A World-Hunt For Filament Material - 4

A World-Hunt For Filament Material - 4

 The next and last explorer whom Edison sent out in search of natural fibres was Mr.

James Ricalton, of Maplewood, New Jersey, a school-principal, a well- known traveller,

and an ardent student of natural science. Mr. Ricalton's own story of his memorable

expedition is so interesting as to be worthy of repetition here:

"A village schoolmaster is not unaccustomed to door-rappings; for the steps of belligerent

mothers are often thitherward bent seeking redress for conjured wrongs to their darling

boobies.

"It was a bewildering moment, therefore, to the Maplewood teacher when, in answering a

rap at the door one afternoon, he found, instead of an irate mother, a messenger from the

laboratory of the world's greatest inventor bearing a letter requesting an audience a few

hours later.

"Being the teacher to whom reference is made, I am now quite willing to confess that for

the remainder of that afternoon, less than a problem in Euclid would have been sufficient

to disqualify me for the remaining scholastic duties of the hour. I felt it, of course, to be

no small honor for a humble teacher to be called to the sanctum of Thomas A. Edison.

The letter, however, gave no intimation of the nature of the object for which I had been

invited to appear before Mr. Edison....

"When I was presented to Mr. Edison his way of setting forth the mission he had

designated for me was characteristic of how a great mind conceives vast undertakings

and commands great things in few words. At this time Mr. Edison had discovered that the

fibre of a certain bamboo afforded a very desirable carbon for the electric lamp, and the

variety of bam- boo used was a product of Japan. It was his belief that in other parts of

the world other and superior varieties might be found, and to that end he had dispatched

explorers to bamboo regions in the valleys of the great South American rivers, where

specimens were found of extraordinary quality; but the locality in which these specimens

were found was lost in the limitless reaches of those great river-bottoms. The great

necessity for more durable carbons became a desideratum so urgent that the tireless

inventor decided to commission another explorer to search the tropical jungles of the

Orient.

"This brings me then to the first meeting of Edison, when he set forth substantially as

follows, as I remember it twenty years ago, the purpose for which he had called me from

my scholastic duties. With a quizzical gleam in his eye, he said: `I want a man to ransack

all the tropical jungles of the East to find a better fibre for my lamp; I expect it to be

found in the palm or bamboo family. How would you like that job?' Suiting my reply to

his love of brevity and dispatch, I said, `That would suit me.' `Can you go to-morrow?'

was his next question. `Well, Mr. Edison, I must first of all get a leave of absence from

my Board of Education, and assist the board to secure a substitute for the time of my

absence. How long will it take, Mr. Edison?' `How can I tell? Maybe six months, and

maybe five years; no matter how long, find it.' He continued: `I sent a man to South

America to find what I want; he found it; but lost the place where he found it, so he might

as well never have found it at all.' Hereat I was enjoined to proceed forthwith to court the

Board of Education for a leave of absence, which I did successfully, the board

considering that a call so important and honorary was entitled to their unqualified favor,

which they generously granted.