NORTH CAROLINA MINUTE

J. C. Knowles, Editor

EDISON, THE BUSINESSMAN

Thomas Edison was a great man, no doubt about it. Everyone knows about his invention of the light bulb which made electricity the best form of power in industry. Edison also had another side, that of being a smart businessman.

Did you know Edison sold newspapers and owned his own printing press.

When he was about 12 years old he obtained a concession to sell newspapers and other items on the train which ran between Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan.

As a smart businessman he used all his conections to advance his trade. With a friend on the Detroit Free Press, he was shown advance proof copies of the news so that he could send the word up the line to each station as to the important of the daily news, and at each stop people were eager to get their copy of the paper.

His greatest news story was the Civil War Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. When he knew that was a great public interest story, so he purchased 1000 copies of the paper on credit and started his route. With the advance story being telegraphed up the line, people were almost tramping over each other to get the story. Realizing how eager the people were to get a copy, at each small town along the route he would raise the price of the paper.

Not happy just to sell newspapers, he set up his own printing press in the train's baggage car, producing his own newspaper, the Grand Trunk Herald.

It wasn't long before his daily sales rose to 700 copies which cost three cents each. His paper was the first newspaper ever printed on a train.

Thought for the day: If you like music, get married and play second fiddle.