Thomas Edison's Successor
May 15, 1929 THE COMMONWEAL 33 THOMAS EDISON'S SUCCESSOR TT IS only natural that Thomas A. Edison should worry about his successor. He has been the Great Conqueror, the nonpareil, of our...
...But at the end of a long career, full of amazements and high astounding deeds, in which he will have been too busy to read what was being said about him, he will call together his clerks, his chroniclers, and say: "This that I have done would have been impossible if another had not paved the way...
...will receive, at any rate, a music box which ought to console those who are not selected, as well as provide a souvenir of the event...
...At this point we begin to prophesy...
...Eventually he will become a famous man, enjoying the admiration and esteem of other famous men...
...Edison nor ourselves will ever hear...
...He has been the Great Conqueror, the nonpareil, of our time, but there are worlds aplenty which he has only looked at from afar, or penciled on his map for an attention which they have not yet received...
...It is probable that he will not come from any of the forty-eight states and one District which are now being searched for him...
...From some neglected Corsica will he come into Mr...
...After that, it may be presumed, he will be received into the laboratories at East Orange, and from time to time will be given goodly advice by Mr...
...So, with all the pomp decent to such a quest, the master has gathered his lieutenants and made known to them his will...
...Edison's true dominion, which is mastery over the details of physics and mechanics...
...But it is known that the master himself will prepare the questionnaire, and that he will give his scrutiny to the answers, possibly under the light of his own magic lantern...
...By whom, it is not known...
...None of these marvels could have come to pass if another had not wrought before me...
...How, no one can prophesy...
...Edison himself...
...He may not yet be born, or he may be nearing Lodi...
...But when his genius is revealed, the world will connect him with no predecessor...
...As for the winner, if there is one, he will be given a four-year scholarship in a technical college of his own choice...
...Other winners of empire, in their later age, have harrassed their nights and days with the problem of finding the one-favored-ofstars who might maintain and extend dominion: Mr...
...by his own bootstraps lifted him up...
...Edison has as much right as any of these to concern himself with the future of the work he has begun...
...And they will be asked questions...
...It is probable that the true successor will be a man whose name neither Mr...
...Wishing to spare any embarrassment to the youth of this land, we pray that the master does not find their fortynine best champions "amazedly ignorant...
...By his unaided efforts he arose...
...Perhaps it is even more important to avoid this than it is to secure a favorable opinion upon the intelligence of our unusual young men...
...They will be invited, perhaps, to sit down...
...In each state of the United States, 34 THE COMMONWEAL May 15, 1929 and in the District of Columbia, must be found one youth of "unusual capabilities"—one male student "who is the best representative of American manhood and possesses the highest ability in natural scientific subjects during the school year of 1928-1929...
...Destiny does not work that way...
...They will be refreshed after their hard journeying...
...It is probable that he will not even be connected with the Edison laboratories...
...There must be an heir to wizardry, and the heir must be worthy of his mantle...
...Each will receive an Edison radio-phonograph, autographed—but we go too far, the news says nothing of autographs...
...When the forty-nine have been designated by the various states their governors, and by the District of Columbia its commissioners, they will be brought to East Orange, New Jersey, which is the chief citadel of the empire, as all the world knows...
...And we hope that when the questions are set up everywhere for men to read, as in this day of publicity it is impossible they will not be, the bumptious University of Chicago will not embarrass him by drawing up a set of questions for him to answer, as it did upon another memorable occasion...
...His name was Thomas Edison...
...For no matter how they meet the test, there will be, for them, some compensation...
...When, none can predict...
...But this last shall be determined by the master himself...
...It will be said that he owes nothing to any teacher, less to any patron...
...But it is most highly improbable that he will ever become the true successor to Mr...
...Thus it will be said...
...It is only this spectacle which gives us to confusion...
...And from these forty-nine may be found one who has "the genius to carry on the great work...
...Thomas Edison...
...I am his apostle...
Vol. 10 • May 1929 • No. 2
