EDISON'S REMEDIES.

Bruce Herald, Volume L, Issue 32, 30 April 1914, Page 4

EDISON'S REMEDIES.

"ERADICATE THE CROOKS."

Thomas A. Edison was not long ago voted first among the "Ten Mcst Useful Americans" by the readers of tha 'Mew York Independent,' which likewise states that he might also be termed the Most Busy American. It is incredible how li-e labors still and keeps in touch ; not only with the complexities of his -scientific research, but with the minutiae of a manufacturing business employing 5000 persons. In returning the past year to the perfection of the phonograph, which lie invented 36 years ago, Mr Edison was confronted with a problem involving the fact that a fingerprint on a piece of glass, or a microscopic bit of dust, will make discordant the musical note car. j rieel by the phonographic diamond point j ncedlu. Thousands of experiments, chemical an;!' physical, were needed 'to battle with fingerprints, infinitesimal specks'of dirt and other obstacles in the way of tho' perfect phonograph. The following questions were put to Mr Edison:— What is the trend of invention F—Application of electricity to all moving things. The mcst significant invention of 1913? Manufacture of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. What work of your own during the past year is most important?— Perfection of tho recording of music by the new diss phonograph. What of setting off explosives by wireless? —It has been of no value, except for military murder. Is' nad'ium to bo harnessed? —It's driving a. clock m Paris. Radium so far has oiny a .scientific value. No ono can predict. There aro enormous possibilities. What of new sources of power?— Sun engines oi : considerable power, 20 t) 30 horiie-i'.ovi'cr, aro working m Africa and Arizona. 'lheio aro many inventors working on tho problem. Burning coal at the mouth of tno mine, converting tho power into electricity, and transmitting tho power over long distances has already been put into effect in iNova Scotia, and in England. How soon will ships bo driven by new •power?— Until wo find u practical method of converting combustible matter directly into electricity, steamboats will continuo to bo driven by steam and interna-! comibnetion motors. Aro not social machines displacing individual machines; e.g., the public laundry 'aga-iiiisb tho domestic washing machine ? The individual washing machine chine? Tho individual Trashing ma-trio-driven washing machinery, suitablo for the small house, is rapidly coming into use, and tho labor is reduced almost to nothing. Docs not invention follow social opportunity and need; cannot society vow ordain its invention? Every new thing is resisted, and it takes years for the inventor to get people to listen to him, and years more before it can bo introduced, and when it is introduced our beautiful laws and court procedure are used by predatory commercialism to ruin tho inventor. They don't leave him even enough to start a new invention.

Y»*ould you recommend that the United States Government establish a Cabinet Department of Inventions? I do not believe fcho Government should do anything but regulate the 'activities of it:/ people, give 'them a free saving, and 6eo that every man is protected in that which ho produces. Panama, is an example. In this case the right man was selected; lie was given a free swing. Suppose the wrong man had :been selected, and he. was hampered by red tape and politicians•; then Panama, would not be uhcdi as an example. A department of invention is not wanted. What is wanted is that the methods- of court procedure- be changed, and the courts realise that the man who makes inventions, by the very nature of things, cannot bo k businr>ss mwii, familiar with its merciless code; and they should take this into consideration and protect him. "When I want to discover something I begin by reading up everything that has been "dono along- that "lino in the past —that's what all these books in thiri library are for. I see what has been accomplished at great labor and expensa in the past. I gather the data of many thousands of experiments as a starting point and then I make some i thousands more-

"Tliere i.sn't to much happiness floating around, and the man who gets nearest his rightful share of it has a character, a little bungalow in the country, and a family. "What does the- very rich get? Hes' always scheming, always suspicious of the men around him. His money is mostly out, invested. Yes, he lives in a fine house, rides in an automobile, and he eats three meals a day when he feels able to. I defy anyone to prove that he gets much out of life. Money doesn't make a man happy and it doesn't make a man a good companion. I'm going down to Florida for a fishing trip, and I'd rather have pr.me of the men upstairs to go with me than those Wall Street millionaires. Well, I'm going to have pretty good companions—John Burroughs and Henry Ford. "Tilings are wrong enough, and to right them' we need two remedies. One is to develop the convolutions in man's brain, those coils instde with which liß does nis thinking. We have gradually developed what \ve have in thefej ajtd if we could develop about two tions more we would 'be- able- to grasp and solve, our; social problems. t "The" other remedy is education, fylligation of the right sort in early childhood. You can't do anything with, a grown man. You can't do anything or predict anything about a woman either, because she is all instinct and emotion. But take a child four years old, and its mind is plastic, and whatever you put in there will always stay. Teach a child of four that the •moon is made of green cheese, and though you jnve him a thorough scientific education afterwards there will always be, at the bottom of his mind; a feeling that the moon is somehow possibly made of green cheese. "See how religious beliefs implanted in childhood stay with the adult in spite of everything. -Montessori has the right idea. It is necessary to take them young and to teach morality and character, to fix ideas in thoseniastic minds so that it will be impossible for them to think wrong or do wrong. "What we want to do in this world is to eradicate the crooks, high and low, and to do that'we must begin early arid prevent them from going crooked at the start," concluded Edison.

Miss Isabella T Ourrie, formerly on the staff of Toko High School, and' presently sole teacher at Kaihiku, has been recommended for: appointment as second assistant at Maheuo sohool.

At the Brace Horticultural Society's annual meeting on Tuesday evening, she treasurer, Mr Donald Reid, was in witty, humorous mood, -nominations of ladies tor the general committee were proceeding merrily, when Mr Reid ejaculated "Wait a minute, we're not going m lor female auttrage yet; I am against it." It was persuasively penned out that the ladies accomplished good .work, to Which tho irrepressible one responded "I Know that; they always do more work tiiuu the males, oat I don't desire this society to be run oy the ladies altogether." a compromise was arrived at by granting ladies equal representation on die geueral committee, but counterbalancing this in favor of mule representation by the members at committee ex officio. BUoINfcSS MEMOS. Mr T H Russell returns thanks for re-eiectiuu. Donald Reid and Co. hold their annual Horsehair at Allan con on Thursday, 7th iylay. Utago A and P Society's winter show dates are announced in udvt columns. Entries close 13th May. Uall and hear Harry .Lauder's latest successes on the Lyriopuone at Mr a Edward's snop. Utago Jj'arniers' Co-op Association hold special sule of urnuguG mares | and geiuiiigs at Milton on Tuesday j nest.