OCR Text |
Show EDISON'S MISFORTUNE. Thomas A. Edison, the world-famous inventor, has met with the greatest misfortune of his life in tho burning of his plant at West Orange, N. J. Treasures that can never be replaced went up in flame and smoke, and it is no wonder that for a moment the "Wizard" lost control of himself as he watched the destruction of the fruits of a lifetime of unremitting toil. Happily his old-time courage returned, and by the time the fire had burned itself, out he was planning to replace the bV lldings destroyed and begin life anew at the ago of 67. The loss is very heavy when measured in doHar6 and cents. Unfortunately records, models and other evidences of Edison's genius were wiped out of existence, and upon these no price can be set, for they were of inestimable value and cannot be replaced unless the inventor is spared many years. Edison- bas had a remarkable career. Born in a little country town in Ohio, he secured a common school education and began work as a train boy on the Grand Trunk railway. Then he became a printer and printed and edited the Grand Trunk Herald in the baggage car of tho train on which he was employed. em-ployed. A station master whose child he had rescued taught him telegraphy, a-nd he soon became a very rapid and skillful operator. As an employee of the Western Union company ho began a scries of inventions that have made him fame and fortune. The duplex i telegraph was his greatest invention up to this time. 1 He soon devoted his entire attention to electricity and established laboratories labora-tories at Jlenlo Park, where many skilled investigators were employed. Later ho established headquarters at West Orange, where his immense plant was destroyed Wednesday night. He took out hundreds of patents during the years that followed his removal. While devoting himself mainly to electricity, elec-tricity, he had great success in other Unes. Some of his most valuable inventions in-ventions are the phonograph, the microphone, mi-crophone, the megaphone, the microta-simeter, microta-simeter, the last-named instrument recording re-cording minute variations of pressure. The kinetoscope, or moving picture machine, ma-chine, was one of his recent inventions. The incandescent lamp should not be omitted in the enumeration of bis triumphs. The whole world will sympathize witu Mr. Edison and wish him unbounded un-bounded success in rebuilding his plant. Americans are especially grieved - over tho misfortune of one of the greatest living citizens of the United States, and will no doubt extend help in rebuilding re-building his laboratories if it is needed. |