The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1908)

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THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. 59 THE GENIUS^OF EDISON. From Earliest Boyhood He Has Been Improving Old and Inventing New Things — Rise from Poverty to Wealth Reads Like the Arabian Night's Tale — Views of a London Paper. Mucli as lie is admired few realize the extent or true value of Thomas A. Edison's many remarkable achievements. From his very earliest days he was given to inventing or trying to improve existing methods, and it is related by a writer in a London paper "Mainly About People," that his first essay in this direction was an endeavor to hatch some eggs by sitting on them himself! Of course this will be taken with a grain of salt. The writer. then, says: "His wonderful rise from a newsboy to the world's greatest inventor reads more like a page from the "Arabian Nights" than soiber fact. Some idea of his preserverance may be gained from the fact that when quite a youngster he made up his mind to read all the books in the Detroit free library — over 50,000 in all. Of course, the feat proved impossible, but before he gave up he had read more than most men of middle age have ever even heard of. "Like most geniuses. Edison is not a very good business man, and although he has made huge sums of money, he cares little for wealth. Strange to say, in spite of his powers of practical invention, he is a very poor hand at arithmetic. "One of his pet hobbies is the collection of phonographic records of the voices of his numerous friends. Most people who visit him are asked to speak into a phonograph, and their sayings are most carefully preserved, to be repeated again afterward whenever the inventor feels inclined. "As most people are aware, Mr. Edison has for many years been troubled with deafness. Some time ago a famous specialist announced that he thought the trouble could be remedied if Edison would submit to an operation. But this he absolutely refused to do. "Although he finds his affliction a disadvantage in ordinary life, he considers it a Messing when he is engaged in thinking out his marvelous inventions. 'No matter what the rest of you are doing, or how much noise you are making,' he once said to a friend, 'it doesn't bother me, and I am able to concentrate my mind fully upon the subject in hand without interruption.' "Most great inventions have been discovered by accident, and there is a curious story of how Mr. Edison invented incandescent light. For some reason or other he had neglected to pay his gas bill, and an irate collector called upon him for the money. "It so happened that Edison was busily engaed in working and did not settle up at once. Shortly afterward, to his great annoyance, the gas was cut off. This so piqued the inventor that he there and then determined to discover something which would harm the gas companies. He set to work with a will, and the result of that night's pique was the invention of the incandescent light." GOOD REPORTS FROM LOS ANGELES. Dealers Report Gains Over Last Year With High Priced Goods in Demand — A. G. Higgins of the Victor Co. Enthuses Over Southern California — Out-of-Town Trade Also SatJsfactory — The Outlook Is Good. (Special to The Talking Machine World.) Los Angeles, Cal., January 6, 1908. December closed with great satisfaction on the part of mostly all. Business in general has been good, if not excellent. Most dealers have made a great gain over last year even though there are several new dealers and jobbers in the field. The demand for high priced goods was ahead of previous years. Victrolas and cabinets were greatly in demand, selling as though they were Victor, Jr.'s. All houses seem to be very short of records in both cylinder and disc, owing to the enormous number sold. Out of town dealers were as busy as they could be, using more high classed goods such as Victrola cabinets and red seal records, which they have done little with heretofore. Albex't G. Higgins, of the Victor Co., made a short stay in this city while on his way home. He expressed some little surprise at the healthy state of trade here and was greatly impressed with the city, but more so with Pasadena, where he could hardly believe it was the month of December, when his mind wandered eastward to the sleet and snow in contrast with the sunshine and flowers of the Southwest. While driving about the residence section of Pasadena, he remarked: "Give me a home here and I'll say good-bye to the rest of the world." After a short stay at home he is expected to make a business visit to Lbs Angeles, where he can spend more time in admiration. SOME PO{NTERS_ANENT MEXICO. Consul-General Gottschalk Says That Manufacturers Shouldi be Cautious in Protecting Their Interests in Mexico. According to a recent report of Consul General A. L. M. Gottschalk, of Mexico City. American manufacturers cannot 'be too cautious in protecting their interests in that country. As an illustration of the necessity of registering all trade-marks he cites the case of a shoe manufacturer of the United States as follows: "It appears that the shoe company in question has been making shipments of its products' to Mexico, through the port of Tampico. It is claimed that a resident there, observing the success which these goods obtained upon the market, has written to the manufacturers, stating that he had already copyrighted their trade-mark in Mexico and that they were infringing upon his rights in the matter. Having no data at hand as to the merits of the case, I wrote the American association of manufacturers which forwarded the complaint, recommending that the firm avail themselves of the services of a local law firm of unquestioned reliability to submit to the local courts their grievance against the apparent trespasser. The case seems to be one that should be presented to American manufacturers for their information. Manufacturers and exporters in the United States are too prone to think and to act as if compliance with their home laws guaranteed them against all possible injury or prejudice abroad. The case outlined should show clearly that it is the duty of firms who export successfully a certain class of jpierchandise to Mexico to proceed, in their own interest, to register their trade-mark in this country. A large number of American concerns neglect to fulfill the requirements of the Mexican incorporations law (stamp-tax law), in consequence of which, although they may not themselves be aware of it, they have absolutely no legal existence in the country. It is this neglectful oversight of many American business men who deal with foreign countries that so often is disparaging and causes irremediable damage to American trade. ADVANCE OF MECHANICAL MUSIC. A Brooklyn Writer Decants Upon the Growth in Popularity of American Made Music and the Days When the Swiss Music Box Was Pre-eminent — We Have Grown Since. The advance of mechanical music in America was made strikingly apaprent by A. N. Oldgirl in the Brooklyn Citizen recently. He wrote as follows: "Beford this country began manufacturing its 'own continuous music machinery the Swiss music box filled the long-felt want for melody-while-you-wait. It used often to be a toss-up between a grand piano or a $300 music box direct from the Canton Strausswaltz. It was usually kept in the dim and religious twilight of the parlor, and only wound up for a cycle of four popular selections when eminent company was present. After that it would have to be taken to a watchmaker for repairs. The Swiss music box was one of the most relentless instruments known to modern music. The tunes in it were permanent, and after you had once got 'Home, Sweet Home/ 'The Last Rose of Summer' and 'The Marseillaise' with one, there was no escape. You couldn't change the cylinder under $10." NORTHWESTERN TRY US DEALERS WE ARB JOBBERS AND DISTRIBUTERS BXCUUSIVBUV OR EDISON VICTOR PKonographs TalKing' Machines and Supplies MINNESOTA PHONOGRAPH GO. SJ^/!:?:" '^"'^r;..^" ual;reince h. luoker MINNEAPOLIS :: MINN.