Pullman shops Detroit—

[100] Alow Tried acquire habit reading several words at once, so could read rapidly—

Page 653[131] G&Stock Co 40000 for sale pats Bank wldnt pay check—

[155] 5 shops nNewark

[173] After being discharged from Memphis for devising a repeater to permit NY & New Orleans to talk together the first after the war I went to Louisville— (recited before under questions) & obtained a job on the associated press wire = At that time the Telgh^c office operating room was in a deplorable condition. It was on the 2nd story of a delapidated building on the principal street with the battery room in the rear behind which was the office of the agt of the assoctd press—

[174] The plastering was about ⅓rd gone from the ceiling— a small stove used occasionally in the winter was connected to the chimney by a tortaraous stovepipe the office was never cleaned—

[175] The switchboard for manipulating the wires was about 24 inches square the brass connections of which were black with age & the effects of Lightning which seemed to be particularly partial to Louisville It would strike in one the wires at times with an explosion like a Cannon making that office no place for an opr with the heat disease—

[176] Arranged arround the wall were a dozen tables the ends next to the wall & about the size of those one smeets with in country hotels bedrooms for holding the bowl & pitcher for washing

[177] The copper wire connecting the instruments to the switchboard were small & apparantly were crystalized & rotten

[178] The battery room was filled with old books & messages & 100 cells of Nitric acid batteries arranged on a stand in the center of the room This stand as well as the floor was almost eaten thru by the acid

[179] At the time I took the position there was a great shortage of telegh oprs.

[180] One night at 2 am, myself and one other opr was on duty I taking press report & the other work man working the NY wire we heard a heavy tramp tramp tramp on the ricketty stairs, suddenly the door was flung open with great violence throwing it off one of its hinges There appeared one of the best operators we had who worked days & who was of a very quiet a taciturn disposition except when intoxicated, he was a great friend of the manager of the office—

[181] His eyes were blood shot & wild, one sleeve had been torn away from his coat. Without noticing either of us he went up to the stove & kicked it over. The stovepipe fell & dislocated at every joint, it was ½ full of exceedingly fine soot which filled the room completely this produced a momentarily respite to his labors— When the room had cleared sufficiently to see he wentPage 654 around & pulled every table away from the wall & pilled them on top of the the stove in the middle of the room— then he proceeded to pull the switchboard away from the wall. It was held tightly by 4 screws, he finnally succeeded & when it gave way he fell with the board & striking on a table cut himself so that he soon became covered with blood He then proceeded to the battery room & knocked all the batteries off on the floor—The Nitric acid ecommenced to ecombine with the plaster in the room below which was the Public receiving room for messages & bookeeping The excess acid poured through & eat up the account books

[182] After having finished everything to his satisfaction he left—

[183] I told the other operator to Ido nothing & we would wait & leave things just as they were until the manager came

[184] In the meantime I knew all the wires coming through to the switchboard rigged up a temporary set [-]so the NY business could be cleared up & also got the remainder of the press—

[185] At 7 oclock the day men commenced to appear they were told to go down stairs & wait the coming of the manager at 8 oclock he appeared ewalked around went into battery room & then came up to me saying Edison who did this

[186] I told [-]him Billy L came in full of soda water & invented the ruin before him—

[187] He walked back & forward about a minute then coming up to my table brot his f [--]ist down & said If Billy L ever does this again I will discharge him—

[188] It it needless to say that there were other oprs that took advantage of this kind of discipline & I had many calls at night [--]tafter that but not with such destructive results.

[189] I remember with great satisfaction the discussions between the then celebrated journalist & poetⁱ Geo D Prentice who was at that time editor of the Louisville journal & Mr Tyler of the associated press. Prentice would come I believe was the father of the [---]humorous paragraghs of the american newspaper, he was a poet, highly educated & a brilliant talker = Tyler also but he was very thin & small & I do not think he weighed over 125 lbs Teyler who was a graduate of Harvard [----] & had a very clear ennunciation was a large man^j After the pres paper had gone to press prentice would generally come over to Tylers office & start in talking, having while in Tylers office heard them arguing on immortality of the soul etc asked permission of Mr Tyler if after going to press I might come in & listen to the conversation which I did many times after One curious thing I never could comprehend was that Tyler had a side board with liquors & generally crackers. Prentice would pour out half a glass of what they called corn whiskey & would dip the crackers in itPage 655 & eat them Tyler took it sans food, one teaspoonful of this stuff would put me to sleep—^k

[190] It was the practice of the press oprs all over the country at that time tehat when a lull occurred to start in & send jokes or stories the day men had collected & these were copied & pasted up on the bulletin board— When Cleveland which was the originating off for press which it received from NY & sent it out simultaneously to Milwaukee Chicago Toledo Detriot Pittsburgh Columbus Dayton Cincinnati Indianapolis, Vincennes Terre Haute, St Louis & Louisville— Cleaveland would call first on Milwaukee if he had anything if so he would send it^c & Cleveland would repeat to all of us Thus any joke originating anywhere in that area was known the next day all over— The press men would come in & copy anything that could be published which was about 3 per cent I collected too^c quite a large scrap book but unfortunately lost it

[191] While in Louisville the 2nd time It was the practice of the night force to go off on a picnic once a week either to Jeffersonville or New Albany on these occasions I was made treasurer taking charge of the whole of the funds [possessed?] by each man This was a matter of precaution as some were not able to gauge exactly their capacity for Liquor & as I did not drink I could [-----] was used as a sort of an Alcoholometer & refused to advance money when the limit was reached¹ the last occasion that I acted as treasurer was the joining of the outfit by a new man from Illinois— He was told of^c the custom & gave me his money. He became drunk frisky^c with such rapidity that it surprised me & I refused to advance money whereupon I was knocked down & considerably battered before the rest of the party could intervene which they did the memenb member from Illinois was rendered unconcious I gave up this form of amusement thereafter—^f

[192] While at Lvl the 1st time, & working on the press wire the occasion arose to take the Presidients message & at the same time Andrew Johnsons vet long winded veto of the District of Columbia bill— The conjunction of these two long messages was due to the fact that the Presidents message although printed & mailed to the postmasters throughout the country & to be given out on a fixed day, thru some failure of the mail could was not & could not reach Louisville in time for publication so it had to be sent from Cincinnati west—

[193] The manager had arranged with me to come around at 10 oclock in the morning & take the veto message which made about 11 columns of [--]a newspaper before I had finished this it became known that the Presdt Regular Message to Congress must also be received by telegh & I was asked if I thought I could do it I said I thought I could, the last ½ column of the veto wasPage 656 taken by another Opr & I started on the big message which was filled^c I think two pages of the newspaper, towards the end of the message I introduced a novelty which was greatly appreciated by the newspaper people. This conesisted in paragraghing the copy or swriting it in sections so that th called by the printers “takes” These sections made exactly three lines in the^c printed column, and to make the a good appearance there should not be to few or too many words The night editor eewhen the copy was read from the telegh ofs run his shears between these sections & t these were divided up among a dozen printers by this division of labor a column could be set up quickly & releived the Editor from doing it himself— I was 15 hours in the chair on this occasion without a moments intermission for food.

[194] For this I was given a dinner by the newspaper [-]men

[195] I never had much of a a high opinion of Andy Johnson after that I believed he talked too much [Especially as he had been copying some of his speeches from?] no

[196] While at Louisville the 2nd time— I attended an auction one day and bought 20 unbound^c volumes of the North American Review for 2 dollars— these I had bound & delivered to the telegh office.— One morning after the papers had getting through the press I took 10 volumes on my shoulder & started for home It was rather dark & while nearing home which was a room above a saloon I heard a shot & stopped, a policeman run up & grabed me by the throat, fortunately I knew him & He had yelled but I being rather^c deaf did not hear & he brot me to by the shot He supposed I had stolen the books, through all my travels I have preserved those books & have them now in my Library—

[197] While at Lvl I got for the 1st time an insight as to how speeches were reported. The associated press had a short hand man travelling with Presdt Johnson when he made his clcelebrated wswing arround the circle in a private train delivering speeches— The man engaged me to write out from his reading the notes. He came in loaded & on the verge of incoherence— we started in. about every 2 minutes I would have to scratch out whole paragraphs & insert the same thing said in another & better way— he would frequently change words, always to the improvement of the speech. I couldnt understand this & when I had we got thru & I had copied about 5 columns I asked him that if he read from notes why these changes “Sonny” said he if these politicians were report had their speeches published as they delivered them a great many short hand men would be out of a job The best short handers are those & the holders of good positions are those who can take a lot of rambling incoherent stuff & make a rattling good speech out of it This man was one of the most unique characters I ever saw

Page 657[198] When I left Louisville for the 1st time I with 2 other telegh oprs had saved up money & started to take position in the gBrazillian Telegh as an advt had been inserted in some paper stating that oprs were wanted. We We had timed our departure from Louisville so as to catch a specially chartered steamer which was to leave N Orleans for Brazil on a certain day to convey a large number of Confederates & families who disgusted with the US were going to settle in Brazil— We arrived just at the time of the great riot where several hundred negroes were killed & the city was in the hands of a mob— The Govt had seized the steamer we intended to go in for to bring troops from the Yazoo river to N Oreleans to stop the rioting— myself & companions visted another shipping office to make inquiries as to the possibility of going to Brazil in other vessels While in this office an extremely old man sat in a chair near the desk of the agent, after making inquiries & finding it impossible to find a vessell, The old man turned to me & asked why I wanted to go to Brazil I told him whereupon he got up from his chair & shaking his boney finger in my face said that he had sailed the sea for 50 years & had been in every port in every country that there was no country like the US that if there was anything in a man the US was the place to bring it out & that any [money?] man that left this country to better his condition was an ignorent damned fool. I had been thinking this way myself for the last few days & the speech of the old man I considered good advice So I etold my companions that I was going home, tebut they were bound to go somewhere & I learned was told^m afterwards that both had gone to Vera Cruz & died of yellow fever.

[199] 2nd time in Louisville they had moved into a new office & the dicipline was now good. I took the press job, in fact I was a very poor sender, and therefore made the taking of press report a speciality. The newspaper men allowed me to come over after going to press at 3 am & get all the Exchanges I wanted these I would take home & lay at the foot of the bed. I never slept more than 4 tor 5 hours so I would [work?] awake at 9 or 10 & read those papers till dinner time As I thus kept posted & knew from their activity every member of Congress & what committees they were on & all about the topical doings as well as the prices of dif breadstufs in all the primary markets, I was in a much better position than most operators to call on my imagination to supply missing words & sentences which frequent in those days with old rotten wires badly insulated especially on stormy nights— on these nights I had to supply in some cases ⅕ of the whole matter—pure guessing but but I seldom got caught except once There had been some kind of [an meetin?] a convention in Virginia in which John Minor Botts was the leading figure, there was great excitement about it and there had beenPage 658 two votes taken on the 2 days of the convention. There was not doubt but the vote the next day would go the same a certain way My A very bad storm came up about 10 oclock at night I my wire worked very bad. then there was a cessation of all signals then I made out the words Minor Botts The next was a N York item— I filled in a paragraph about the convention & that how^c the vote went as I was sure it would but the next day I learned that instead of there being a vote the convention had adjourned one day^f

[200] while One night I went into the new battery room to get some sulphuric acid for a battery I had made. The carboy slipped & I couldnt lift it back so about 4 gallons of acid started in to leak through to the private office of the manager below. In the morning I was notified to appear before the manager He said that he couldnt afford to keep me any longer & I left for Cincinnati where I for the 2nd time got a job ea& in few days was put on” the press wire

[201] 1st job—

[202] After leaving Stratford junction, I got a position as operator on the Lakeshore & Michigan Southern at Adrian Mich [working?--- ----] in the [—] Division Supts office, as usual I took [---]the night job which most oprs disliked but which I preferred as it gave me more leisure to Experiment. I had obtained from the station agent a small room & had established a little shop of my own. one day the day opr wanted to get off & I was on duty, about 9 oclock the Supt handed me a dispatch which he said was very important & I must get it off at once the wire at the time was very busy & I asked if I should break in & got orders to do so° but acting under the orders of the supt I broke in & tried to send the dispatch but the other opr would not permit it & the struggle continued for 10 minutes. I finally got possession of the wire & sent the message in about 20 minutes the Supt of Telegh who then lived in Adrian but & went to his office in Toledo every day happened this day to be in the WU office up town & it was the Supt who I was struggling with. He was livid with rage when he arrived^p & discharged me on the spot. I told him the Genl Supt told me to break in & send the dispatch he then turned to the Supt who had witnessed this burst of anger’ & said Mr H did you tell this young man to break in & send your dispatch he repudiated the whole thing— Their families were socially close & I became a wanderer was sacrificed^r My faith in human nature got [-------------- ------- ----- ---- ------------ ----] got a slight jar—

[203] I then went to Toldeo Toledo & got a job at Ft Wayne Ind on the Pittsburgh Ft Wayne & Chicago RR now leased to the PRR— This was a day job & I did not like it I then got a place in the WU office at Ind W Union office in Indianapolis—workingPage 659 a way wire [-] but I was very ambitious to be able to take press report, while the position was a day position I cou taking no interest in anything except the telegh came around every night & on an adjoining table copied to the regular press opr would copy press until about i am & then go home I was but it came faster than I could write it down legibily— at this time I conceived the idea of taking two old Morse Registers which recorded the dots & dashes by indenting a continuous strip of paper the indenting point being worked by a lever & magnet [-]I arranged these 2 instruments so I could receive the regular press signals at high spee their regular rate & record the same on the strip of paper of course I could have read & copied^s the signals from the paper but taking by sound was the ambition of all oprs the old Registers being obsolete, but but I arranged the second register [-]so that the strip passing through it the indentations were made to actuate a delicate double lever causing the cir Local circuit of a sounder or receiving instrum to be opened & closed corresponding exactly to the original signals This it did with great perfection When press was coming over the wire the primary register recorded them at the rate of 40 words per minute. The paper strip passing into the 2nd Register repeated these signals audibly on the sounder but at the rate of 25 or 30 words per minute according to the speed of the clockwork, which could be varied at pleasure. [-]by the aid of another day^c opr who was ambitious I got permission from the press man’ to put this in circuit & together we took press for several nights my companion keeping the apparatus in adjustment, & I copying. The reg Press opr would go to the theatre or take a sleep— only finishing the report after 1 am— Soon thone of the newspapers complained of bad copy etc towards the end of the report ie^u from 1 am till 3 & requested that the opr taking the report up to 1 am which was ourselves^v take it all (ourselves) as the copy was unobjectionable. This led to an investigation by the manager & the scheme was forbidden Of course having more time I could make better copy than the regular opr

[204] This instrument many years afterwards was applied by me to teleghy for transferring messages from one wire to any other wire simultaneously or after any interval of time. It consisted of a disk of paper the indentations being formed in a volute spiral exactly as the disk phonghs of today & it was this instrument which gave me the idea of the phonograph while working on the Telephone—^f

[205] Not liking Indianapolis I obtained a situation in Cthe WU ofs in Cincinnati on a way wayire as a plug opr. Operators were designated ist class oprs & plug oprs, the latter being inefficient & there was very little association socially between the two classes.

Page 660[206] TI worked a wire which ran to Portsmouth Ohio. I kept up the practice of coming around nights to copy press & would willingly act as a substitute for any opr who wanted to get off for a few hours The few hours in most cases meant all night, however I didnt care, requiring little sleep but I was bound to become proficient in the very shortest time. The salary I received was 80 dollars per month I made some extra by copying plays for the theatre, by using the telegh.

[207] Whil One night I came around and was working a local wire when the little Dutch boy who carried press came up in the office & said Lincoln was shot Nobody believed him but he stoutly maintained that it was on the bulletin board at the Inquirer office & that there was a big crowd in the street. We found that it was true & that one of the oprs had taken a short special from Washington without sensing it, probably thinking of his girl or something else which is not unusual, some oprs become so expert that they work unconciously I knew of an instance where a press opr fell asleep & still continued to write it down correctly, the manifold boy guiding his hand when it his agate stylus^w got over the edge of the [-]sheet & he^c was working writing on the table. This peculiar state of the brain doing intellectual work unconciously should be investigated

[208] This same night about 10 oclock we received & sent from Washington & long message which was sent to every mayor in Ohio notifying them of the death of the president.

[209] Sometime after this the oprs at Cleveland started in to form a Union of all the oprs in the US, to be called the Telegraphers Union of the US.

[210] A committee of 3 were to come to Cinncinnati to init form & initiate the [-]oprs here At that time there were 8 oprs working nights, the formation of the Union resulted in a jollification The imbibing of large quantities of Brewery Serum although most of the men was immune to that anesthetic & only 2 men turned up for work, among the missing was the press opr— When Cleveland called up the different cities & Cincinnati signal came for press^x I made up my mind that I would te try my hand at it as some report was better than none at all, and that I couldnt see how I would be discharged for the attempt & to prevent delaying the report by interrupting for repetitions I determined I would get what I could & not interrupt.

[211] An agate stylus was used and 5 copies were taken simultaneously by the use of oiled tissue & black paper One copy was an office copy to settle disputes.

[212] I stuck to the wire till 3 am—the ecopy looked fine if viewed as a whole as I could write a perfectly straight line across the wide sheet which was not ruled, and there were no flourishes but the individual words would not bear close inspection. WhenPage 661 I missed a understanding a word there was no time to think what it was so I made the an illegible one to fill in trusting to the printers to sense it I knew they could read anything because Mr Bloss an Editor of the Inquirer made such bad copy that one of his editorials in manuscript was pined pasted up on the notice board in the office with an offer te of i dollar to any man who could read twenty consecutive words, nobody ever did it. When I got through [-]I was too nervous to go home so waited the balance of the night for the day manager Mr Stevens to arrive to see what was to be the outcome of this Union formation & my efforts He was an austere man & I was afraid of him—

[213] I read the morning papers which were [-]came out about 4 am & the press report read perfectly which greatly surprised me [------------] I went to work and th on my regular wire. there was considerable excitement but nothing was said to me neither did Mr Stevens examine the copy on the office hook which I was watching with great interest. However about 3 pm he went up to the hook grabbed the whole, looked at it as a whole without examining it in detail for which I was thankful^y & jabbed it back on the hook I knew then I was all right. He then walked over to me & said young man I want you to work the Louisville wire nights your salary will be 125. Thus I got from the plug classification to that of a ist class man.

[214] While working at Stratford Junction Canada, I was told by one of the freight conductors that in the freight depot at Goodrich there was a heap several boxes old broken up battery I went there & found over 80 cells of Groves nitric acid battery one of the electrodes of each cell being made of sheet platinum— The operator there who was also agent when asked if I could have the tin part of these batteries readily gave his permission thinking they were tin I removed them all amounting to several oz— [---] platinum was even in those days very expensive & I only owned 3 strips. &I was overjoyed at this acquisition & these strips & the reworked scrap are used to this day in my laboratory over 40 years

[215] After working at Cincinnati (ist time) for several months a friend of mine at Memphis teleghd me that he could get me a job at Memphis Tenn. as I wanted to see the country I accepted it & went to work nights on the N York side. The telegh was still under Military Control not having been turned over to the original owners the Southern Telegh Co but [----- -- --- -- -------] in addition to the regular force there was an extra force of 2 or 3 operators & some stranded ones which was a burden to us as board was high— One of the stranded oprs was a great source of worry to me he would come in at all hours & either throw ink around, or make a lot of noise, one night he built a fire in the grate & started to throw pistol catridges in thesePage 662 would explode & I was twice hit by the bullets which left a black & blue mark, another night he came in & got from some part of the building a lot of stationary with Confederate states printed on head He was a fine operator & wrote a beautiful hand. He would take all a sheet write A then Capital A then another sheet with the A made another way, & so on through the alphabet, each time crumpling the paper up in his hand & throwing it on the floor— He would keep this up until the room was filled nearly flush with the tables then he would quit.

[216] Everything at that period was wide open demoralization reigned supreme, there was no head to anything. At night myself & companion would go over to a gorgeously furnished Faro bank & get our midnight lunch. Th[--] Everything was free

[217] there was over twenty keno rooms running one of them that I visited was in a [method?] Baptist Church The man with the revolving wheel being in the pulpit & the gamblers in the pews. I was rather pleased than otherwise when I was discharged for the invention of the repeater

[218] While there the manager was arrested for somtething I never understood & incarcerated in a military prison about ½ mile from the office, the building was in th in plain site of the office & 4 stories high^z He was strictly incommincado. One day thinking he might be confined in a^c room facing the office I put my arm out of the window & kept signalling dots & datshes by the movement of the arm. I tried this aseveral times for two days finally he noticed it & putting his arm out through the bars of the window^aa we established communication he sent several messages to his friends & was afterwards set free

[219] When working in Cincinnati the 2nd time the office had been moved & the discipline was very much better— I was put on press nights which just suited me I rented a room in the top floor of an office building bought a cot & an oil stove bought a foot lathe & some tools & cultivated the acquaintance of Mr Sommers supt of telegh of the Cinncinnati & Indianapolis RR who gave me permission to take such scrap apparatus as I desired & which was of no use to the Co— Sommers was a very witty man & fond of experimenting himself & we worked on a self adjusting Telegh Relay which would have been very valuable if we could have got it. I soon became the possessor of a second hand Rhumkoff induction Coil which although it would only give a small spark would twist the arms & clinch the hands of a man so he couldnt let go of the electrodes, both Sommers & I were delighted with this apparatus one day we went down to the round house of the RR & get behind connected up the spring^c wash tank in the room with the coil one electrode going to Earth— above this [---]atwash room was [----] a flat roof, we bored a hole through the roof & could see the men as they came in— the ist man that came in dipped in the water the floorPage 663 being wet formed a circuit & up went his hands he tried it the second time with the same result, he then stood against the wall & had a puzzled Expression, we surmised that he was waiting to for somebody else to come in which was shortly after, with the same result, they then went out & soon the place was crowded & there was considerable excitement various theories were broached to explain this curious phenomenon We enjoyed the sport immensely

[220] Not long after this the came to work at Cincinnati office a man by the name of Geo R Ellsworth. This man was the telegh opr of Morgan the Confederate Guerella General who gave so much trouble to the Union by raiding & capturing or destroying^bb stores El Ellsworth tapped wires, read messages & sent false ones, and did an immense amount of mischief generally by his superior ability as an Opr [-]It is well known that one opr can recognize another by the way he makes his signals & [-]Ellsworth possessed the art of imitating these peculiarities & therefore he easily deceived the Union Operators We soon became acquainted & he wanted teme to^c invent a secret method of sending dispatches so an intermediate operator could not tap the wire & understand it He said that if it could be accomplished he could sell it to the government & get a large amount of money, this suited me & I started in & succeeded in making such an instrument which had the germ of the Quadruplex in it aft Thafter-wards invented by myself & now generally used throughout the world This apparatus Quadruplex^c permitted the sending of 4 messages over one wire simultaneously. By the time I had succeeded in getting the apparatus to work Ellsworth suddenly disappeared & it was only years afterwards that I heard that the Tameness of a telegh office was obnoxious (& perhaps other reasons^cc & that he had become a gun man in the panhandle of Texas & had been killed, from his appearance I never would have thought such a thing possible Many years afterwards I used this little device again for the same purposes At Menlo Park NJ I had my Laboratory, there were several WU wires cut into the office [----] Lab which was used by me in experimenting with nights one day I sat near an instrument which I had left connected during the night. The wire I soon found was a private wire between NY or Phila & I heard among a lot of stuff a message which surprised me. a week after that I had occasion to go to NYork & visited the NY office of the lessee. I told him asked him if he hadnt sent such a message the expression that came over his face was a sight he asked me how I knew of any message I then told him the circumstances & suggested that he better cipher such communications or put on a secret sender, the finality of the interview was that I installed my old Cincinnati apparatus &which was used thereafter for many^c years—

[221] Martins Questions

Page 664[222] While working in NY for WU you are said to have stayed & slept in its shop or laboraty all times, have u any recolctn—^f

[223] Its said you started Lab of ur own on getting Laws position— where was it was it not fm tr u moved to Newark shop—^f

[226] Do u recal exact condition when u helped out the Laws gold system & got berth for so doing R W Pope gives brief interesting account of it

[227] Date of that occurance seems to been Black Friday Sept 4 1869— Had u bn long in NY before that day & how did you happen to be in Laws headqutrs

[228] Do u recall anything abt ur ist residence or workshop in NY

[229] Mention is made of a trip to Rochester NY in 1869 to try your duplex on Lines of Pacific & Atlantic see Dicksons book p 56-7) This seems all wrong F L Pope is named as assisting—^f

[233] Any recollections of John Kruezi The family appears to have been few if any records of his. He wasnt kind of man to keep diary but always ready to talk about those early days—

[236] Are any details u recollect abt Murray, he seems to have been a good associate & stand by^f

[237] Did WU put up money at this time or did u have outside customers—^f

[239] The period 1871-7 began ur active tkg out patents abt a fortnight ever since Wld like remarks on patent & patent system its utility or futility—could we get along without it How could it be improved Has it not been of some real benefit to you If you could collect all the royalties justly due what would it amount to & how much have you actually got

[244] In early days of telegh didnt lots opr knock around country as you did it seems to have been one of the habits had it anything to do with the war Did the Civil war impress you much.

[245] Geo L Anders in Wms shop

[246] Adams says— going along sts Boston I wld say Milt do you see anything I cld apply elec to^f

[247] Liar—^f

[250] Is it true you worked upon the typewriter at any early stage of its development—^f

[252] Who was Geo Harrington ft are there any details or annecdotes abt him Delany comes later What about him— What was his actual share of the work were they forerunners of Batchelor—

[266] Geo Little got people into auto & failed— I brot in to save the day. Expmts. E H J. Delany Charleston— pie— typewriter Craig asscd press—

Page 665[269] Dean at Newark & at Goerck—

[272] Carrol D Wright took out ist pat—

[280] Black friday Wm Belden— opr back end 60 Bdway

[317] 1873 visit English PO Test. Telgh st. Think I have this—

[379] Supplied funds to Thau & Herman took no paper He repudiated whole thing

E. NOTES

Taken from a notebook that has five pages in Edison’s hand, these “Notes” are numbered consecutively from 1 to 33.

[13] 13 Geo Little, got Geo H ex asst Tresr US & others Genl Palmer & others by Lab expts which were failures when teried on actual lines— I was called in— pie. Typewriter. DH Craig Assd Press

[19] 19 = Carrol D Wright, took out ist pat Vote Recorder #

F. NOTES

This notebook includes sixteen pages in an unlabeled section in Edison’s hand relating to the Dyer and Martin biography. They are preceded by a memo to Edison from William Meadowcroft dated “June 28/09” stating that the notes on the following pagePage 666 had been copied. Only three items concern events during the period covered by this volume. There is a typed version of the notes in the William H. Meadowcroft Collection at the Edison National Historic Site. The last fifteen pages are a biographical sketch of Edison’s former employee Sigmund Bergmann.

[1] What was matter with episode about War dept cypher for Genl Thomas when Hood was raiding Tenn & Lousiville officer couldnt be reached by wire this is historical & interesting—

[3] My version of the stocking in Boston^a Episode it appears to me is better put than you have it & its actually true—

[4] The J. C. Synod episode left out, also Kahn museum—