Thomas A. Edison Fascinated Tesla

Youthful Immigrant Won Edison's Confidence By Correcting Lighting Failures On Steamer

By Adam Sudetic, Member, Lodge 519

DETROIT, Mich. — It was Charles Batchellor, intimate friend of and assistant to Thomas A. Edison, who first saw the spark of genius in the late and beloved Dr. Nikola Tesla, one of mankind's great benefactors.

Mr. Batchellor, then manager of the Edison Company holdings in France, first detected greatness in Nikola Tesla when the youthful university graduate corrected serious defects in a Strassburg, Germany, power plant and saved a French company many thousands of dollars as the end result.

When Mr. Batchellor saw what this young man had done for the French concern, he pressed Tesla to go to America and correct the defaults in Edison's machines.

Tesla finally agreed to go and seek his fortune in the “Land of Golden Promise.” He arrived in the United States in 1884 with just four cents in his pocket, but with enthusiasm to burn.

Knew Many Languages

Here is what Tesla said of his first meeting with Thomas A. Edison.

“The meeting with Edison was a memorable event in my life. I was amazed at this wonderful man who, without early advantages and scientific training, had accomplished so much.

“I had studied a dozen languages, delved in literature and art, and had spent my best years in libraries reading all sorts of stuff that fell into my hands, from Newton's 'Principia' to the novels of Paul de Kock, and felt that most of my life had been squandered. But it did not take long before I recognized that it was the best thing I could have done.

A Serious Predicament

“Within a few weeks I had won Edison's confidence and it came about in this way.

“The S. S. Oregon, the fastest passenger steamer at that time, had both of its lighting machines disabled and its sailing was delayed. The predicament was a serious one and Edison was much annoyed.

“In the evening I took necessary instruments with me and went aboard the vessel, where I stayed for the night. The dynamos were in bad condition, having several short-circuits and breaks, but with the assistance of the crew I succeeded in putting them in good shape.”

$50,000 Promise Joke

In his autobiography Tesla tells us that he “designed twenty-four different types of standard machines with short cores and of uniform pattern which replaced the old ones.”

The manager had promised him $50,000 on the completion of this task, but it turned out to be a practical joke. This gave Tesla a painful shock and he resigned from his position.

After Tesla left Edison some people approached him with a proposal that the Arc Light Company be formed under his name.

He had one thing in mind and they another; he wanted to develop the motor, his life long dream.

When he told them his desire they replied: “No, we want the arc lamp. We don't care for this alternating current of yours.”

By 1886 his system of arc lighting was perfected and adopted for factory and municipal use. In his own words, all he got for this work was a “beautifully engraved certificate of stock of hypothetical value.”

Not Born For Business

Tesla readily admitted that he was not born for “business” and he continued to struggle.

What he actually wanted was a simple thing, a laboratory and facilities where he could do research and experimental work.

And when in April of 1887 the Tesla Electric Company was organized he got his laboratory. Here he built his motors as he had them in mind for years, in fact from his school days.

(To Be Continued)