EDISON ON THE GERMANS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 99, 9 December 1911, Page 7

EDISON ON THE GERMANS.

Mr Thomas Edison lias, before sailing home from Hamburg, expressed some remarkable views about Germany and the Germans to the special! correspondent of the “New York) World,” who accompanied him! throughout his European tour. Ho{ was much interested in industrial Hamburg, saying that there, as else-| where, Germany’s new buildings were distressingly uncouth. “There’s something wrong with Germany’s aesthetic lobe. They feed their brains with too much beer—result, beer architecture. The only dignified buildings I’ve seen are copies of Greek and Homan. In architecture, as in all else, Gormans lack proper initiative—they are good adapters, that’s all.” Too Much Economy. “I was surprised, ' while going through miles of factories in Berlin, to see how little there was new—everywhere American machinery. Another thing that handicaps German progress is over-economy. They grudge spending money, and if a new machine comes out that’s an improvement on the old the German won’t buy it until he has used up the old. Where the American’s intelligence comes in is in his willingness to spend money when necessary. There is no short-sighted sou-saving done among our business men. One hears great talk of the high standard of business integrity in Germany, yet at lunch the other day with German financiers it was admitted that there was no comparison between English standards and their own. The English is the highest standard of integrity in the world.” Praise for Britons. “I was told that the German aristocracy are entering largely, into business now to get rich quick, and they do not care how it is done. Their methods have generally affected business ideals. It is my opinion that the English.are the highest type physically," morally . ,and • mentally, over here. I don’t belief in the talkedof„ industrial world-dominance of Germany. .Just wait till our markets got filled up, and we’re forced to flood Europe with our ‘drummers.’ They’ll show Germany what push is. Germany has interested me through the changes which have taken place since I was bore before: ■ ’But we, have nothing to learn from her, while she’s got much to learn from us.”