Radio v. Phonograph

News got about last week that Thomas Alva Edison had invented a phonograph record that will play 40 minutes. In West Orange, N. J., Mr. Edison verified the report. The record, which has 450 music grooves to the inch, will be placed on the market in a month. And how, asked a reporter, would this effect the interest in radio? Mr. Edison (he is 79 now) twisted his soft grey face into a smile:

“There isn’t ten percent of the interest in radio that there was last year,” he said. “It’s a highly complicated machine in the hands of people who know nothing about it.

“No dealers have made any money out of. It isn’t a commercial machine because it is too complicated. Reports from 4,000 Edison dealers who have handled radios show that they are rapidly abandoning it. …

“It’s awful—I don’t see how they can listen to it.”

Roused, Vice President Reichman of the Broadcast Listeners Association,Chicago, land-telegraphed Mr. Edison: “I positively cannot believe that a man of your intelligence could be so badly misinformed as to publicly condemn a tremendous, growing and healthy American industry.”

Meanwhile, it was discovered that Mr. Edison had eagerly awaited the round-by-round radio account of the Dempsey-Tunney fight. Deaf, he had the reports repeated to him by Mrs. Edison. He explained that radio is all right for prize fights, President’s speeches, etc., but not for music.