THE INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Issue 48, 31 August 1878, Page 4

THE INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE.

Thorns Edison, the inventor of tho telephone, has by his inventive genius, oorno prominently before tho world at one bound, so to speak. We givo tho following little incident in his career, whon he was a telegraph tramp, or his first night's work in a Boston office:—

"I was in the Boston office when lie arrived and I must say," continued llr. Stewart, bringing hLs iist down upon tho

table, "he was the wont looking specimen of humanity I ever saw. The modern telegraph tramp isn't a marker. He wore a pair of jean breeches six inches too short for him, a pair of very low shoes, the Kanuck jacket, and a broad-brimmed butternut hat, a relic of his life in Memphis. The wide rim was badly torn iiud hung down so that you could see his ear through tho opening. There was the slightest trace of dirt on his upper lip that he called a moustache. His hair hadn't been combed for a week, and he wore the blackest white shirt that was ever seen on the back of a human being. Nervously pinching his upper lip—a habit that he had—ho inquired for the manager, and was sent to Milliken.

"' Are you the boss ?' Tom asked. Milliken smiled, and said he was manager. Tom then introduoed himself and askod when thoy wanted him to go to work. Milliken stared at him as though he couldn't believe his ears, and said, 'At Jialf-past five.' It was then well along in the afternoon. Tom began to look around the office for a clock, and Milliken said, ' Young man, you have to work a pretty heavy wire.' Tom gave what he termed his moustache an extra twist, and with all the assurance in the world blurted out' All right, boss. I'll be here at half-past five.' He eloped so quiok that it made Milliken's head swim.

" The operators burst into a peal of laughter. They had seen and heard everything, and their remarks were anything but complimentary to Tom. ' Oh,' said one of them, 'he won't last as long as that Jersey man that tackled the wire the other day.' ' Why that fellow can't read by paper, let alone by sound,' shouted another. A third declared that Tom was ' the worst he ever saw,' and when a fourth wondered whether the walking between Michigan and Boston was very good,' there was a general roar. " Well," continued Stewart, " half-past five came, and so did Tom. Everybody was on the qui vive. Milliken was just taking from the vault the supply of blanks for the night operators. As Tom came up he pointed to a pile of them, saying, ' take what blanks you want, and I'll show you your table.' Tom innocently picked up the whole bundle, and followed Milliken to the table.' The operators began to grin and snikcr. They all thought he would get bounced after trying to catch one message. It was No. 1 wire to New York. Jerry Borst, then considered one of the fastest senders in the country, worked the Now York end. As Tom seated himself, he heard the call I B,' and turning to Milliken, asked if that was the call for Boston. ' Yes,' replied the manager, watching Tom's movement with intense curiosity. Thereupon Tom opened his key and ticked the answer,' 1, I!' Jerry began to ' whoop 'em up' in his best style, and every eye was turned on Tom. He displayed no anxiety, but kept right along at his work as though he had been taking Jerry all his life. Four mortal hours did Jerry keep it up a hundred pounds to the square inch, and four mortal hours did Tom take it down in handwriting as neat and plain as reprint. For the first time in his life, Jerry had rushed it till he was tired, without a break from the receiver. He was astonished. When he had finished, the following message passed betweon them:

" From Jerry: ' Who are you, anyhow ?' " From Tom: ' I'm the new man. My name is Tom Edison.'

" From Jerry: ' Well, you are the man I've been looking for the last ten years, and you're the only man I ever found that could take me without a break. Shake.'

"And they shook. The astonishment of the boys in the office was unbounded. There was no more jibing nor snickering. Everybody was Tom's friend at once. The next day Milliken picked up a copy of Tom's manuscript, and reflectively stroked his long beard. ' I never saw such a pretty copy,' lie said. ' He's as good an operator as I ever met.'"