CHAPTER XXV
THE GENIUS OF THE AGE
"I want to tell you something more about the personal side of this greatman," continued the voice from the horn.
"One of the striking things about Thomas Alva Edison is his gameness. Inthis respect he has been greater than Napoleon, who was not always a'good loser,' for he had come to regard himself as bound to win, whetheror no; so when everything went against him, he expressed himself bykicking against Fate. But when Edison saw the hard work of nine yearswhich had cost him two million dollars vanish one night in a suddenstorm, he only laughed and said, 'I never took much stock in spiltmilk.'
"When his laboratories were burned or he suffered great reverses, Edisonconsidered them merely the fortunes of war. In this respect he was mostlike General Washington, who, though losing more battles than he gained,learned to 'snatch victory from the jaws of defeat,' and win immortalsuccess.
"Some of Edison's discoveries were dramatic and amusing. During histelephone experiments he learned the power of a diaphragm to take upsound vibrations, and he had made a little toy that, when you talkedinto the funnel, would start a paper man sawing wood. Then he came tothe conclusion that if he could record the movements of the diaphragmwell enough he could cause such records to reproduce the movementsimparted to them by the human voice.
"But in place of using a disk, he got up a small machine with a cylinderprovided with grooves around the surface. Over this some tinfoil was tobe placed and he gave it to an assistant to construct. Edison had butlittle faith that it would work, but he said he wanted to get up amachine that would 'talk back.' The assistant thought it was ridiculousto expect such a thing, but he went ahead and followed the directionsgiven him. Edison has told of this:
"'When it was finished and the foil was put on, I shouted a verse of"Mary had a little lamb" into the crude little machine. Then I adjustedthe reproducer, which when he began to operate it, proceeded to grindout--
"'Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow,And everywhere that Mary went, The lamb was sure to go'
"with the very quality and tones of my voice! We were never so taken backin our lives. All hands were called in to witness the phenomenon and,recovering from their astonishment, the boys joined hands and dancedaround me, singing and shouting in their excitement. Then each yelledsomething at the machine--bits of slang or slurs--and it made them roarto hear that funny little contraption 'sass back!'
"Edison has always had a saving sense of humor. Though such a driver forwork--sometimes twenty hours a day seemed too short and they oftenworked all of twenty-four,--there was not unfrequently a jolly,prank-playing relaxation among the employees in the laboratory. If somefellow fell asleep and began snoring the others would get a record of itand play it later for the culprit or they would fix up a 'squawkophone'to outdo his racket. Most amusing was Edison's means of taking a shortnap by curling up in an ordinary roll-top desk, and then turning overwithout falling out.
"Everybody knows Edison really invented the telephone--that is, he madeit work perfectly and brought it to the greatest commercial value, sothat a billion men, women and children are using it in nearly all thelanguages and dialects in the civilized world. But he was very carefulto give Dr. Alexander Graham Bell credit for his original work on thisgreat invention.
"When a friend on the other side of the Atlantic wired that the Englishhad offered 'thirty thousand' for the rights to one of Edison'simprovements to the telephone for that country, it was promptlyaccepted. When the draft came the inventor found, much to his surprise,that it was for thirty thousand _pounds_--nearly one hundred and fiftythousand dollars.
"The phonograph or talking machine has been considered one of Edison'sgreatest inventions, but it does not compare in importance and valuewith the electric incandescent burner light. This required manythousands of experiments and tests to get a filament that would burnlong enough in a vacuum to make the light sufficiently cheap to competewith petroleum or gas. During all the years that he was experimenting ondifferent metals and materials for the electric light which was yet tobe, in a literal sense, the light of the world, he had men hunting inall countries for exactly the right material out of which the carbonfilament now in use is made. Thousands of kinds of wood, bamboo andother vegetable substances were tried. The staff made over fiftythousand experiments in all for this one purpose. This illustrates theart and necessity of taking pains, one of Mr. Edison's greatestcharacteristics. The story of producing electric light would fill a bigvolume.
"When the proper filament was discovered and applied there was greatrejoicing in the laboratory and a regular orgy of playing pranks andfun.
"The philosophers say we measure time by the succession of ideas. Ifthis is true the time must have been longer and seemed shorter inEdison's laboratories than anywhere else. The great inventor seldomcarried a watch and seemed not to like to have clocks about.
"Soon after he was married, the story went the rounds of the press thatwithin an hour or two after the ceremony, Edison became so engrossedwith an invention that he forgot that it was his wedding day. Edison hasdeclared this story to be untrue.
"'That's just one of the kind of yarns,' said the inventor laughing,'that the reporters have to make up when they run short of news. It wasthe invention of an imaginative chap who knows I'm a littleabsent-minded. I never forgot that I was married.
"'But there was an incident that may have given a little color to such astory. On our wedding day a lot of stock tickers were returned to thefactory and were said to need overhauling.
"'About an hour after the ceremony I was reminded of those tickers andwhen we got to our new home, I told my wife about them, adding that Iwould like to walk down to the factory a little while and see if theboys had found out what was the matter.
"'She consented and I went down and found an assistant working on thejob. We both monkeyed with the machines an hour or two before we gotthem to rights. Then I went home.
"'My wife and I laughed at the story at first, but when we came acrossit about every other week, it began to get rather stale. It was one ofthose canards that stick, and I shall be spoken of always as the man whoforgot his wife within an hour after he was married.'
"A similar yarn was told of Abraham Lincoln, which was equally false,but even more generally believed.
"Out of a multitude of labor savers and world-beaters--and world savers,too!--to be credited to Mr. Edison, it is impossible to mention morethan these:
"The quadruplex telegraph system for sending four messages--two in eachdirection--at the same time; the telephone carbon transmitter; thephonograph; the incandescent electric light and complete system;magnetic separator; Edison Effect now used in Radio bulbs; giant rockcrushers; alkaline storage battery; motion picture camera. These are butfew of Edison's inventions, but they are giving employment to over amillion people and making the highest use of billions of dollars.
"With Mr. Edison's modesty it is difficult to get him to talk of therelative importance of his inventions, but he has expressed the opinionthat the one of most far-reaching importance is the electric lightsystem which includes the generation, regulation, distribution andmeasurement of electric current for light, heat and power. The inventionhe loves most is the phonograph as he is a lover of music. He haspatented about twelve hundred inventions.
"Recent developments are proving that the moving picture, because of itseducational and emotional appeal is the greatest of them all. It isestimated that more than one hundred millions of people go to one ofthese shows once every seven days, which is equivalent to every man,woman and child in the United States of America going to a movie once aweek. The motion picture reaches, teaches and preaches to more people inAmerica than all the schools, churches, books, magazines and newspapersput together, and when it teaches, it does it in a vivid way that livepeople like.
"Political campaigns are beginning to be carried on with the silverscreen for a platform. Writers in great magazines are proving, on theauth
ority of the Japanese themselves, that the American moving pictureis re-making Japan. Another, who has studied the signs of the times,asserts that the only way to bring order out of chaos in Russia is bymeans of the motion picture.
"Comparisons are of times odious, but not in this case, for there is noman living, nor has there ever lived a man, except the Great Teacher,who has more greatly and generally benefited humanity or cast a strongerlight upon the processes of civilization than Thomas Alva Edison."
At the close of another musical number there was a general expectationof dismissal, a shuffling of feet and a murmur of voices. This waschecked suddenly by Bill. The boy had been near the receiver all thewhile, on the chance of being needed in case of mishap, or for a sharper"tuning in"; now he got what the others did not and rising he let out ayell:
"Everybody quiet! Something else!" and in the instant hush was heard thecompletion of an announcement:
"--Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts and other organizations of kindrednature, upon their urgent invitation. We are making this announcementnow for the fourth and last time in the hope that it may be universallyreceived. Mr. Edison will now probably be here within an hour from thisminute. All the youth of the land who may avail themselves of radioservice will please respond and listen in. In a warmly appreciativesense this must be a gala occasion."
"That's all, folks; I'm certain." Bill shouted the school yell and theclass year: "Umpah, umpah, ho, ho; it's up to you, Fairview, 1922!"Then: "Bring 'em all back here, Gus."
But not one of them needed urging nor reminding. Separating themselvesfrom the rapidly diminishing and retreating audience came Ted, Terry,Cora, Dot, Grace, with Skeets as a guest, Bert Haskell, Mary Dean, LemUpsall, Walt Maynard, Lucy Shore and Sara Fortescue, the entire buncheagerly attentive. They crowded around Bill and Gus and were well awareof the purpose.
"Sure, we'll all be here, I'll bet a cow!" shouted Ted.
"Dot and I could listen in on our own radio," said Cora. "We've got itfinished and it works fine and dandy, Billy. We want you and Gus andeverybody to come over and try it. But we'll join in with the class onthis; eh, Dot?"
"Sure will," agreed Dot. "Ours is only a crystal set, but it has someimprovements you boys haven't seen. Wait till we get it all done, andwe'll give you a spread and a surprise."
"Say, Bill, this thing's great," Terry said. "Father is going to get mean outfit in the city and I'll pay you and Gus to set it up for--"
"Set it up yourself, you lazy thing!" said Cora.
"If you please, miss, I've got other matters--"
"All right, Terry,--see you later about it. Now, listen, hopefuls.You'll all be here, but this occasion is going to be incomplete, unlesswe have a lot more on deck. We all want to get out, and scout round andfetch in every kid that wants to amount to anything at all and is bigenough to understand and appreciate what's going on. And even then itwon't be quite up to snuff unless--"
"I know! You want Mr. Hooper here, too!" shouted Skeets. But in tryingto rise to make herself heard, she upset her chair and then sat down onthe floor, jarring the building. When the shout of mirth subsided, Billsaid:
"That's right. Mr. Hooper and Professor Gray. We'll have to tell themabout it."
"Father wrote that he's coming home to-night," announced Grace proudly.
"Great shakes! Did he? Gus, get on the 'phone and find out!" Billcommanded. "Now, then, let's all get busy and----"
"Righto, Billy, but what will our folks think has become of us when it'sso late?" Dot questioned.
"I move we go into executive session!" shouted Walt Maynard.
"Sure, and the president of the class can call a meeting," said TerryWatkins.
"It's up to you then, Billy," Cora agreed.
"I call it. Come to order and dispense with the minutes, MissSecretary," Billy grinned at Dot. "Motion in order to send a committeeto inform all the girls' parents."
"I make that motion," said Bert.
"Second it. The boys' parents can get wise by radio," asserted Ted.
"Bert and Ted appointed. Get out and get busy!" Bill was no joke as anexecutive. "Here's Gus. Did you get Mrs. Hooper?"
"I sure did. Mr. Hooper got home an hour ago."
"Glory!" Grace, you're driving your little runabout? I appoint Grace andMary a committee to go and get Mr. and Mrs. Hooper here right off. Noobjections? Don't fail, Grace, or we'll send the entire bunch."
"We'll fetch him," laughed Grace as she and Mary hurried out.
"Now then, everybody else, including the chair, is appointed a committeeto bring in every boy and girl in the town who will come. Work fast! Iwonder if we could promise some eats." Bill glanced at Terry.
"Yes; tell them there'll be refreshments!" shouted the rich boy. "It'llbe my treat. Bill, make me a committee of one to hive the grub. Cakes,candy, bananas and ice cream; eh?"
"Done!" declared Bill. "Go to it, with the class's blessing!"
"Yes and Heaven's best on Terry Watkins," said Cora.
In a moment the hall was empty. Twenty minutes later the Hooper partyarrived and about three minutes thereafter who should appear butProfessor Gray, hurried, eager, registering disappointment when he sawthe empty room, then smiling as the Hoopers and Mary Dean came to greethim.
"I had hoped to find my class here," he began and was interrupted by thethump of Bill's crutch on the steps without. Forgetting his support theboy leaped, rather than limped, forward, followed more sedately byseveral lads and lasses he had rounded up.
"If this isn't the best thing that _ever happened_!" shouted Bill,grasping the hands of the two men held out to him. "Both of you! Andyou, too, Mrs. Hooper. Great! Just got back, Professor! And now we'regoing to get the very thing we talked about, Mr. Hooper: we're going tohear Mr. Edison's voice or that of his right-hand man, nearly threehundred miles away. The rest of the bunch will be here in a minute. Iexpect Gus and Ted and Cora to fetch in a few dozen besides. Hello,here's Terry with the eats."
CHAPTER XXVI
GOOD COUNSEL
"This quite overcomes me," said Professor Gray to Mr. Hooper. "I hurriedback to invite some of my pupils to hear a message from Mr. Edison'slaboratory; but trust Bill to do the thing in a monumental fashion!"
"That there lad's a reg'lar rip-snorter, Perfesser. You can't beat him.Well, now, let's set down here in the middle; eh, Mother? an' wait ferwhat's a-comin'. I want a chance to tell the Perfesser 'bout that therewater-power plant an' what them boys done. Them's the lads, I'ma-sayin'."
But conversation was out of the question, for in came another troop ofyoungsters, landed by Cora, Dot and Lucy, followed a moment later bymore, invited by the boys, who had joined forces in the street. The hallwas half filled by an expectant and noisy throng. Of course, half ofthem anticipated the refreshments more eagerly than anything else. Thesewere already, under the ministration of a young woman from theconfectionery hastily engaged by Terry, now becoming evident.
Bill was beside the radio outfit, silently listening with the ear'phones clamped to the side of his head. Suddenly he arose and shouted:
"Quiet! Silence, everybody, and listen hard!"
Out of the horn again came the well-known voice of the transmittingstation official announcer:
"It gives us great pleasure to be able to broadcast very worth whilemessages of helpfulness and cheer to the youth of America. This occasionand opportunity was largely inspired by the Boy Scouts and the GirlScouts and it will interest you to know that the presidents, secretariesand many of the executive officers of these splendid organizations arenow here with us in person to inspire the occasion. They have asked meto express to you the hope that every Girl and Boy Scout--and I addevery other self-respecting girl and boy--has access to a radio receiverand is now listening in to catch these words. I will now reproduce foryou a message from one of the world's foremost citizens and greatestmen, one who has brought more joy and comfort to civilized millions thanany other man of his time, and therefore the greatest inventor inhistory; Mr. Thomas A
lva Edison will now speak to the boys and girls ofAmerica through his constant associate and devoted friend, Mr. WilliamH. Meadowcroft."
There was a slight pause. The silence in the hall was most impressive.Bill cast his eyes for a brief moment over the waiting throng. There wasin the eager faces, some almost wofully serious, some half-smiling, allwide-eyed and with craning necks, a tremendous indication of an almostbreathless interest. Then, from the horn came slow and measured accentsin a loud voice, perhaps a trifle tremulous from a proper feeling of thegravity of the occasion, but it was perfectly distinct:
"Young people, I--"
"_That's_ Bill--hello, Bill Medders--when did _you_------?"
And the startled company, staring about, saw Mr. Hooper stumblingforward in the aisle toward the trumpet.
"You win, me lads, you--"
Bill Brown could not help laughing at the impetuous honesty of his kindold friend. Pointing to the horn, and placing his hand like a shellbehind his own ear, the amused boy signed to the excited old man tolisten.
"The old geezer looks like 'His Master's Voice,' don't he?" came like asneer from the background.
During the pandemonium, the voice in the trumpet was proceeding quiteunperturbed.
"Silence!" shouted Bill, looking severely in the direction of the "seatof the scornful." "All please listen in on this. Mr. Meadowcroft isspeaking." The confusion subsided and they heard these words:
"--sometimes impossible to get Mr. Edison's attention for weeks at atime. He has his meals brought in and sleeps in the laboratory--when hesleeps at all--and so intense is his interest in his work that it isuseless to attempt to disturb him even for what seems to me to bebusiness of the highest importance.
"But he has permitted me to express his deep and sincere interest in allyou young people, and I am adding, on my own responsibility, threeexpressions of his which now seem to have maximum force because he hasused them:
"'Never mind the milk that's spilt.'
"Genius is one per cent. _in_spiration, and ninety-nine per cent._per_spiration.'
"'Don't watch--don't clock the watch--oh!--_don't_ watch the CLOCK!--'Why, Mr. Edison, I thought you--I have just been explaining why youcouldn't come--and now (with a laugh) here you are!
"There was a hearty chuckle and another voice said:
"I know it's mean to make you a victim of misplaced confidence, but itcame across me like a flash that I couldn't do a better thing for theBoy Scouts and Girls Scouts and all the 'good scouts,' old and young,than to broadcast a good word for my friend Marconi. So I have run uphere to speak to the Radio Boys after all. I know it's a shame, but--"
"Nothing of the sort, Mr. Edison,--not on your life!" (It is the morefamiliar voice of Mr. Meadowcroft now.)
"Wait, let me introduce you: Boys and girls, you are now 'listening in'with Thomas Alva Edison, who said, like the young man in the parable, 'Igo not,' then he changed his mind and went. He is here--not to give youany message for or about himself, but to express his regard for the manto whom all Radio Boys and Girls owe so much. Mr. Edison has come onpurpose to say a word to you."
When the room was in a silence so solemn that those present could heartheir own hearts beat, the voice the company now recognized as Mr.Edison's came through with trumpet clearness:
"I have great admiration and high regard for Marconi, the pioneerinventor of wireless communication. I wish you all the happiness thatComes through usefulness. Good night."
"Mr. Edison--one moment! In the name of the millions who are not'listening in' on this, won't you please write this sentiment so that itcan be seen as well as heard?"
"All right"--came through in Edison's voice. A brief pause ensuedand--"Thank you, Mr. Edison," from Mr. Meadowcroft in a low tone, whichhe immediately raised:
"Mr. Edison has just written the words you have heard him speak to bebroadcast, as it were, to the young eyes of America."[A]
Hearty cheers followed this closing announcement, but as the speakersthey had heard were not aware of this, the demonstration soon ceased.Exuberant youth, however, must be heard, and so, led by theirrepressible Ted, they immediately sought fresh inspiration and beganto cheer whomever and whatever came quickly into their minds; first Billand Gus, with demands for a speech from Bill; then in answer to theschool yell, they cheered the school and Professor Gray. Finally theybegan to cheer the refreshments as these suddenly developed a full-formmaterialization. But this was suddenly switched off into a sort ofdoubtful hurrah as Mr. Hooper, with his wife trying to dissuade him byhis coat-tails, arose and cleared his throat.
"Lads and lasses: I sez to this 'ere lad, Bill Brown, sez I, some timeback; I sez: 'Bill, me lad, if you ever fix it so's I kin hear my oldfriend Bill Medders talkin' out loud more'n a hunderd mile off,' I sez,'then,' I sez, 'I'll give you a thousand dollers.' Well, this Bill,he sez: 'No, sir, Mr. Hooper,' he sez: 'We won't accept of no sich,'he sez, an' what he sez he sticks to, this 'ere lad Bill does, an' sodoes his buddy, Gus, 'ere. So, young people, I'm goin' to tell youwhat I'm a-goin' to do. I'm goin' to spend that thousand some wayto sort o' remember this occasion by, an' it'll be spent fer whateveryour teacher here an' Bill an' Gus an' any more that want to git intoit sez it shall be. An', b'jinks, if you spring anything extry finean' highfalutin I'll double it--make it two thousand; anything tohelp 'em along, gettin' an eddication, which I ain't got, ner neverkin git, but my gal shall an' all her young friends. So, go to it,folks, an' I'm thinkin' my friends, Bill an' Gus--"
Roaring cheers interrupted the earnest speaker. He smiled broadly andsat down. Professor Gray got to his feet, but Bill, not seeing him, wasfirst to be heard when the crowd silenced; the boy had got to theplatform and then on a chair. Standing there balanced on his crutch, ahand where his shoulder usually rested, he was a sight to stir thepathos and inspire admiration in any crowd.
"I say, people, give three royal yells for Mr. Hooper! He's one of thedearest old chaps that ever drew breath! Ready, now----"
The roof didn't quite raise, but the nails may have been loosened someand the timbers strained. With the ceasing of the cheers, Bill shoutedagain:
"And now don't forget Professor Gray! He's going to be in on this deal,big, as you know!"
Again the walls trembled. Once more Bill was heard:
"And I have this suggestion: We'll put up a radio broadcasting stationat the school. Get a government license, find means to make our serviceworth while and talk to anyone we want to. How's that?"
The building didn't crumble, but it surely shook. And then ProfessorGray had the floor:
"Girls and boys, we mustn't forget William Brown and Augustus Grier. Youcan hardly mention one without the other. I propose--"
Gus shamelessly interrupted his respected teacher and friend:
"Three yells for Bill Brown's radio! Let her go!"
It went; as did also the refreshments a little later.
How Bill's idea of building a radio broadcasting station was carried outwill be told in "Bill Brown Listens In."
THE END
[Footnote A: This message will be found in _facsimile_ in the forewordof this book.]
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