BOY GENIUS

Evening Star, Issue 20263, 26 August 1929, Page 2

BOY GENIUS

“WIZARD’S" SUCCESSOR PASSED THE TEST. NEi. tUrilv, August 3. Boys the worm over x. ill oo inter s.cu m llio.uas a selection oi a xad to succeed aim in tnc scicntiuc . a.esJ-,., Lion neiti. r rom fouy-mno boys who were sub.,ectcu to a week ol cxnausm o piest.oning and examination, iVilbur elusion, the son ol a Seattl. 1 clergyman, uas oecn cm-sen »y tnree eminent judge o as Edison’s successor At least one question was a “ a catch, lor su;e ” Recently friends at “The Wizard ’’ : n..onncect (mat lie wished to leave his mantle to some deserving youth with .sufficient ability and scientific bent to possess a reasonable chance of making good use oi the vast laboratory and other resources which the aged Edison voukl bequeath alter training the lad luring the remaning years of his lilc. Acco. dingly, forty-nine high school graduates assembhd from the various .states for examination. IN..son and a comnottee ol friends plica them with ques‘ions during ' the examination, which lasted over several days. The young geniuses were asked: — “How would you spend 1,000,000 dollars P ”

“ Who! conduct would you adopt it you were accused of cheating? ” “ How would you remove three tons weight. ii yon wore rnaroonod on a 'e-ert island? ’ “Who was Jenny Lind?”

Thonsc ds o! otlm oucstions were propounded, and the judges went into j final session yesterday at noon. I Harvey Firestone, Homy Ford, ami I Charles Lindbergh sat up all, night try- ; ing to make the selection, and this morning announced that the smartest- _ boy was Wilbur Huston the sixtecn-vear-njd son. of a Seattle clergyman. Fie will ’e Edison’s successcn All the hoys in the competition had iT faculty- in answering the following question- “If theft is a box at yonr school vh mi yon c-r-shler superior to yon in bilitv and c’-—rcctci n'c--- - •••f ■ n ..., r | a ,i.’ . here ? ”

“ Th-t, wc° a gi+c’-. p'-c-iioii tor -lire.” -p'd’o-i p ir . 1--1 ■• I; you out ypnrsnlf-ifirst” "voiTre hem .-i bijt enn'■a’terl; if. yon name am-t l c’ hoy. you are generous, but probaMy-a liar.”