Edison's work or remarks; and the items are generally
based on an interview. The reporters are never away from the laboratory
very long; for if they have no actual mission of inquiry, there is
always the chance of a good story being secured offhand; and the easy,
inveterate good-nature of Edison toward reporters is proverbial in
the craft. Indeed, it must be stated here that once in a while this
confidence has been abused; that stories have been published utterly
without foundation; that interviews have been printed which never took
place; that articles with Edison's name as author have been widely
circulated, although he never saw them; and that in such ways he has
suffered directly. But such occasional incidents tend in no wise to
lessen Edison's warm admiration of the press or his readiness to avail
himself of it whenever a representative goes over to Orange to get the
truth or the real facts in regard to any matter of public importance. As
for the newspaper clippings containing such articles, or others in which
Edison's name appears--they are literally like sands of the sea-shore
for number; and the archives of the laboratory that preserve only a very
minute percentage of them are a further demonstration of what publicity
means, where a figure like Edison is concerned.

CHAPTER XXVI

EDISON IN COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURE

AN applicant for membership in the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia is
required to give a brief statement of the professional work he has
done. Some years ago a certain application was made, and contained the
following terse and modest sentence:

"I have designed a concentrating plant and built a machine shop, etc.,
etc. THOMAS A. EDISON."

Although in the foregoing pages the reader has been made acquainted
with the tremendous import of the actualities lying behind those "etc.,
etc.," the narrative up to this point has revealed Edison chiefly in the
light of inventor, experimenter, and investigator. There have been
some side glimpses of the industries he has set on foot, and of their
financial aspects, and a later chapter will endeavor to sum up the
intrinsic value of Edison's work to the world. But there are some other
interesting points that may be touched on now in regard to a few of
Edison's financial and commercial ventures not generally known or
appreciated.

It is a popular idea founded on experience that an inventor is not
usually a business man. One of the exceptions proving