The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

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Title

[LB012062], Letter from Samuel Insull to Charles Batchelor, April 10th, 1882

Editor's Notes

I have your favor of 27th March. I certainly never told Dyer anything of the kind as I should have no reason whatever for doing so. He must have been mistaken that is all I can say.##I am sorry you should say I know absolutely nothing of my [own] affairs over there since I left. I used to write you quite regularly but I seldom or ever got any reply and consequently left off doing so thinking you did not care to hear from me. However if you care for me to write you I shall be only too happy to do so. And in order to relieve myself of any blame (real or imaginary) I will proceed to give you a full account of your [present] affairs as I can off hand [from] memory & some little dates [---- ----] Accounts. This is the one point that I feel I am to blame. I should have sent you forward a statement but you have never asked me for it. I promise you however it shall go within a week. Meantime I will tell you roughly how you stand.##The Balance to your credit when you left (including amounts still to be received by [T. E. E.] on sale European Bonds) was $9997.00##Since then there has accrued to you as [---] on G. & S. Telephone Royalty 850.##8% of a further $10000 received on England Telephone 500##Sundry bills you have paid 72.11[$ total]##Against this we have disbursed##Lamp Co Assessments 4000##Edison Machine Works 4750##Insurance (Carman) 20##Sundries 8.80##8778.89##Balance in hand about $[660.26]##Of course this is very rough as I tell you I will send you a statement next week. Then we have to pay the Lamp Co another $1000 on your assessments the Machine Works [--] do about [1700] & 50% on 7 Z shares new issue Edison Electric [Wks] Co [Book] 3650##$[6950]##Thus you will see with a balance in hand of about $650 we have to pay on your account about $6[---] now as to how to do this. In a few days Edison will get about $4[-]000 on English Light. You will be entitled to about $[4000] This will enable me to pay for your [French] Stock & Lamp Co assessment & other very shorly Australia India [Sa---] & Portugal will doubtless be sold & that will enable us to pay off [everything] & remit you besides. As you probably know Gouraud made one arrangement as to Australia but has since [backed] out of it.##Now as to the future. The Machine Works will not if properly conducted require any work capital & if they should your share cannot [come] over $1000 [or] [$2000] in [addition] to the $1700 above referred to. They have been running with very little support from [T. A. E.] all this year. Their debts are not over $[30000.] My only fear is that Edison may order things in advance of [agreements] & if so [that] will put him in the same hold financially as he has just got out of as in such a case the machine Works will [weigh] on hin heavily. However I hope that such a state of affairs will not [come] again. the Machine Works should make in my opoinion $50000 at the least this year. It is said to be a very expensively conducted place I am told Dean pays high wages to poor workmen & that the shop is badly managed. I do not of course profess to be much of a judge of such things. They certainly turn out a good deal of work & the Central Station Dynamos work they are now engaged on seem to be very fine indeed. There are a great many fine tools [laying] which is owing in my opinion to the very reckless way in which Dean [----] machinery. If I were a mechanic I could probably tell you more about such things.##As to the Lamp Co their bills payable over bills receiveable [amount] to about $10,000. The assessment just made will provide you payment of this. there has been paid in the [Peters] property up to the present time about $[----] and there is still about $[18000] [----] to be paid. This is not included in the $10000 above referred to. If the orders come in, in the manner in which they have during the last few months I do not think the Lamp Co should require more than $40000 or $50000 & this should enable them to pay off the balance on the Peters property & [increase] their capacity. (Of course you know they are now moving to Newark) The question of the money they will require depends entirely on what demand there is for Lamps. Their expenditure at Menlo park was about $1800 a week say $90000 a year. Presuming they are the same at Newark (I am inclined to think that for some time they will be much higher than at [France]) & that they sell about 2000 lamps a week they will require at least $40000 to meet their obligations & current bills for the remainder of 82. However this is a bad [----]. It is to be expected that the Demand for lamps will greatly increase & should before long amount to 6000 a week regularly.##Isolated Co. As to your stock I told you that yours your wifes & Edisons was taken by the Machine Works & is being paid for by their in machines. So of course 10% of it is yours. This Company is doing a good business & should make money. The stock is not [dealt] in. I do not think 20 or 30 shares have passed hands.##Parent Co. I also wrote you as to this As I have stated above your Stock will be taken up as soon as Edison has some money. The stock is quoted at 400 to 425 with quite a strong market.##Illuminating Co. There is still about 2 or 2 1/2 miles of tubes to be laid. Kruesi will probably finish in about [five] six weeks. The Dynamos will be finished in about two months. So in about three months you may begin to expect to hear something of the lighting up. Stock nothing at [---ing]##European no sales at all. [------] at 50 to 55. But I do not think much could be got at that. Are milling nothing at all doing. No bidders. No sellers.##Now do not think for a moment that I do not want to keep yiou posted or that I am too lazy to do so. It takes me from the time I get up till I got to bed to attend to my business & if you do not get what you want just write me & tell me so straight & I will try & give it attention. Only just remember that A letter in reply now & then is somewhat encouraging. ##As far as the purely official part of your business is concerned I do not think you can complain of inattention. If you get somewhat ruffled at delays now & then remember that we at "[05]" are not omnipotent & that we have to depend on others to fill our orders & they often delay a good deal. All we have to get for you now is wire, drawings, special machinery, & Drawings of various size Dynamos. The armature wire shipments [arrive] this week. The special tools & machinery Drawings I am promised within a [week] As to Dynamos[drawings]. I am now having the fourth set prepared of Central Station Dynamo Drawings. Each previous set have been discounted in consequence of alterations. There have been no drawings yet made for 250 light machines. Edison simply took three field six [series] & three keepers out of Z Dynamos stock made an armature three times length of Z armature. Of course he used a heavier shaft & larger [bed] plate than with Zs. As soon as the first test machine is made I will get Edison to give me a letter to you on the subject as to the 125 light machine nothing much has been done with it yet.##Early next month Edison will go back to Menlo park to live & to experiment Dick Dyer myself & Hughes will be there with him. We will keep an office here for some time longer probably till the fall. I expect to come into the City three or four days a week.##Hughes has the rail road running very well indeed. He has over two miles of track finished now & [could][even] it with four or five tons of rail road material at 30 miles an hour with ease. We are having a Freight Locomotive built & 10 cars of four tons each for freight. In about a month everything will be running and the economy test be made. Yesterday I ordered from [Brill] of Philadelphia a car about 20 ft long after the style of a Broadway Car only [larger]. Edison is going to put a motor underneath the car & by the use of a fly wheel to store power and a masons clutch to throw the armature in and out of gear hopes to run with a small motor consume little power & overcome difficulties in connectin with [starting]. I will send photo of car when it is finished. With the present Locomotive a masons clutch is used. They [start] the armature running & when they have got up good speed [start] throw the clutch in and [to] start off. Edison considers this clutch essential. It is covered by his first patent. [ANNOTATE DRAWINGS FOR 250 LIGHT MACHINE WITH D8238ZAW 820419]

Author

Insull, Samuel

Recipient

Batchelor, Charles

Mentioned

Edison Lamp Co

Edison Company for Isolated Lighting

Edison Machine Works

Gold and Stock Telegraph Co

Edison Electric Light Co

Brill (J.G.) & Co

Hughes, Charles Turner

Dean, Charles L

Kruesi, John

Dyer, Richard Nott

Edison, Thomas Alva

Carman, William

Date

1882-04-10

Type

Letter

Subject

International business operations

Management (companies and organizations)

Electric traction

Dynamos and generators

Folder ID

LB012-F

Microfilm ID

81:534

Document ID

LB012062

URL

https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB012062

Rights

Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Publisher

Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University

License

CC0 1.0 Universal

Has Version

Archive.org Viewer, Microfilm Series Reel 81

Item sets

[LB012-F] LB-012 (1882)