January 16th 40

Dear Granger
Received yours of the 12th Am just leaving, but will strike off a few memories on Thomas A. Edison. Much has been written about him everywhere. Edison was quite athletic, strong and energetic in his youth. He went to the little white school situated right where the City Hall buildings now are and taught by H. Crawford. Every one knows about his having been newsboy on Grand Trunk Railway between Port Huron and Detroit and his printing a newspaper on the train. Later on he was telegraph operator for Grand Trunk Railroad at Fort Gratiot. One day he got up his device that would [1] let him sleep, but would wake him up as any train approached. Those days trains were not very often right on time. But one day the device did not work and they had a collision.

Edison walked out the next day and arriving at Buffalo, applied for a job at the Western Union telegraph Company there. The Manager looked upon him as small town guy & agreed to try him out. So connected him with New York City after wiring New York to put on their best rapid operator & have him rush a rapid message to the guy. He did so, but the faster he sent them Edison came back one better. After a while the New Yorker wired - "Who are you [2] Whats your name and where do you come from? Edison wired back. My name is Al Edison from Port Huron Michigan

"New York answered "Never mind Buffalo. "Come right in to New York City. "We can use you" and Edison went.

Later Edison invented the method of sending more than one message over one wire at the same time Also one giving & one coming at the same time.

It took the "Western Union" two years before they adopted it there --- an gave Edison fifty thousand dollars for it. This was his first start.

There is not any doubt that Edison possessed the sixth sense. As you know he was deaf from an [3] injury. Well, one day while I was working with him on the process of vacuuming low grade sulphide ores cheaply from abandoned mines gold silver copper ect. making these mines profitable, I had to go into his office to consult with him.

He was not in, but a Russian Violinist was playing for a record on the Edison phonograph. Edison came through when he passed by her he stopped and them threw up his hands. And said there is something wrong with your E string. She flew up and went off the handle. He just looked at her in his always nice plausible manner, went & got a microscope. When she removed the string, the glass showed quite a blemish a bubble in it, right where she was playing [4] Im quite musical & have a good ear for music, so they say I could not ---tise anything wrong & neither could she - but this genius that could not hear, could & did.

I had an amusing episode a few years ago down here. There was a "Womans -------- Temperance Convention here and met some of them. One of them was quite interesting and not too rabid. There were one or two a little more hard boiled. I would not have liked to be on trial for kissing my wife on Sunday & have them on the jury. Well, they had a swiming day at the pool at the Cassino. Some wonderful girl swimmers. I have been very good at such. Every boy when I was young was, particularly from Butler St. and [5] that was where our factory has always been. Now Grand River Ave.

I went out with the bunch & turned a back somersault off the springboard and some other stunts. When we came in the rather nice woman of the Temperance said to me Mr. Robeson you are a wonderful swimmer. I said Madame I was ----- good and she replied you are now. But I see you smoke. How long have your smoked. I said all my life. She said - that is too bad, if you had not smoked you might have lived very long. My daughter was standing there and she replied Dad was 80 years old last Christmas, and I said Madame that's a fact and all my old friends that did not smoke chew or drink are dead long ago. Then one of those [6] more severe ----ed women attacked me. She said, you know what Mr. Edison says about tobacco don't you. I replied No I don't. She said you worked with him you aught to know. Don't you read the newspapers. I said yes I do, but you are in the wrong Mr. Edison did not say to smoke. He said cigarettes. and I'll tell you a little story about that Mr Edison dislikes cigarettes During the war there was an Italian Scientist of the Macaroni type working at the Edison Laboratory at West Orange. An inveterate cigarette smoker. One day when he was at lunch Edison tacked a package of cigarettes over his desk and --- to above it. A --- would not use these. When the Italian came back, he went up in [7] the air but every one smoothed him over, saying the Old Man detested cigarettes and it passed over.

But the next day the Italian tacked a package of scrap chewing tobacco over Edisons desk and wrote if a boy used this he would die.

You see Edison chewed tobacco. So I had one think in common with him. I chewed tobacco also. She went away disgusted.

Edison took the joke with a great deal of levity, but never bothered any more about who smoked cigarettes.

Well I have to rush this little information to you. Hoping it will be a little interesting.

Sincerely,
Bill Robeson