THE INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE.

Kumara Times, Issue 574, 30 July 1878, Page 2

THE INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the telephone, has, by his inventive genius; coru« prominently before the world at

one bound, so to speak. We give the ’ following little incident in his career, when he was a telegraph tramp, or his first night’s work in .a Boston officer— , “ I was in the Boston office when-he arrived and I must say*” continued Mr S’ewart, bringing his fist down upon the table, “.he was the. worst-looking specimen of humanity I ever-saw. The ' modem telegraph tramp isn’t a marker. He wore a pair of jean breaches ■; six inches too short for him, a pair of--very . : low shoes; the Ranuok jacket, apd-a", broad-brimmed butternut hat/a relic of his life in Memphis. The wide rttri was badly torn, and hungdown.so tbat yon could see bis ear through the opening. - There was the slightest trace of dirt bu his upper lip that he called a mous- 1 tache. His -hair hadn’t been combed . for a week, and he wore the blankest white shirt that was ever, seen on the - back of human being. Nervpusly pinching his upper Up —a habit that he > had—he inquired for the manager; and was sent to Miliiken.

“‘‘Are you the boss]’ Tom asked. Millikeu smiled, mid said he was manager. Tom then iutroducedhimself, and asked when they. \vanted;him>to!go s to v work. Miliikon stared at him “'as though he couldn't believe his eararj and ;• said, *At half-past five/- It'was then J -_ well along in the afternoon. gan to ( look /around the office for a '?? dock, and Miliiken said, ‘ Young man, • you have to work a pretty hoavy wire.’ ;• ■- Tom gave what he teemed his. moustache an extra twist, and with all the assurance in the world blurted out, * All i ighb boss. I'll be here at h£lfpasthvn.* He sloped so qnick that it made Milliken’s head swim, , -

“ The operators burst into a pea! of laughter. They had seen and heard everything, and their remarks wereany- ' thing but complimentary to Tom. ‘Oh,* I said one of them, ‘ he won’t last as long j as that Jerseyman that tackled the wire tlie 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 j when a fourth ‘ wondered whether the j walking between Michigan and - Boston 1 was very good,’ there was a general ! roar, .

“ Well,” continued Stewart, “halfpast five came, and so did Tomi Everybody was on the qui vive. Milliken was just taking from the vault the supply of blanks for 1 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 snicker. They all thought he would get bounced after trying to catch one message. It was Iso, I wire to New ' York. Jerry Borat, then considered one of the fastest senders worked the New York end. As Tom seated himself, he heard the call * 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,* |I, I!’ Jerry began to ‘ whoop Vm 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 Jen y all his life. Four mortal hours did Jerry keep it np a hundred pound to the square inch, and four mortal hours did Tom taka 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, withdut a break from the receiver. He was astonished. When he had finished, the following message passed between them : “ From Jerry ; ‘Who are you, anyhow V - - . J “From Tom: ‘l’m the new mam ! My name is Tom Edison.* ‘From Jerry: ‘Well, you are the ’ man I’ve looking for the last ten > years, and you’re the only man T ever' fount that could take me without" a bit; i!c : , . Shake;” ‘ And they shook. The astonish-,* meat of the boys in the office waj u'n*'?’

bounded. There was no move jibbing''nor snickering. Everybody w:.s Tom’s friend at once. The next day Milliken picked up a copy of Tom’s .manuscript, and reflectively stroked bis long beard. ‘ I never saw such a pretty copy,’ lie said. ‘ lie’s as good an operator as I ever race.’ ”