The Social Side Of Edison -11

The Social Side Of Edison -11

 The reference to clothes is interesting, as it is one of the few subjects in which Edison has

no interest. It rather bores him. His dress is always of the plainest; in fact, so plain that, at

the Bergmann shops in New York, the children attending a parochial Catholic school

were wont to salute him with the finger to the head, every time he went by. Upon

inquiring, he found that they took him for a priest, with his dark garb, smooth-shaven

face, and serious expression. Edison says: "I get a suit that fits me; then I compel the

tailors to use that as a jig or pattern or blue-print to make others by. For many years a suit

was used as a measurement; once or twice they took fresh measurements, but these didn't

fit and they had to go back. I eat to keep my weight constant, hence I need never change

measurements." In regard to this, Mr. Mallory furnishes a bit of chat as follows: "In a

lawsuit in which I was a witness, I went out to lunch with the lawyers on both sides, and

the lawyer who had been cross-examining me stated that he had for a client a Fifth

Avenue tailor, who had told him that he had made all of Mr. Edison's clothes for the last

twenty years, and that he had never seen him. He said that some twenty years ago a suit

was sent to him from Orange, and measurements were made from it, and that every suit

since had been made from these measurements. I may add, from my own personal

observation, that in Mr. Edison's clothes there is no evidence but that every new suit that

he has worn in that time looks as if he had been specially measured for it, which shows

how very little he has changed physically in the last twenty years."

Edison has never had any taste for amusements, although he will indulge in the game of

"Parchesi" and has a billiard-table in his house. The coming of the automobile was a great

boon to him, because it gave him a form of outdoor sport in which he could indulge in a

spirit of observation, without the guilty feeling that he was wasting valuable time. In his

automobile he has made long tours, and with his family has particularly indulged his taste

for botany. That he has had the usual experience in running machines will be evidenced

by the following little story from Mr. Mallory: "About three years ago I had a motor-car

of a make of which Mr. Edison had already two cars; and when the car was received I

made inquiry as to whether any repair parts were carried by any of the various garages in

Easton, Pennsylvania, near our cement works. I learned that this particular car was the

only one in Easton. Knowing that Mr. Edison had had an experience lasting two or three

years with this particular make of car, I determined to ask him for information relative to

repair parts; so the next time I was at the laboratory I told him I was unable to get any

repair parts in Easton, and that I wished to order some of the most necessary, so that, in

case of breakdowns, I would not be compelled to lose the use of the car for several days

until the parts came from the automobile factory. I asked his advice as to what I should

order, to which he replied: `I don't think it will be necessary to order an extra top.' " Since

that episode, which will probably be appreciated by most automobilists, Edison has taken

up the electric automobile, and is now using it as well as developing it. One of the cars

equipped with his battery is the Bailey, and Mr. Bee tells the following story in regard to

it: "One day Colonel Bailey, of Amesbury, Massachusetts, who was visiting the

Automobile Show in New York, came out to the laboratory to see Mr. Edison, as the

latter had expressed a desire to talk with him on his next visit to the metropolis. When he

arrived at the laboratory, Mr. Edison, who had been up all night experimenting, was

asleep on the cot in the library. As a rule we never wake Mr. Edison from sleep, but as he

wanted to see Colonel Bailey, who had to go, I felt that an exception should be made, so I

went and tapped him on the shoulder. He awoke at once, smiling, jumped up, was

instantly himself as usual, and advanced and greeted the visitor. His very first question

was: `Well, Colonel, how did you come out on that experiment?'--referring to some

suggestions he had made at their last meeting a year before. For a minute Colonel Bailey

did not recall what was referred to; but a few words from Mr. Edison brought it back to

his remembrance, and he reported that the results had justified Mr. Edison's

expectations."