The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

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Title

[LB012459], Letter from Thomas Alva Edison to Sherburne Blake Eaton, May 29th, 1882

Editor's Notes

Enclosed please find letters from Professor [Douglas] He wants [150] volt E machines & other "A" lamps the former to replace his present [-5] [other] machine. Will you please have this attended to.##I also enclose letters of Dr. E. P. Massey. I have written him that I have referred it to you.##I have also written to [Wexel & De Gress] ([----] contract) stating that if they communicate with you, you will put them into communication with the right people to negotiate with as to [-----] [Right]##Your memorandums of 25th inst I think that it is absolutely essential that the Company get a man of good address and business qualifications (whom they can easily afford to pay a large salary) to visit the different cities & work up the local companies. we are sadly behind hand in this respect as compared with other companies which are very active Our station will soon be going & I think we should then form our Companies all over the country with great rapidity & move at once before the things get to be an old [call]##In re Dr Moses. I think a quarter or a third is enough. He cannot have the use of my laboratory When he gets a drawing which looks right & is free from patents it can be made by Bergmann & tested at Goerck St##There will probably be danger in reissuing our Patents in Canada as the surrendered patents would expire and probably affect the American Patent.##In re Mott. We cannot any thing when we do not know what they are. Let him give a diagram of what his things are with copies of patents already granted & copies of applications pending then we can tell something about it.##It is a curious fact that Gordan Banker & others do not see that there is another advantage in our lamps besides economy & that is its high resistance even for Isolated Lighting. For instance to lose only five % in wiring a building can the copper wire cost $100 with us whereas with Swan [----] I have [---] they would have to spend $[500] in copper if they wanted to get the same percentage of loss & if they put in only the same amount of copper as we do they lose about 25% on their conductors. This is a point I have never heard spoken of. Just think it out a little. All these people are using wires about the same size as ours and they do not appreciate the enormous loss they have upon their conductors & it is just as well so far as our interests are concerned that they should not know.##We wrote Painter. He says Bankers report is not on [fell] yet but that he will get it when it is printed.##How about forming a Company for Philadelphia. I think it is about time.##You might well ask "Where is [Anauias." when they talk about 10 per horse power each 20 [---] power with 1000 hour life for a Swan Lamp. These fellows are a gang of liars & will turn out just as the Maxim crowd did.##Regarding your long interviews with Stockley from what I know of him previous to his goiing into Electric Light business I look upon him as a man who deceives by excessive frankness. I shuld not worry myself very muc about the Brush Company & Mr Stockley using secondary Batteries & that sort of nonsense or Stockleys statement that Brush says he can do this & that, "compound multiple arc &c &c. If you ask Wilber to let you look at my applications for working [incandescent] lamps in [multiple] compound and in connection with the Brush arc light & machine you will see they I have pretty well covered that matter up and the applications have been in quite a good while & no one can beat me on it in an interference as in 1878. I worked arc and incandescent lights in conjunction in all kinds of ways.##If I understand rightly they propose where they run arc lights with a great many on a circuit to put in Secondary Batteries storing up electricity in the day time and at night when the circuit is required for arc lights, using the Storage Battery to feed the incandescent Lamps and this all for the sake of using smaller wires suspended on poles.##This would be analagous to a new Gas company starting with a one inch pipe suspended on poles, putting gasometers in each mans house & then carrying the gas under great pressure so that the customers can use [it] at night from their own gasometer & not from the mains. As people who use light are only 25 ft apart. I think you will see the absurdity of this when it takes only one length of tube to go from one house to the other, the first [coil] of which is infinitely less than to have secondary batteries as a substitute - In act Mr Stockleys talk in this connection is just nonsense.##Of course it can be done but there is no economy in it and it would be very unreliable as I have said before I think we had better keep free from all arrangements with anybody and save all our energies for presenting with the utmost rapidity our own business at the same time getting ready to defend our rights before the Court.##I think from reading your memo that the Brush Co will buy the Swan Light and that they will go ahead with it. But that will do them more harm than good.##I cannot see how one can have any confidence in a man who states that his Electrical Adviser has said that Edison has covered up incandescent lighting yet also says they must have an Incandescent light & if not ours someone elses & consequently on their own words it is natural to surmise that they are knowingly going to the Swan people - infringment of our rights.##To sum up Stockley has a good wife thinks her of great value to him and he thinks a second wife would be an advantage & that two would be better than one so he put up someone else to capture my wife for him & then protests he has nothing to do with it.##Above all things I would not have the Gramme Coy have anything to do with our litigation. They are perhaps handy for getting [information]##As to your memo of 2[1]st [----] came to hand this p m. I would not sell Isolated Plant to the American Coy. If they give you an order you could arrange to give them the usual commission and I do not think it would be advisable to do anything further.

Author

Edison, Thomas Alva

Recipient

Eaton, Sherburne Blake

Mentioned

Gramme Electrical Co

Wexel and De Gress

Brush Electric Co

Mott, Samuel Dimmick

Moses, Otto A

Gordon, James Edward Henry

Barker, George Frederick

Draper, Henry

Swan, Joseph Wilson

Stockly, George W

Bergmann, Sigmund

Painter, Uriah Hunt

Wilber, Zenas Fisk

Date

1882-05-29

Type

Letter

Subject

Competition and market structure

Incandescent lamp

Arc lighting

Folder ID

LB012-F

Microfilm ID

81:748

Document ID

LB012459

URL

https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB012459

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)