EDISON'S BOYHOOD.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 109, 22 April 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

EDISON'S BOYHOOD.

Edison, tl.c famous inventor, served in many capacities in bis boyhood, and ► lie story oi his life, recounted in "Edison • His Life ami Inventions” (Harper and Brothers) -lion what enterprise he brought to hear on all matters he underLiok. AVlnle .acting as editor and compositor he was abo his own publisher. and during the American Civil War. when the public were eagerly awaiting news of the result of the battle of Miilr-h. or Pittsburg Landing, he brought off the following clever coup. • I knew,” he says, "that if the same excitement was attained at the various small towns along the road, and especially at Port Huron, the sale of papers would *>e great. 1 then conceived the idea of telegraphing the news ahead, went to the operator in the depot, and bv giving him “Harper’s Weekly” - and Mini© other papers f<» r three months he -greed to telegraph to all the stations the matter on the l.nlletin board. I hurriedly copied it. and he sent it. requesting the agents to display it on the black boards used for stating the arrival and departure of trains. 1 decided that instead of the usual 100 papers I could sell 1,000: but not having suf- ’ ticient i.ionev to purchase that number. I iletermimsi ; n riv desperation to see ti e ed.toi himself and get crt dit. The great naper at that time was the "Detroit Free Press.’’ I walkcyl into the rffhe marked "Fditoriid.” and told a young man that I wanted to see the i-ditor on iiiiciortant business — important t<> me. anywav. I was taken into m office where there were two men, and st.-.ti- 1 what 1 had done about telegraphing. and that I wanted a thousand papers but only had money for three hundred, and I wanted credit tine of the men refuwd it. but the other told the first sjH.kesman to let mo have them. This man, I afterwards learned, w ?.s Wilbur F. Storey, who founded the "Chicago Times” and became famous in the newspaper world. “in the -rid of another boy, I lugged the pa pels to the train and started folding them. 'Hie first station, called I’tiea. wis a small one, where I generally sold two papers. I saw a <-rowd ahead on the platform, and thought it was some excursion: but the moment I landed there was a rush for me. Then I realised that the* telegraph was a great invention. I sold 35 papers there. The next station was Mount Clemens, then a town of aliout 1,000. I usually sold six to eight papers there. I decided that if I found a corresponding crowd there the only thing to do to correct my lack of judgment in not getting more pafiers was to raise the I rice from five cents to ten. The crowd was there, and I raised the price. At t!:«- various town’ there were corres|ondi*ig crowds It had been my practi c at Port Union to jump from‘the train at a point about one-fourth of a mile from the station, where the train generally slackened speed. I had drawn yevoral loads of sand at this point to jump on. and had become quite expert. A little Dutch boy with a horse met me at this point. When the v.agon apnroache 1 the outskiits of the town I was met by a large crowd. I then yelled; •Twenty-five cents apiece, gentlemen. I haven’t enough to go round.’ I sold ;>H ou’.. and made what to me then was an immense sum of money.”