chapter27.txt

CHAPTER XXVII







THE VALUE OF EDISON'S INVENTIONS TO



THE WORLD







IF the world were to take an account of stock, so



to speak, and proceed in orderly fashion to marshal



its tangible assets in relation to dollars and



cents, the natural resources of our globe, from centre



to circumference, would head the list. Next would



come inventors, whose value to the world as an asset



could be readily estimated from an increase of its



wealth resulting from the actual transformations of



these resources into items of convenience and comfort



through the exercise of their inventive ingenuity.







Inventors of practical devices may be broadly divided



into two classes--first, those who may be said



to have made two blades of grass grow where only



one grew before; and, second, great inventors, who



have made grass grow plentifully on hitherto unproductive



ground. The vast majority of practical inventors



belong to and remain in the first of these



divisions, but there have been, and probably always



will be, a less number who, by reason of their greater



achievements, are entitled to be included in both



classes. Of these latter, Thomas Alva Edison is one,



but in the pages of history he stands conspicuously



pre-eminent--a commanding towering figure, even



among giants.







The activities of Edison have been of such great



range, and his conquests in the domains of practical



arts so extensive and varied, that it is somewhat



difficult to estimate with any satisfactory degree of



accuracy the money value of his inventions to the



world of to-day, even after making due allowance



for the work of other great inventors and the propulsive



effect of large amounts of capital thrown into



the enterprises which took root, wholly or in part,



through the productions of his genius and energies.



This difficulty will be apparent, for instance, when we



consider his telegraph and telephone inventions.



These were absorbed in enterprises already existing,



and were the means of assisting their rapid growth



and expansion, particularly the telephone industry.



Again, in considering the fact that Edison was one



of the first in the field to design and perfect a practical



and operative electric railway, the main features



of which are used in all electric roads of to-day, we are



confronted with the problem as to what proportion of



their colossal investment and earnings should be



ascribed to him.







Difficulties are multiplied when we pause for a



moment to think of Edison's influence on collateral



branches of business. In the public mind he is



credited with the invention of the incandescent electric



light, the phonograph, and other widely known



devices; but how few realize his actual influence on



other trades that are not generally thought of in connection



with these things. For instance, let us note



what a prominent engine builder, the late Gardiner



C. Sims, has said: "Watt, Corliss, and Porter brought



forward steam-engines to a high state of proficiency,



yet it remained for Mr. Edison to force better proportions,



workmanship, designs, use of metals, regulation,



the solving of the complex problems of high



speed and endurance, and the successful development



of the shaft governor. Mr. Edison is pre-



eminent in the realm of engineering."







The phenomenal growth of the copper industry was



due to a rapid and ever-increasing demand, owing to



the exploitation of the telephone, electric light, electric



motor, and electric railway industries. Without



these there might never have been the romance of



"Coppers" and the rise and fall of countless fortunes.



And although one cannot estimate in definite figures



the extent of Edison's influence in the enormous increase



of copper production, it is to be remembered



that his basic inventions constitute a most important



factor in the demand for the metal. Besides, one



must also give him the credit, as already noted, for



having recognized the necessity for a pure quality of



copper for electric conductors, and for his persistence



in having compelled the manufacturers of that period



to introduce new and additional methods of refinement



so as to bring about that result, which is now



a sine qua non.







Still considering his influence on other staples and



collateral trades, let us enumerate briefly and in a



general manner some of the more important and additional



ones that have been not merely stimulated,



but in many cases the business and sales have been



directly increased and new arts established through



the inventions of this one man--namely, iron, steel,



brass, zinc, nickel, platinum ($5 per ounce in 1878,



now $26 an ounce), rubber, oils, wax, bitumen, various



chemical compounds, belting, boilers, injectors, structural



steel, iron tubing, glass, silk, cotton, porcelain,



fine woods, slate, marble, electrical measuring instruments,



miscellaneous machinery, coal, wire, paper,



building materials, sapphires, and many others.







The question before us is, To what extent has



Edison added to the wealth of the world by his



inventions and his energy and perseverance? It will



be noted from the foregoing that no categorical answer



can be offered to such a question, but sufficient material



can be gathered from a statistical review of the



commercial arts directly influenced to afford an



approximate idea of the increase in national wealth that



has been affected by or has come into being through



the practical application of his ideas.







First of all, as to inventions capable of fairly definite



estimate, let us mention the incandescent electric



light and systems of distribution of electric light,



heat, and power, which may justly be considered as



the crowning inventions of Edison's life. Until October



21, 1879, there was nothing in existence resembling



our modern incandescent lamp. On that date,



as we have seen in a previous chapter, Edison's labors



culminated in his invention of a practical incandescent



electric lamp embodying absolutely all the essentials



of the lamp of to-day, thus opening to the



world the doors of a new art and industry. To-day



there are in the United States more than 41,000,000



of these lamps, connected to existing central-station



circuits in active operation.







Such circuits necessarily imply the existence of



central stations with their equipment. Until the



beginning of 1882 there were only a few arc-lighting



stations in existence for the limited distribution of



current. At the present time there are over 6000



central stations in this country for the distribution



of electric current for light, heat, and power, with



capital obligations amounting to not less than



$1,000,000,000. Besides the above-named 41,000,000



incandescent lamps connected to their mains, there are



about 500,000 arc lamps and 150,000 motors, using



750,000 horse-power, besides countless fan motors



and electric heating and cooking appliances.







When it is stated that the gross earnings of these



central stations approximate the sum of $225,000,000



yearly, the significant import of these statistics of



an art that came so largely from Edison's laboratory



about thirty years ago will undoubtedly be apparent.







But the above are not by any means all the facts



relating to incandescent electric lighting in the United



States, for in addition to central stations there are



upward of 100,000 isolated or private plants in mills,



factories, steamships, hotels, theatres, etc., owned by



the persons or concerns who operate them. These



plants represent an approximate investment of



$500,000,000, and the connection of not less than



25,000,000 incandescent lamps or their equivalent.







Then there are the factories where these incandescent



lamps are made, about forty in number, repre-



sensing a total investment that may be approximated



at $25,000,000. It is true that many of these factories



are operated by other than the interests which



came into control of the Edison patents (General



Electric Company), but the 150,000,000 incandescent



electric lamps now annually made are broadly covered



in principle by Edison's fundamental ideas and



patents.







It will be noted that these figures are all in round



numbers, but they are believed to be well within the



mark, being primarily founded upon the special reports



of the Census Bureau issued in 1902 and 1907,



with the natural increase from that time computed



by experts who are in position to obtain the facts.



It would be manifestly impossible to give exact figures



of such a gigantic and swiftly moving industry,



whose totals increase from week to week.







The reader will naturally be disposed to ask whether



it is intended to claim that Edison has brought about



all this magnificent growth of the electric-lighting



art. The answer to this is decidedly in the negative,



for the fact is that he laid some of the foundation



and erected a building thereon, and in the natural



progressive order of things other inventors of more



or less fame have laid substructures or added a wing



here and a story there until the resultant great structure



has attained such proportions as to evoke the



admiration of the beholder;...