EDISON’S WORK DURING THE WAR
With the shattering of the world’s peace by the great conflict which commenced on July 28, 1914, there came a universal disturbance of industrial conditions. The Edison industries were not exempt.
Edison’s activities during the years of the war were of the same intensely vigorous and energetic nature so characteristic of him throughout his busy life. His work during this period is divisible into two distinct sections: first, the working out of processes and the design and construction of nine chemical and two benzol plants to supply chemicals and materials greatly needed by our country; and, second, his war work for the United States government. We will discuss these in the above order.
For many years before the war America had been a large importer of raw materials and manufactured products from England, Germany, and other European countries. Among these may be mentioned potash, dyes, carbolic acid, aniline oil, and other coal-tar products. After hostilities began the activities of the Allied fleets prevented all exportations by Germany and the Central Powers. On the other hand, England and her allies placed embargoes on the exportation from their countries of all materials and products which could be used for food or munitions of war.
Thus there suddenly came a great embarrassment to numerous American industries. By reason of our continued importation for many years our country had become dependent upon Europe for supplies of various products and had made practically no provision for the manufacture of these products within our own borders.
Inasmuch as our narrative concerns Edison and his work, we shall not attempt to name all the industries thus affected, but will confine ourselves to a mention of the items relating to his own needs and of those which he promptly took steps to produce for the relief of many industries and for the general good of the country. These items were carbolic acid, aniline oil, myrbane, aniline salts, acetanilid, para-nitro-acetanilid, paraphenylenediamine, para-amidophenol, benzidine, benzol, toluol, xylol, solvent naphtha, and naphthaline flakes.
Edison’s principal requirements were potash for his storage battery and carbolic acid and paraphenylenediamine for use in the manufacture of disc phonograph records. After a great deal of experimenting he found that caustic soda could be used in his storage battery and therefore employed it until new supplies of potash were obtainable.
Carbolic acid and paraphenylenediamine had been previously imported from England and Germany and as there was practically none produced in the United States and no possibility of substituting other products Edison realized that he would be compelled to manufacture them himself, as the source of supply was cut off. He, therefore, as usual, gathered together all available literature and plunged into a study of manufacturing processes and quickly set his chemists to work on various lines of experiment.
Having decided through these experiments on the process by which he would manufacture carbolic acid synthetically, Edison designed his first plant, gathered the building material and apparatus together and instructed his engineers to rush the construction as fast as possible. By working gangs of men twenty-four hours a day the plant was rapidly completed and on the eighteenth day after the work of construction was begun it commenced turning out carbolic acid. Within a month this plant was making more than a ton a day and gradually increased its capacity until, a few months afterward, it reached its maximum of six tons a day.
It soon became publicly known that Edison was manufacturing carbolic acid, and he was overwhelmed with offers to purchase the excess over his own requirements. The demand for carbolic acid became so great that he decided to erect a second plant. This was quickly constructed and its capacity, which was also six tons per day, was contracted for before the plant was fully completed. It is interesting to note that the army and navy departments of the United States were among the first to make long contracts with Edison for his carbolic acid, from which they made explosives that were badly needed.
We must digress here to show an emergency that had arisen during the early days of the first carbolicacid plant. There had come about a serious shortage of benzol, which is a basic material in the manufacture of synthetic carbolic acid. Benzol is a product derived from the gases arising from the destructive distillation of coal in coke ovens. At the time of which we are writing (beginning of 1915) there was only a comparatively small quantity of benzol produced in the United States.
Mr. Edison realized that without a continuous and liberal supply of benzol he would be unable to carry out his project of producing carbolic acid in large quantities. He had also been approached by various textile manufacturers to make aniline oil, which was essential to their continuance in business, and of which there was practically no supply in the country. Without it he could not make paraphenylenediamine. Benzol is also a basic material in making aniline oil.
Therefore, it became doubly important to arrange for an adequate and continuous supply of benzol. Edison made a study of the methods and processes of producing benzol and then made proposals to various steel companies to the effect that he would, with their permission, erect a benzol plant at their coke ovens, operate the same at his own expense, and pay them a royalty for every gallon of benzol, toluol, xylol, or solvent naphtha taken from their gases. Such arrangement would not only meet his requirements, but at the same time would give the steel companies an income from something which they had been allowing to pass away into the air. He succeeded in making arrangements with two of the companies—namely, the Cambria Steel Company at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and the Woodward Iron Company, Woodward, Alabama.
Ordinarily, it requires from nine to ten months to erect a benzol plant, but before making his proposal to the steel companies Edison had worked out a plan for erecting a practical plant within sixty days, and had laid it out on paper. He was sure of his grounds, because from his vast experience he knew where to pick up the different pieces of apparatus in various parts of the country.
The contract for his first benzol plant at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was signed on January 18, 1915, and the actual work was begun an hour after the contract was signed, with the final result that in forty-five days afterward the benzol plant was completed and commenced working successfully. The second plant, at Woodward, Alabama, was completed within sixty days after breaking ground, the two weeks difference in time being accounted for by the fact that Woodward was farther away from the base of supplies and there were delays in railroad transportation of materials.
Being sure, through these contracts, of a continuous supply of benzol, Edison designed a plant for making aniline oil. By working gangs of men day and night, the erection of this plant was completed in forty-five days. The capacity of the plant, four thousand pounds per day, was fully contracted for by anxious manufacturers long before the machinery was in place.
Let us now consider Edison’s work on paraphenylenediamine. This is a chemical product which is largely used in dyeing furs black. America had imported all her requirements from Germany, but within a few months after the beginning of hostilities the visible supply was exhausted and no more could be expected during war-times. Fur-dyers were in despair. This product being also absolutely essential in the manufacture of phonograph records, Edison worked out a process for making it, and as his requirements were very moderate he established a small manufacturing plant at the Orange laboratory and soon began to produce about twenty-five pounds a day. In some way the news reached the ears of many desperate fur-dyers, and Edison was quickly besieged with most urgent requests for such portion of his output as could be spared. Fortunately, a small proportion of the output was available and was distributed daily in accordance with the necessities of those concerned. This small quantity being merely a drop in the bucket, the fur-dyers earnestly besought Edison to establish a larger plant and supply them with greater quantities of paraphenylenediamine, as their business had come almost to a standstill for lack of it. He, therefore, designed and constructed rapidly a larger plant, which, when put into operation, was soon producing two hundred to three hundred pounds a day, thus saving the situation for the fur-dyers. The capacity of this plant was gradualy increased until it turned out upward of a thousand pounds a day, of which a goodly proportion was exported to Europe and Japan.
Lack of space has prevented the narration of more than a mere general outline of some of Edison’s important achievements during part of the war years along chemical and engineering lines and in furnishing many of the industries of the country with greatly needed products that, for a time at least, were otherwise unobtainable. Much could be written about his work on producing myrbane, aniline salts, acetanilid, para-nitro-acetanilid, para-amido-phenol, benzidine, toluol, xylol, solvent naphtha, and naphthaline flakes—how his investigations and experiments on them ran along with the others, team fashion, so to speak, how he brought the same resourcefulness and energy to bear on many problems, and how he eventually surmounted numerous difficulties—but limitations of space forbid. Nor can we make more than a mere passing mention of the assistance he gave to the governments in the quick production of toluol and in furnishing plans and help to construct and operate two toluol plants in Canada. Suffice it to say that his achievements during this episode in his career were fully in accord with the notable successes he had already scored. It may be noted that in the three years following 1914 others went into the business of manufacturing the above chemicals, and as they installed and operated plants and furnished supplies needed in the industries Edison withdrew and shut down his special plants one after another.
Let us now take a brief glance at the patriot-inventor at work for his government in war-times and especially during the last two years of the Great War.
In the late summer of 1915 the Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Josephus Daniels, communicated to Mr. Edison an idea he had conceived of gathering together a body of men preeminent in inventive research to form an advisory board which should come to the aid of our country in an inventive and advisory capacity in relation to war measures. In this communication Secretary Daniels made an appeal to Edison’s patriotism and asked him to devote some of his effort in the service of the country and also to act as chairman of the board. Although he was already working about eighteen hours a day, Edison signified his consent. In the fall of 1915 the board was organized and subsequently became known as the Naval Consulting Board of the United States. Mr. Edison was at first chairman and subsequently became president of the board.
The history of the work and activities of the board is too extensive to be related here in detail and can only be hinted at. Indeed, it is the subject of a separate volume which is being published by the Navy Department. We shall, therefore, confine our narrative to the story of Edison’s work.
In December, 1916, Secretary Daniels expressed a desire that Mr. Edison visit him in Washington for an important conference. At that time it seemed almost inevitable that the United States would be drawn into the conflict with Germany sooner or later, and at the conference Secretary Daniels asked Edison to devote more of his time to the country by undertaking experiments on a series of problems, a list of which was handed to him.
Edison signified his assent, agreeing to give his whole time to the government without charge, and returned to his laboratory. He immediately put everything else aside, and with characteristic enthusiasm and energy delved into the work he had undertaken. The problems referred to covered a wide range of the sciences and arts, and time being an essential element, he added to his laboratory staff by gathering together from various sources a number of young men, experts in various lines, to assist him in his investigations.
Inasmuch as Edison’s war work for the government occupied his entire time for upward of two years, it is manifestly out of the question to narrate the details within the limits of a chapter. We must, therefore, be content to itemize the principal problems upon which he occupied himself and assistants and as to which he reported definite results to Washington. The items are as follows:
- Locating position of guns by sound-ranging.
- Detecting submarines by sound from moving vessels.
- Detecting on moving vessels the discharge of torpedoes by submarines.
- Quick turning of ships.
- Strategic plans for saving cargo boats from submarines.
- Collision mats.
- Taking merchant-ships out of mined harbors.
- Oleum cloud shells.
- Camouflaging ships and burning anthracite.
- More power for torpedoes.
- Coast patrol by submarine buoys.
- Destroying periscopes with machine-guns.
- Cartridge for taking soundings.
- Sailing-lights for convoys.
- Smudging sky-line.
- Obstructing torpedoes with nets.
- Under-water search-light.
- High-speed signaling with search-lights.
- Water-penetrating projectile.
- Airplane detection.
- Observing periscopes in silhouette.
- Steamship decoys.
- Zigzagging.
- Reducing rolling of warships.
- Obtaining nitrogen from the air.
- Stability of submerged submarines.
- Hydrogen detector for submarines.
- Induction balance for submarine detection.
- Turbine head for projectile.
- Protecting observers from smoke-stack gas.
- Mining Zeebrugge harbor.
- Blinding submarines and periscopes.
- Mirror-reflection system for warships.
- Device for look-out men.
- Extinguishing fires in coal bunkers.
- Telephone system on ships.
- Extension ladder for spotting-top.
- Preserving submarine and other guns from rust.
- Freeing range-finder from spray.
- Smudging periscopes.
- Night glass.
- Re-acting shell.
It will be seen that Mr. Edison’s inventive imagination was permitted a wide scope. He fairly reveled in the opportunity of attacking so many difficult problems and worked through the days and nights writh unflagging enthusiasm. He committed his business interests to the care of his associates, and during the two years of his work for the government kept in touch with his great business interests only by means of reports which were condensed to the utmost. In addition, for two successive winters, he gave up his regular winter vacation on his Florida estate, usually a source of great enjoyment to him. But it was all done willingly and without a word of regret or dissatisfaction so far as the writer’s knowledge goes.
Although we cannot take space to discuss the above items in detail, the reader will probably have a desire to know something of Edison’s work in regard to the submarines.
In view of the vast destruction of shipping, perhaps it is not an overstatement to say that the most vital problem of the late war was to overcome the menace of the submarine. Undoubtedly there was more universal study and experiment on means and devices for locating and destroying submarines than on any other single problem.
The class of apparatus most favored by investigators comprised various forms of listening devices by means of which it was hoped to detect and locate by sound the movement of an entirely submerged submarine. The difficulties in obtaining accurate results were very great even when the observing vessel was motionless, but were enormously enhanced on using listening devices on a vessel under way, on account of the noises of the vessel itself, the rushing of the water, and so on.
Edison’s earliest efforts were confined to the induction balance, but after two months of intensive experimenting on that line he gave it up and entered upon a long series of experiments with listening devices, employing telephones, audions, towing devices, resonators, etc. The Secretary of the Navy provided Edison with a 200-foot vessel for his experiments, and in the summer and fall of 1917 they had progressed sufficiently to enable him to detect sounds of moving vessels as far distant as five thousand yards. This, however, was when the observing vessel was at anchor. The results with the vessel under way, at full speed, were not poor.
Having pushed the possibilities along this line to their reasonable limit, Edison was of the opinion that this plan would not be practical and he turned his thoughts to another solution of the problem—namely, to circumvent the destructive operation of the submarine and avoid the loss of ships. He had discovered in his experimenting that the noise made by a torpedo in its swift passage through the water was very marked and easily distinguishable from any other sound.
With this fact as a basis, Edison, therefore, evolved a new plan, which had two parts: first, to provide merchant-ships with a listening apparatus that would enable them, while going at full speed, to hear the sound of a torpedo as soon as it was launched from a submarine; and, second, to provide the merchant-ships with means for quickly changing their course to another course at right angles. Thus, the torpedo would miss its mark and the merchantship would be saved. If another torpedo should be launched, the same tactics could be repeated.
His further investigations were conducted along this line. After much experimenting he developed a listening device in the form of an outrigger suspended from the bowsprit. This device was so arranged that it hung partly in the water and would always be from 10 to 20 feet ahead of the vessel, but could be swung inboard at any time. The device was about 20 feet long and about 16 inches in width and was made of brass and rubber. It contained brass tubes, with a phonograph diaphragm at the end which hung in the water. The listening apparatus was placed in a small room in the bow of the vessel. There were no batteries used. With this listening apparatus, and while the vessel was going full speed, moving boats 1,000 yards away could be easily heard in rough seas. This meant that torpedoes could be heard 3,000 yards away, as they are by far the noisiest craft that “sail” the ocean.
The second step in Edison’s plan—namely, the quick changing of a ship’s course, was accomplished with the “sea anchor.” This device consists of a strong canvas bag which is attached to a ship by long ropes. When thrown overboard the bag opens, fills with water, and acts as a drag on a ship under way. Edison’s plan was to use four or more sea anchors simultaneously. In a trial made with a steamship 325 feet long, draught 19 feet 6 inches, laden with 4,200 tons of coal, by the use of four sea anchors, the vessel going at full speed, was turned at right angles to her previous course with an advance of only 200 feet, or less than her own length. This means that if an enemy submarine had launched a torpedo against the ship while she was on her original course it would have passed by without harming her, thus making submarine torpedo attack of no avail. It may be noted parenthetically that this apparatus has its uses in the merchant-marine in peacetimes. For instance, should the look-out on a steamship running at full speed sight an iceberg 300 or 400 feet ahead this device could be instantly put into use and the ship could be turned quickly enough to avoid a collision.
EDISON AT WORK ON RUBBER EXPERIMENTS. FROM A MOVING PICTURE TAKEN DECEMBER, 1928
There is only space for a passing mention of the immense amount of data which Edison gathered, tabulated, and charted in his study and evolution of strategical plans suggested by him to the government in the line of lessening the destruction by submarines. He spent day and night for several months with a number of assistants working out these plans. It is not possible to make more specific mention of them here, as they are too voluminous for these pages.
With this tremendous amount of work pressing on him he retained his accustomed good health and buoyancy, due, undoubtedly, to his cheerful spirit, philosophical nature, and abstemious living. Soon after the armistice was signed his experimental work for the government came to an end, and he then switched back to the general supervision of his business interests and to his ceaseless experiments through which he is continually making improvements and refinements in the products of the large industries which he established and in which he is so greatly interested.
Mention should also be made of another extensive project he has undertaken, and that is the production of rubber from plants, weeds, bushes, shrubs, etc., grown in the United States. This he speaks of as “emergency” rubber, to be resorted to in case our country should ever be embarrassed in obtaining a supply of rubber from present sources. This is a tremendous problem, but he is applying to its solution the same resourceful powers that have characterized his previous endeavors.
Herein, and in the development of new ideas, lies Edison’s daily work and pleasure, and although he is in his eighties at this writing, with still boundless energy, it may be said of him
“Age cannot wither him, nor custom stale
His infinite variety.”
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