Show THOMAS EDISON'S FIRST INVENTIONS The Telegraph Wa Was Rejected for far Several Years FOR STOCK TICKER Money Was caR Paid Purl h by Check Check- lie Ilc Didn't Know How lo to Cn Cash II Deal enl cal With 1111 Western Union Ill tell you how I happened to lo ge get gel into telegraphing first said Thoma Thomas Edison to a representative c of Pearson Pearsons Magazine When hen the time battle hattle of or Pittsburg Pitts burg Landing was vas fought the time first report report report re re- port which reached Detroit announced that there were sixt sixty thousand killed and wounded I was a train newsboy then and andI I told the flue telegraph operator at nt th the Detroit lt station that If he would wire the main facts or of the the battle along alon theline th the theline line so that announcements could b he be put up on the station statton bulletin boards board I would give Harpers Harper's Weekly to him hi IT for six months free of costI costI cost I used to sell about forty newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers on the trip This time I made mad up my 1113 mind that I ought to take a thousand but hut when 1 I counted m my money one I fount found 1 I had only enough t to bu buy hour hundred Then it occurred to me that if iC I could get geC to Wilbur F F. Story Stor the proprietor proprietor proprietor pro pro- of the Detroit Free Iree Press I might be able to work out of or m my dun dun- culty I climbed up the stairs to hi his office and said 1111 Mr Ir Story I have ha only got mono money enough to bu buy tOO papers and I wan want GOO COO more I thought I might ge get trusted for them Im I'm a newsboy I got m my thousand papers all right That was a great day for me A Athe At Atthe the time first station the crowd was so bi big that I thought It was an excursion crowd But no when the people caught sight of me the they began to yell yel ell ellor for or papers papel'S I Just doubled the price pric on the spot and charged ten cents cent Instead o of live five cents a copy rhen When I got to the last station I Jumped th the price up to 25 5 cents a copy cop and sold all I had left I made maele sev- sev sev ent five enty-five or a hundred dollars In that tha one trip tip and I tell you I felt might mighty goo good That Thai called m my attention to what a n telegraph operator could do I thought though to myself that telegraphing was simply simp simp- ly h great greal and I made up my m mind to lo become an operator as soon as pos pos- sible Vote Voto Counting Machine The first serious thing I Invented was a machine which would count th the votes otes in congress In a very Ver few mo mo- ments It was a a. a good gooel machine too but bul when I 1 took toole It to Washington they said to me Young Youn man nian mats that's the last thing timing we want here Filibustering and anel the thed d li In to counting the theo o o arC the tho only moans Wo 0 have of or defeating bad legislation legis- legis lation My Iy next practical Invention was the quadruple telegraph I started In to work It on the Atlantic and Pacific Pacific Pa Pa- chic tele telegraph line hue between n Rochester and ind an New York but there thero was a chump at the other oilier end of the wire and ind time the demonstration ended In y s. fizzle It was years carB before the quad quad- was a adopted That landed me In New York without a cent In In my pocket I went to o an operator and managed to borow borrow borrow bor- bor row ow a dollar I lived on that for a week eek but hut P I had to park It if a little Ohm Dh Oh I didn't mind It and I never did care are much about eating anyhow Then Theli I hustled for sorn something to lo llo I could have got ot a job as an operator at 50 a month but I wanted wanted wanted want want- ed a chance to do something better belter I happened one ela day Into the ce of or ofa I Ia a L gold ticker company which had hall about COO subscribers I 1 was wa standing beside the apparatus ftp ftp- aratus when It gave a n terrific rip roar and ind suddenly stopped In a few ew utes ites hun hundreds lI ds of messenger r boys docked blocked up the doorway and yelled for or some seine one to tu fix the tickers In their ollice The man In charge of the time place was vas simply pasted so I 1 stepped up ip to him and said First Fh t r Bi-r BI Salary I think I know what's the mattel mat mat- tel ter er I 1 simply ha had to retrieve remove a 0 loose I contact spring which ha had fallen between be- be tween time tho wheels The Tho result was that hat I was employed to tn talcum take charge of f the service at a month I almost al- al most fainted when I heard how much salary alary I 1 was wa to get geL i Then Ihen I Joined hands with whim a n man named lamed Callahan and we got up several sev- sev eral ral Improved typos S of or stock tickers These Improvements were a n success When hell the da day of settlement foamy for foa formy forny my ny Inventions approached I 1 began to wonder vender how much money I would get gel I was J pretty relt raw a and ld know knew nothing about business but I hoped moped that I Inight night might get I dreamed amed of what I could coul do with big Ig mone money like that of the tools an another and other ither things I could bu buy to work out inventions In but hut I knew Wall Vall street to o be a pretty bad place and had hall a general suspicion that a man was apt to o get bet beat out of hl his money there thereSo thereSo So Jo I tried to keep J my hopes down but the time thought of or kept rising In n my mindWell mind Well Veil one day lay I was sent for by hy the resident president ent of the Gold and Stock Tele- Tele m I graph company In to tall talk about n u settlement settlement settle settle- I ment anent for fill my Improvements 11 lie lie- was General Marshall l hall Lefferts colonel of the thc Seventh regiment I tell you 1 I was trembling cull all over o with embarrassment an and when I RotIn Rot got ot otIn In his presence m my vision Islon of or began to vanish When he lie asked me how much I wanted I T was afraid to speak I feared that if I T mentioned I might get gel nothing That was one mime of th the most t painful nn and l exciting moments of ot my life lire My l how I 1 beat my nay bruins brains to know what to tosny say Finally I 1 said ald Suppose Suppo e you make me an offer By Uy that time I was scared I was more than scared 1 I was paralyzed How flow would do asked General Amount mOI About lU Right ht It was was' all I could do to keep my faco face straight and my knees from flOm SlIng giving giving Sl ing way I 1 was afraid he would hear heal m my ray heart I bent beat With a n great glat effort T i said ald that I guessed that lint would be all rl right ht He lie said th they would woul have time the contract ready r-ady In a few days ay and I could come COllie comeback comeback back and sign It In the meantime I scarcely slept I couldn't believe It When I went back the time contract was rend ready and mill I signed It In a hurry I don't dont know even en now what was teas In It II A check for 1000 was handed me m and ancl I wel wont went to to th the hank hanl as fast as my feet fet would carr carry me Inc It was time thc time lime I was ever Inside of a bank I rot got In line and when v m my turn came 1 han handed e in my 01 check Of course 1 I had hall not seel it The Time teller looked looke at it It then pushed It back baci to me and roared out something some seine thing thine- which I could not understand being partly deaf My heart sank flank nl and my legs trembled tremble I handed the check back to him limn but again he hue huei pushed i It hack back with the same samme unintelligible explosion of wor words s. s That settled It I went out of the bank hank feeling miserable I was the tho victim victim vic vic- tim of another Wall all street sl skin ln game I never nevea felt fell worse In m my life I 1 went around to the brother of oi the treasurer who lead had drawn the ch check cl and said Tin Inn skinned all allrich right rich t. t When I told him In my may stor story he burst out laughing and when he went into the treasurers treasurer's office to explain matters t there mere was a loud roar o ol of s laughter at fit t my m expense They The sent sem t somebody to the bank with me an anthe antI and d the bank ol officials thought It so greata great grant t a a. a Joke that they played a trick on m me meby e by paying the whole In ten twenty and rut fifty dollar bills Pockets Full Pull of M loncy It made an enormous pile of or mone money I stuffed the bills In hi my In Inside Insle inside In- In side pockets and outside pockets Joel ets m my I trousers pockets and anel everywhere e could put them Then 1 start started eel for fOI formy formy my nay home In Newark I woul wouldn't nt sit on a n seat with anybody y on the train nor nOI let IN anybody approach me When I got to my 01 room I couldn't sleep for fear Icar of or being heing robbed robbe So tho the next day elay I took tool It Il back to General Lefferts an and told him I didn't know leno where to keep It It He lIe had It placed In a bank hank to m my credit and anel that was my 01 first bank hank account With Ith that money I opened a new shop and und worked out new apparatus appal My My 1 automatic telegraph which handled a thousand words or s a n minute he between tween New York and amid Washington was wa-s brought out by Ja Jay Gould and the tho Western Wester ester i Union company It Is In litigation yet yel et I Then hen the IUa was in In- In stalled I sold that to Ja Jay Gould an and the Western Vestern Union com company pan for 30 The Tho next next- Invention Invention- was uvas the tho mimeograph a a copying machine When Bell got out his telephone telephonic the transmitter and receiver recel were one Professor sor Orton Olton of or the thc Western Vestern Union company any asked me to do something something some some- thing to make malco the t telephone a con com mere la 1 success I tackled It an and got up the time present present present pres pres- ent transmitter The Western estern Union company compan eventually ma made c millions of dollars out of It I got a hun hundred re thousand dollars for It At last President Orton sent for forme forme forme me and sal said Young man how much do elo you want In full pa payment ment I for all nil the Inventions you have o given the Western Union company Him Dizzy I had hael In mind but my m my may tongue tone wouldn't move T I ha hadn't the the nerve nel to name such a sum stun Make Moke me tee an otter offer I ventured How would woul a hundred thousand dollars seem to you ou he asked askell I almost fell ell over It made me diz diz- dizzy zy but I I kept ept my face race and answered with as much coolness as ns I could muster muster mus mus- ter that the o offer I appeared to be ue a fair one Then another thought occurred occurred occur occur- red to me m- and I said ld that I would accept ac nc- accept Celt a hundred thousand l dollars If Ir the company would keep It and pay po me mime in seventeen yearly Instalments I knew that If Ir I got It all at once It won would hi soon go In experiments experiment It Il tool took me seventeen sC to tn get gel that mone money and It II was wn one of the wisest things I eves ever did By fly y putting pUlling a check checkon on m my extravagance I always had funds Mr Edison's deafness Is directly due elue to his early love lo of science When he was a newsboy on the train he used to carry on experiments at leisure mom mom- oats One day a bottle of phosphorous became became be be- came uncorked and set the car on fire Ore The Indignant conductor boxed the ears of the time youthful scientist and threw the bo boy and hl his paraphernalia off the time train It was this box on the time ears which caused the deafness which has troubled him him himer ever er since |