The Edison phonograph monthly (Mar 1906-Feb 1907)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY books, for, I have neglected to state, that every paper, book and record of any kind that I ever had was destroyed inside of my safe. Regardless of all these ordeals I AM GOING TO STICK TO 'FRISCO. MR. EDISON AUTOMOBILING IN THE SOUTH It is undoubtedly true that the average person evinces as great an interest in the private lives and doings of prominent men as in their public labors and successes. For, naturally enough, a knowledge of the more intimate personal characteristics and a closer view of the life at home, at work, or at leisure appears to bring the celebrity closer to us and to make his achievements appeal the more strongly to the individual. The accompanying photographs of Thomas A. Edison [not reprinted for want of space] show the dean of the inventors of America, if not of the world, in situations that are as interesting as they are unconventional. They were taken during a vacation trip planned some time ago and carried out recently. It is not strictly correct to designate this automobile trip as a vacation, for the word vacation is almost unknown to the great electrician whose working days often last for eighteen or twenty hours. And even in this instance the vacation tour was undertaken with a view to study and investigation, and the causes that gave rise to it were these : For the last few years Edison has been working steadily and enthusiastically at his alkaline storage battery, and while he has succeeded in developing a cell that is decidedly superior to the lead accumulator for many purposes, a great deal still remains to be accomplished before his success can be called complete. In the course of his investigations Edison has employed and tested a great variety of different metals, and among these recently was cobalt. As this metal is comparatively rare, and consequently expensive, the inventor has been on the lookout for possible sources of cobalt-bearing minerals which would make it better available for his purposes. It was reported that cobalt existed in considerable quantities in the neighborhood of Charlotte, N. C, and thereupon Edison dispatched three prospectors to search through this region for the metal. Favorable reports having been received from these investigators, Edison determined to see for himself whether or not the reports were warranted, and so undertook this trip. For several years past the inventor has been an enthusiastic automobilist, and he decided to make the journey from his home in Orange to Charlotte by means of his two White steam cars with which he last year accomplished the Glidden tour, though in a reverse direction from that taken by the various contestants. He strongly favors the steam machine for long and rough trips, and declares that it is far superior to the gasoline car for such purposes. The party consisted of Edison, his son Charles, and a Mr. Miller, in one car, and two laboratory assistants in the second car. The machine driven by Edison was in the usual condition for touring with tonneau and Cape cart top. The tonneau of the second machine, however, was removed and replaced by a boxlike structure in which was packed a complete camping outfit, baggage, provisions, and a small amount of laboratory apparatus for use in mineralogical investigations. Needless to say, provision was made for the repair of almost all possible injury to mechanism or tires. The tourists, of course, encountered tire troubles, but there were practically no difficulties with the engines. That the trip was rather strenuous will be understood by all those familiar with the roads in that section of the South traversed by tourists. The departure from Orange was made on May 16 and from there the route lay through Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, through the Shenandoah Valley, over the mountains across Virginia, into North Carolina to Charlotte. The Shenandoah Valley and mountain trip is one that is not often undertaken, for the roads are unusually unspeakable. Edison, however, revels in a tour of this kind and thoroughly enjoyed even the most difficult portions of the country. Fortunately the weather was uniformly good, and rain and mud were not added difficulties. Gasoline was easily procurable along the route, and no trouble was encountered in supplying the engines with the water available. Edison is unquestionably one of the most unassuming and democratic of our great men and he makes a splendid companion for such a trip. He sturdily objects to posing for pictures, however, and the accompanying photograph of the inventor asleep was taken during a noon rest near Leesburg, Va. It is probably the first of Edison taken under such circumstances'. The idea appeals to us as rathernovel ; our conceptions of Edison are usually of the inventor as very "wide awake." Wherever necessary the tourists camped alongside the road and only availed themselves of hotels or inns where such were reached without trouble. It is not the intent of the party to return in the same manner. The machines will be shipped north, and after a stay of several weeks in the region around Charlotte, the party will return by rail. — Scientific American. The above account was published while Mr. Edison was on his trip South. He has since returned to his laboratory, none the worse for his novel experience. GOOD MATERIAL. In a recent railroad case in the Superior Court in Boston a Phonograph Record was accepted as a vital witness and won the suit. The name of Edison is and will be held in the highest esteem by present and future generations. His achievements have so revolutionized the world's work and pleasure that he is rightly termed the wizard. In all the successful efforts of his fertile brain, none have proven more generally useful and entertaining than the Phonograph. Its scope and influence is, although world wide, not yet fully ap