Show 7 1 I. I J l' l I J Z ri Y A. A i 0 i 0 THOMAS x As As his son Charles Chares rles sees him 4 t I tHe He Is He-Is ls Is HAPPIEST When WORKING 1 i 1 I 3 ut u t Mechanical Problems Problems From From Now On Ort p q r Y I He Hopes to Be Undisturbed in His His i ll T Gre Creative Endeavors He Endeavors He Has a r f ra f I i GIGANTIC PROGRAM Laid Out for lor LS w jv i u r Himself t the Himself the WORLD I II May E Expect to 1 r. r E J f I 1 t t 1 I ay- ay l y HEAR From HIM From Front Time to Time 4 f i 1 i i- i i f fy i y 9 1 J 4 1 r t B By y Ross Duff fork f ji S. S 1 Ma r s' s j WHEN HEN Charles Edison went to work X for his famous f father The ther The Wizard of Menlo Park Park he he stepped into a job that called for exceptionally hard work He e found no 0 up let-up in his seemingly py pyramiding tasks except on on n holiday occasions occa- occa s s w which ich by the way are not any anyo too o plentiful on the calendar that marks the days of Thomas A. A Edison Americas America's Amer Amer- ica's cas cas ca's for foremost inventor whose tireless brain has evolved creations that have revolutionized life and industry throughout through- through out the world And now that he has su succeeded his father as president of the Thomas A. A Edison Industries comprising some twelve corporations he rather solemnly declares that he has undertaken a a. m size mans size s job that will make what he formerly considered toil seem like play 5 S The fact that the younger Edis Edison n has has has' taken over over the presidency does not mean that he has entirely assumed the mantle of his father That he admits would be an impossibility for him or any man manto manto manto to do His succession to the executive office means that he will shoulder the business and manufacturing responsibilities ties of the company's ramified corporate interests permitting the elder Edison to devote himself almost entirely to his laboratory endeavors Mr Edison the Edison the son invariably refers refers refers re- re fers to his father as Mister Edison has Edison has r long desired to to give himself over to research research re- re 5 search and experimental work He is happiest when he is engaged in working out out mechanical problems and from now on he hopes to be undisturbed in his creative endeavors He has a gigantic program laid out for himself and from time to time the world may expect announcement announcement announcement an- an of his' his new discoveries Unlike many young fellows who occupy eiderdown berths when they go on dads dad's payroll y young ng Edis Edison n found himself engaged engaged engaged en en- by a hard taskmaster at man aiman man unsparing unsparing unsparing un un- sparing of his own energies utterly oblivious oblivious ob ob- ob- ob livious to time and who was j not inclined in inclined inclined in- in in the slightest to coddling ways Before his election as president me a e had little time for other interests tha than those of of the organization and now he s certain certain certain tain that he will have time for nothing but his multitudinous duties as ex executive h head ad of a dozen corporations 1 Perhaps if I were able le to S sl sleep ep at atwill atwill will as Mr Edison does I might li able to make a better showing snowing for form m self remarked the the unassuming ng young tive as he nodded to his father w wh was pass passing ng the open door dor of the offic offie and who proceeded t to la lay himself down downa upon a cot that stands in m in a corner o of the 5 S big old-fashioned old and like library-like executive executive executive tive office j I That f continued young young Edison l is the secret of his his ability to io wor vor for days pays and nights nigh s without any apparent relaxation When he is deeply concerned with a problem hours and da days dais s and nights are of no consequence to h him m for he possesses the remarkable ab ability to to refresh himself with cat naps You know he learned how to do that as a ayoung ayoung young man when he was a telegraph operator lie He can sleep at will and fifteen fifteen fifteen teen or twenty or-twenty twenty minutes seem to refresh hi him as as much as a nights night's sleep does the average man ability to snatch in a a few THAT THAT J- J minutes complete rest in in th the midst of arduous work is only one of of- many qualifications I f failed to inherit I have always had a secret t. t l longing nging to be a I writer It would be the one hobby I wo would ld adopt if I had time for a hobby 1 Some while back I interested myself in ina Village Village Vil- Vil a a magazine published in Greenwich lage New NewYork York and after business hours over here in Orange N. N J. J I would cross over to the big city to engage in editorial and writing efforts It was usually 1 o'clock in the m morning morning before before r before I would return home home and the strain strain was too much for me for I found working for Mr Edison no sinecure and I abandoned abandoned abandoned aban aban- the writing attempt t Charles Edison quite candidly admits admits admits ad ad- mits that he possesses no no no genius genius' for invention stating that th that t trait is ismore more developed d in his younger younger brother Theodore Theodore Theo Theo- I dore who is his fathers father's laboratory assistant But while he does not himself himself himself him- him self invent he has decided vision as as' as asto to the future of brain creations and thoroughly thoroughly thor thor- believes that mankind's emancipation emancipation emancipation pation from sordid toil will b bb brought about by machinery Hl He emphatically disagrees with those who argue that machinery machinery machinery ma ma- chinery retards cultural progress maintaining maintaining maintaining main main- that culture is advancing and will bo ho further accelerated as a consequence con consequence con con- sequence of mechanics r The more that can can be accomplished by machinery the more the masses of people will be benefited said Charles Edison The time will come when virtually virtually vir vir- vir- vir all aU mule mule or or call it physical if you will will labor labor will be done by machinery machin machin- ery and those who toil without need of mental effort will wiH give themselves over overto overto overto to more beneficial endeavors One of the grave dangers that I now see in manufacturing standardization is a tendency tendency tendency tend tend- ency toward the creation of a race of robots robots purely purely mechanical humans who automatically and without rote or reason rea rea- reap son perform the task assigned them Mass production necessitates necessitate's standardization standardization standardization stand stand- of course and that has resulted re resulted resulted re- re in many large plants in in inthe the employment of men and women for purely mule motions The answer to such a condition conditio of affairs the great preventive against is more machinery Machinery must and will win be so perfected that mule motions will be entirely eliminated And why should not machinery rather than human beings be employed to perform these downright mechanical tasks Science Science Science ence has just scratched the surface and the machinery we marvel at today will seem only only childish playthings compared with the mechanical devices th that t the morrow will bring forth MR R. R EDISON was asked i if the perfection perfection perfection tion of machinery which he advocates advocates advocates cates and predicts would not result in unemployment problems Not at all he promptly replied The increased use of machinery for the elimination of the mule-motion mule workers will result in more employment will enhance the mental standard of the workers increase their earning power and make for greater cultural advance advance- ment Let us suppose for illustration that we have a machine that necessitates the employment of ten unskilled men and whose sole duty it is to turn wheels or pull pun levers purely levers purely mechanical and automatic automatic automatic auto auto- matic operations These workers have absolutely no knowledge of the mechanism mech mechanism mechanism To them it is only a machine a a mysterious contrivance in which they have no interest outside of the pay it fetches them If the machine gets out of order a skilled mechanic must be sent for a worker of superior mentality and of offar far greater earning power than the theten theten theten ten automatons In such a case it would be far better to perfect as a supervisor of the apparatus a skilled man who would understand it and who c could make repairs In such a case you will likely say that nine men are replaced for one Very well VeI That one man be because ause of superior intelligence would necessarily receive more pay than any of cf the men displaced and those would be taken care of else else- where After all aU an increase increase- of machinery machinery machinery ma ma- chinery means increased and cheaper 1 t i J Age Ag of f ft t eo h t J A Machinery M ac h- h f f 1 i u I IThe The world is dying of machinery that is I the great disease that is the plague that l t will sweep away and destroy civilization I GEORGE GEORGE MOORE MOORS in The Confessions Confessions Confes Confes- of a Young Man THE more that can be accomplished accompli hed by A machinery the more the masses of the people will be be benefited The Th time will come when virtually ly all physical labor will be done by machinery and those who toil without need of mental effort will give themselves over to more beneficial endeavors The increased use of ma machinery for the elimination of f mule-motion mule workers will result in iii in more employment will enhance the standards of the workers increase their 4 earning power ver and make for greater II cultural advancement Charles Charles' Charles Edison t ll I i I j I I k f i M r 1 a aCharles Charles Edison who has lately been elected president of the Thomas A. A Edison Industries has no notion he h will ever everS S be able to fill his dads dad's shoes the shoes the son has no flair of inventive genius genius but but he purposes to carry carryon on in n executive business business' I control with the thes the's same me unrelenting ting zeal as his illustrious sire be tJ togo go go about the plant and see that things were were kept in ship Having conceived the idea of such sucha a Job the question arose arose as to how to find the proper man Then it was that the idea dea of arranging a questionnaire arose aroe He would prepare a list of questions questions questions ques ques- such as should be capable of answer by byi y 0 i K men of even normal in in- in m- m dt They would iP ti b be e. e pr practical c t I ques questions t tiP Ions not tricky They t n one ones f 1 i j would be questions that hat f any anyone one With a public j school education should K f be able to answer From the a ai t i d f I I ii bS b v S i era 4 r e q k v r r V Y f r X i b With his son at the head of the giant Industries which his genius built Thomas A. A Edison will now more than ever devote himself to laboratory research work prod production and with consequently greater demand for the product more machinery and more workers of a superior superior su su- su- su type would follow The use of human beings in strictly operations that do not necessitate necessitate necessitate any mental exertion is likely to increase the moron population It is likely to establish classes classes and and we cannot cannot cannot can can- not have classes in this country The masses masses are keen for cultural betterment jf if they only are given the opportunity and their cause will be exceedingly furthered furthered furthered fur- fur when machines rather than humans humans hu hu- 1 mans perform the mule tasks In forecasting the future of machinery machinery ma machinery ma ma- chinery and its consequent influence upon the cultural life of the masses Mr 11 Edison brought up the subject of questionnaires questionnaires questionnaires ques ques- for job applicants which aroused so much interest and provoked a storm of comment when their use was announced by Thomas A. A Edison some sometime sometime sometime time back He explained that a false impression had been created by the use of questionnaires and that his fathers father's purpose had been grossly if not grotesquely grotesquely grotesquely gro gro- misrepresented WHAT really happened stated Charles Edison was this From time to time in making his rounds of the plant Mr 1 Edison would discover tools lying about material in the wrong place and other evidence of laxity on the part of As he noticed such things he had them corrected but after all aU he could not afford to spend his time policing the place so he decided to create a new job that of an official ob ob- ob- ob server He wanted to select a man keen hose sole it would of perception ose duty a number of men who might qualify for the new job were designated for forthe forthe forthe the examination Mr 1 Edison was greatly taken aback by the result of his experiment To questions that even school children in inthe inthe inthe the lower grades could give answer many of the men wrote dont know or left blank Then it was th that that- t. t Mr Edison decided to continue the questionnaire questionnaire questionnaire question question- method in the hiring of of workers but the idea seemed to spread that only those with a college education could pass the examination for employment and that prospective executives were chosen for positions through gh their aptitude at answering This was never the case The questionnaire was intended for a primary test of the mental fitness of workers If it has not nt accomplished anything else it has done a lot toward a desire for knowledge knowledge- among many who found themselves deficient deficient deficient de- de in even rudimentary knowledge There has also been an idea in existence that Mr Edison is opposed to college educations but this is not so In fact his advice to every everyone one is to Jo get a college education if possible He regards education as a tool an and urges its acquirement Those who cannot cannot can can- cannot not go to college he feels can obtain You an education by self know he pe never went to college because he did not have the price when he was wag of college age He taught himself Work and plenty of it never hurt any anyone one and the successes I see about me are people who have never been afraid to work The curse of the soft snap has ruined plenty of fine young fellows I know one chap who after his college days stepped into a soft snap in a company owned by his father F For r five years he Enjoyed that soft snap arid and arida anda a goodly salary His life was one of ease and he drifted along for five years and then suddenly the business failed and he found himself without an in in- in come Furthermore th the five easy years years years' had not aid aided d him in the least and ho he hohas hohas has had a sad time of it A S THE executive head of twelve corporations corporations corporations cor- cor AS A the majority of them being anything but correlated the 36 year old year son of f Thomas A. A Edison finds little time for anything but business be between between between be- be tween rising and retiring times But while he is very much on the go and his days seemingly are arc too short for the work he must crowd into them Charles Edison preserves an unruffled calmness that is amazing 1 find walking a splendid exercise and remarked sufficient for my needs he You know I never was much for exercising exercising ex ex- and in my school and college days I never took any part in athletics Too lazy I guess but my inclinations did not run run that way I was content to walk or to indulge myself in reading And I sometimes think that there is such a thing as overdoing exercise I have noticed that a lot of strenuous |