Show 0 edg F 11 4 a S 9 pv M X A R Y 9 P P A 4 M t ir U W IMP ON m 14 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KENT A EDISON ENJAMIN FRANKLIN discovered electricity they call him poor richard because he know what to do with it thus thua runs the composition of an an eighth grade student expressing in eighteen words an economic aphorism about which beetle professors have written forbidding volumes franklin did cago cage the lightning but it took men like libe edison z and atwater kent to convert it into light and power and music Frankl franklins las memory enjoys the perspective of 0 time but the kaleidoscope of current history revolves so BO rapidly as to obscure temporarily at least the great accomplishments of modern geniuses franklin was skilled as a press agent ho he even published a magazine outstanding in its period that the world might know of franklin and his ideas r present day disciples of franklin do little to raise ralso themselves out of personal obscurity clo chols Is within walls of intensive effort they apparently patently ly prefer to exist as forces rather than as individuals charles P steinmetz wizard of the electric are arc was accustomed to bury himself tor for long periods in hla his labor laboratories deaf to all calls save ave that ot of his bis work thomas A k Edison grinds way away ceaselessly at his tasks aloof from the world except tor for cc occa ca dional sallies to project a bit of time shivered homely philosophy A atwater kent genius in the field of radio is another of these prodigious wor workers liers to hta his associates in the great plant at philadelphia where atwater kent radios are produced he be la Is ft living breathing person persan a dynamo of creation but to the rest of the country he be to Is apparently ly content to be known only by his works in the field of radio development however the newest and most amazing field of electrical progress kent has gone even beyond steinmetz and edison in carrying through the application of 0 his bis inventions and discoveries and making them a definite force in the homes and lives of the people to a greater extent than perhaps any other inventor in the fled of electricity he has baa followed the results of his research and experiments outside the laboratory walls wails has super the manufacturing processes that have made possible ii at once accurate and precise production on a mass scale and then has personally directed we the merchandising setup that has made his product the recognized standard in radio equipment but all this has s been done behind walls walla of perso personal fial anonymity the result la Is that while atwater kent products are known the world over kent himself the man la Is a virtual stranger almost a fiction to the cuhlic at large A slender blender keen faced man he Is of medium height pov now in his early fifties thinning sandy brown hair with a glint of red in it eyes that sparkle and dance as ho bo busies himself with coll coils and meters and gadgets in the laboratory lips that curve pleasantly in a natural halt half smile mile direct in action he does not experiment blindly but knows exactly what he la is trying to find out and why and usually he finds it soft bott spoken but short spoken he la is a man of more ideas than words his stenographer has a sinecure since he seldom writes letters often his bis correspondence will run less than half a dozen letters a week but his department heads have no sueh such snap they must get the full scope of his orders in a few words and translate them into accomplishment their reports must bo be oral not written find the last word in brevity he want explanations or elaborations either a thing is 1 donbor done or it Is not done report the facts it if a thing Is s done good it if not why when will it be done this directness and simplicity which enables atwater kt water kent himself to be the directing nerve center af t the worlds greatest radio industry farm laboratory to sales room Is reflected la in his bis product efficiency simplicity compactness those are three controlling factors 63 b which every model is measured before lvis it Is placed in production efficiency first then the maximum simplicity without impairing efficiency after this this the he compact coordination of awta to W fe ia make possible the least waste of space or mato mate rials only by such methods ho he holds can the tha interest of the buyer be served which interest la Is to got get the most moat radio service in the neatest package tor for the least money prom from the standpoint of practical accomplishment atwater kent differs from Den benjamin jamia franklin in this franklin discovered electricity but as the school boy said he know what to do with it atwater kent discover radio but he has known what to do with it As a result he Is known today not as a radio inventor and designer ot of first rank and as the man who has produced more radio receiving sets seta than any other manufacturer but also as a leader in the presentation of radio programs of the highest class and a man who Is building radio a artists tor for tho the future as well as advancing radio art for the present I 1 this many sided character of atwater kent Is perhaps due to his varied training as a young man after attending worcester polytechnic institute sti tute he worked tor for a while ln a factory near lebanon new hampshire making electric motors and watch tools here he be learned lessons of accuracy and precision in factory production that have been invaluable in his bis radio work A year on the road as sa salesman lebman tor for an electrical concern gave him an understanding of the buyers viewpoint of the necessity of not merely making a product that will sell but one that will work in 1902 young kent struck out tor for himi himself elf fir first st he designed and manufactured electrical novelties then intercommunicating house bouso telephones an early model automobile which grow grew balky every time the vibrator on the ignition stuck turned his bis attention to need for more dependable pen dable automobile I 1 altion he solved it and his trigger ignition became standard equipment on the better makes of cars meanwhile from two small email rooms on tho the second floor of an old building on a side street in philadelphia the atwater kent manufacturing company had expanded into one of philadel big industries then after the war during which time the government had utilized his bis plant and equipment in making delicate shell fuses camo came radio today kents two plants devoted to radio cover tnora more thau than seventeen acres this year alone he bo will produce more than one brie million radio receivers production during the peak of the season running sets seta a day or one every three seconds for an eight hour day during this period radio has progressed from the tha old headphone sets of limited radius with wet batteries and dry cells a tangle ot of wires numberless switches and dials to the simple compact self contained house current set of today with a single full vision dial and a volume control connecting directly to a light socket for power in all this development kent has held the leadership in radio but burled buried in the background himself the individuality the personality of atwater kent is little known while the name atwater kent has become a household word to the 60 public at large it mean a man it means radio that kents part in radio evolution will be a permanent one shaping not merely the present but the future is insured by the fact that be has been a leader in id its cultural as well as its niata mato rial development As the first sponsor of a continuing series of musical concerts by leading artists he led the way in giving the american people generally an appreciation of the best in music through the national radio audition ho he has opened the door of opportunity for young singers to gain recognition ani training to become the artists of the future it is to the pioneering of men like franklin edison and stein meiz and the translation of their theories and discoveries injo practical working appliances by men coen like K kent e nt that america owes not merely its industrial leadership but its ita leadership in those labor saving devices and household conveniences that make the american homo a model of edl eM clency elency and comfort it is primarily due to ta their wizardry dry that our homes are today not only lighted warmed cleaned and refrigerated by electricity but provided with the best and roost most varied entertainment any people has ever known through radio and unit power plants these ad antares an are not noi coa to homes in towns and cities they are enjoyed by tarm farm families ay aw well as city dwellers by the moderately noli todo to do de aswell as well as by tho the rich and prosperous electricity sweeps our carpets and polishes polisher our floors it washes our dishes and our clothes its incandescence turns physical darkness into day and by radio it banishes the mental dark ness that follows prolonged loneliness and monotony it brings to our homes ease and the means to enjoy it it gives elves us the debates ot of statesmen eta and the arguments of politicians the lilt of dance tunes aunes and the high Cs of 0 grand opera prima donnas it brings us the latest news bulletins on important world events it has in reality turned darkness and drudgery into light and play benjamin franklin as wise and foreseeing as aa he was could not imagine even a small part of 0 the magic that his bis discovery was to bring to the w world orld when in june 1752 he be flow flew a kite up into a storm cloud and by means of a string airing and a key drew down charges of electricity this famous experiment proving lightning to be an electrical phenomenon was one of the great steps in establishing the early theories ot of electrical energy the first invez tion to grow from this experiment was waa tha lightning rod designed to conduct charges cb a rg es of oc electricity elec tricky from housetops to the ground without damage this thia was long known as franklins fra enkling rod and an d wolf for its inventor international recognition balzac in writing of franklin described him as th the man who invented the be lightning rod and the republic and in 1753 the copley modal medal of the royal society was voted to franklin because of his valuable research into electrical pho phe bomena another invention by franklin paving the tha way for the work of edison on oa storage batteries and of steinmetz on the electric arc was his bis development of the leyden jar by introducing the we use of lead for the inner armatures great as franklin was waa in his other lines ot of endeavor as statesman diplomat author publisher it is by his experiment with kite and key that he is known to most people and it to 18 through that experiment that the twentieth century Is benefiting most by his bis labors steinmetz in spite of physical weakness and deformity won a place of leadership in the scientific world through his bis development of the mathematics of electricity through his work wo we are able to to tame and measure electric power with mathematical exactness ills his early work along this line was in establishing we bis theory for the calculation of the alternating current and his later work as consulting engineer for the general electric company gave the electrical world a new understanding of electrical discharges waves and impulses A socialist working tor for th the elove love of his work and the good of his fellow man steinmetz would accept no salary tor for his employment all he ha wanted was his living a drawing account from which he be could provide tor for bis own simple needs and which would give him freedom to buy the supplies and equipment ho he required for his bis experiments peri perl ments with no desire for riches or material gain he be was mentally free to submerge himself in his ha studies he died in octobie Octo Oc tobe bei 1923 a poor man but hla his legacy to science has been beyond computation edison as everyone knows gave us the incandescent light the phonograph and the large unit storage battery for BO 60 years yearn his name has been synonymous in america with electricity and its uses at 16 15 he be was a telegraph operator before he was waa 21 he he had haa developed the automatic repeater by br which a message could be ba transferred from one wire to another an invention tor for duplex telegraphy which he be sold tor for gave him a fund with which to retire from the key establish a laboratory labo of his own awn and devote himself to inventive research res e arch the carbon telephone transmitter was washes his next invention then followed the long line of inventions and refinements ot of inventions with which edison has baa held the leadership tn in his cold to a greater extent than either rr franklin anklin or steinmetz edison followed lils hla discoveries eries aud and Invent inventions igns through to their practical development and their establishment in AmeA amelcar call homes but even eren he has not carried out this practice to the extent followed follone d by kent perhaps this Is but another step in our scientific and industrial evolution just as radio itself la Is a stop step ahead of tho the ei electric ciric light and the franklin steinmetz edison and kent those four lives span the whole period of electrical dev development elopement elop ment ther above all others stand land out la in the popular mind as the wizards ot of electricity tv t kfir i |