He was retained in their service, and that of the Western Union
Telegraph Company, as a salaried inventor, they having the option of
buying all his telegraphic inventions at a price to be agreed upon.
At their expense a large electrical factory was established under his
direction at Newark, New Jersey, where he was free to work out his ideas
and manufacture his apparatus. Now that he was emancipated from
drudgery, and fairly started on the walk which Nature had intended for
him, he rejoiced in the prolific freedom of his mind, which literally
teemed with projects. His brain was no longer a prey to itself from the
'local action,' or waste energy of restrained ideas and revolving
thoughts. [The term 'local action' is applied by electricians to the
waste which goes on in a voltaic battery, although its current is not
flowing in the outer circuit and doing useful work.] If anything, he
attempted too much. Patents were taken out by the score, and at one
time there were no less than forty-five distinct inventions in progress.
The Commissioner of Patents described him as 'the young man who kept the
path to the Patent Office hot with his footsteps.'
His capacity for labouring without rest is very remarkable. On one
occasion, after improving his Gold and Stock Quotation Printer, an order
for the new instruments, to the extent of 30,000 dollars, arrived at the
factory.
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