Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 652 Thomas Edison, the Spreader of Discord!
Surprisingly, Thomas Edison actually went to greet the two of them and even gave Lionel a warm hug.

“Hey Leon, how long has it been since we last met since the Paris Expo? I’m so glad to see you again in America, in New York.”

Lionel, of course, wouldn't break off relations with him right there, and exchanged a few polite pleasantries.

Edison then shook hands with Nikola Tesla: "You are Nikola! The Paris company has been writing to you for a long time, saying you are a genius, and it's no exaggeration."

He then gave a regretful look: "It's a pity. I had wanted to transfer you to New York, and I even drafted the telegram, but you went to Leon's place instead."

Nikola Tesla was clearly a little flustered: "Mr. Edison, actually I've always... had great respect for you. It's just..."

This is not just polite talk. In this era, Thomas Edison was an idol to all engineers who had not worked with him or fought patent lawsuits against him.

Thomas Edison waved his hand: "It's alright. Leon valued your talent first, so working for him is only right. But if you were in Menlo Park..."

As he spoke, he held up five fingers: "...I'm willing to pay you $50,000 to improve my DC generator!"

Lionel thought to himself that Edison was a leopard that couldn't change its spots; even in this kind of situation, he didn't forget to sow discord between him and Tesla.

He coughed lightly beside him: "Mr. Edison, Nicholas is my partner, not my employee, so—"

He glanced at Tesla: "Now, almost all the patents and certificates in our electrical lab have Nikola's name on them..."

Tesla gave Lionel a grateful look; he genuinely didn't know how to handle the situation.

Nathaniel Keith, unable to bear it any longer, quickly clapped his hands, interrupting the exchange between the two sides: "Gentlemen! Please allow me to introduce two guests who have come from afar."

This is Mr. Lionel Sorel from France, and Mr. Nikola Tesla from the Austrian Empire!

The two of them had been appearing repeatedly in New York newspapers during this period, and being industry insiders, others moved closer, pushing Edison aside.

After raising his hand in greeting, Lionel was about to find a place to sit down when someone extended their hand to him.

"Mr. Sorel?"

The man was in his early forties, with a neatly trimmed beard, meticulously combed hair, and dressed in an elegantly tailored suit. He had a gentle smile.

“Alexander Graham Bell”.

Lionel quickly grasped his hand: "Mr. Bell, it's an honor to meet you."

Bell laughed and said, "I read about your villa two years ago. More than a hundred lights, electricity from 25 kilometers away, that was already quite remarkable back then."

Last month, at the Dakota apartment building, you turned on tens of thousands of lights simultaneously. That's even more impressive!

Lionel quickly replied modestly, "Mr. Bell's phone call is quite remarkable; it's already installed in my little house in Vernef."

Bell shook his head: "The phone is still very rough. The sound isn't clear enough, the range isn't far enough, and there are still many problems to solve."

He then looked at Tesla: "This must be Mr. Tesla, right?"

Tesla nodded: "Mr. Bell."

Bell said, "I've heard of you since Boston. We've been following your alternating current experiments in Paris."

Tesla didn't speak; he was still somewhat unaccustomed to such small talk.

Bell didn't seem to care and turned to Lionel: "Thomas will be elected vice president tonight, and I'll probably be listed as a vice president as well. Then it'll be a technical discussion."

He then asked Lionel, "What do you think about our establishment of the Institute of Electrical Engineers?"

Lionel nodded firmly: "It's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, telegrams, telephones, and electricity will each go their own way and ignore each other, which won't work."

We need a place where everyone can sit down and talk. How should the standards be set, and how should things develop in the future? Frankly speaking, Europe has already taken the lead.

The UK, Germany, and France now all have their own societies of electrical engineers; the US has fallen behind.

Just as Bell was about to say something, a tall man walked over, and Bell quickly introduced him: "Charles Cross, a physics professor at MIT."

Cross shook hands with Lionel: "Mr. Sorel, my daughter saw your 'The Legend of 1900' when she went to Paris, and she still talks about it today."

Lionel smiled: "Thank her for me."

Cross said, "Using electric lights in theater is a great idea. MIT is doing lighting experiments, and I'd like to invite you and Mr. Tesla to talk about it sometime."

One by one, more people came over to say hello. Elihu Thomson, Edwin Houston, Frank Pope, Charles Haskins…

Each of them is a well-known name in the field of electrical engineering in the United States.

It was 7:55. Most of the people had arrived. Nathaniel Keith walked to the podium and tapped on the table.

"Gentlemen, please have a seat. It's time."

Everyone found seats. Lionel and Tesla sat in the back, next to several engineers who had come from Philadelphia.

Keith stood behind the podium and cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the founding ceremony of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers."

The meeting room fell silent.

Keith said, "Tonight, we have three things to do. First, adopt the society's bylaws. Second, elect the leadership. Third, determine the next steps."

He picked up a document: "The draft charter was distributed to everyone in April. Today, we will not read it out article by article, but vote directly. Those who agree, please raise your hands."

More than twenty hands went up. These regulations had already been distributed to everyone, and any objections weren't meant to be raised in this meeting. Keith glanced at them: "Passed."

He put down the bylaws and picked up another document: "Now for the election. Based on the consensus reached at the preparatory meeting in April, Mr. Norman Green is nominated as Chairman, Nathaniel Keith as Secretary, and Roland Hazard as Treasurer."

The six vice-chairmen are nominated as follows: Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, Charles Cross, George Hamilton, Charles Haskins, and Frank Pope. Please raise your hand if you agree with this list.

More than twenty hands appeared again. These people were the founders of the society, and the list had been finalized long ago, so there were no surprises.

Keith nodded: "Passed. Congratulations to everyone who was elected."

Applause erupted. Norman Green stood up and nodded to the crowd. Edison also stood up, bowed slightly, and remained expressionless.

Norman Green walked to the front of the stage and took Keith's place. He was in his fifties and was the chairman of the Western Telegraph Union, a very important position.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your trust. The American Institute of Electrical Engineers is officially established today."

He paused, scanning the room: "Why establish this society? Because electrical engineering is no longer the kind of small-scale experiment it used to be!"

"Telegraph lines spanned the continent, telephones entered every household, and electric lights began to illuminate streets and houses. All of these required standards, regulations, and professionalism."

"The Philadelphia International Electrical Exhibition is in four months. We need to be ready to welcome electrical engineers from all over the world. We can't let the United States lose face on the international stage!"

"The bylaws and elections are now concluded. Now, I'd like to hear your thoughts on technological development. Mr. Bell, would you like to begin?"

Bell stood up and walked to the podium: "Telephone has been commercially available for eight years, and telephone lines have connected the entire United States, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington..."

There are now 85,000 miles of telephone lines, over 30,000 telephones, and 120,000 subscribers across the United States!

He looked at the people present and said, "Although there are still many technical problems, the biggest problem is that there are too many telephone exchanges and the standards are not uniform."

Calls from Boston to New York often involve multiple transfers, and sometimes they don't get through at all.

"So the first thing to do after learning is to establish unified standards. What materials to use for the wiring, what transmission methods to use, what equipment to use for switching..."

Bell spoke for about ten minutes before returning to his seat. Following him, Norman Green, representing the telegraph community, also shared his views on the development of the telegraph.

It specifically mentioned that the coverage of wired telegraph was limited, and the cost of laying lines to remote areas was too high, so there was an urgent need for telegraph cable materials with lower costs.

Upon hearing this, Lionel and Tesla exchanged a glance—one of their goals when they established the laboratory was to develop "wireless telegraphy".

After initial success in using it for e-commerce, the next research focus will be on radio.

Norman Green spoke for about ten minutes, then looked at Edison before coming down and asked, "Mr. Edison?"

Edison nodded, stood up, walked to the front of the stage, and glanced around at the crowd: "Gentlemen, as the vice president of the society, out of humanitarian spirit and my inescapable responsibility as American citizens, I must solemnly remind you—"

Direct current is the correct direction!

The meeting room fell silent, and several people turned to look at Lionel and Tesla in the back row.

"I started researching electric lights in 1878. Over six years, I conducted thousands of experiments, built the Pearl Street power station, lit up Wall Street, lit up Broadway..."

The DC power system has been operating perfectly for over two years without any major accidents, electrocution deaths, or fires.

He paused, his tone becoming stern: "What are people saying now? They say alternating current is better. They say it can travel farther, is cheaper, and is more efficient."

I just want to ask you one question: have you ever considered how many people would be electrocuted once alternating current becomes widespread?

Someone awkwardly began to cough softly. Norman Green hadn't expected Edison to be so direct, but it was too late to stop him.

"A three-ton elephant dies in seconds under the ravages of alternating current. What about a human? You are all engineers, not ignorant members of the public."

The underlying principles are probably self-evident and don't need me to explain. Ignoring the dangers of alternating current is tantamount to murdering the people!

He looked in Lionel's direction: "New York City has decided to use AC lighting. I won't comment on whether that decision is right or wrong; that's the bureaucrats' decision."

But you, my lords, are the true professionals who can determine the future of America's electrical industry. The decision of whether or not to become accomplices in murder rests with you.”

After he finished speaking, he returned to his seat. An awkward atmosphere filled the meeting room.

No one expected that Edison, who had initially greeted Lionel and Tesla warmly, would suddenly launch an attack at this crucial moment.

It's no longer important who speaks next; if Lionel or Tesla aren't given clarification at this point, the consequences will be severe.

The newly established American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIE) is very likely to find itself in a situation where it clashes with the direction of electrical development across the European continent.

This is something no one but Edison wanted to see.

Norman Green looked at the back row: "Mr. Sorel, Mr. Tesla, do you two... have something to say?"

Lionel turned to look at Tesla, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.

Nikola Tesla then stood up, straightened his clothes, walked to the front of the stage, and stood there.

Facing more than thirty pairs of eyes, he was not intimidated: "Thank you all for your enthusiasm, thank you Mr. Green for the invitation, and thank you Mr. Edison for your questioning."

However, I don't want to discuss today whether alternating current or direct current is safer, nor do I want to discuss which is the future of electricity.

I'm standing here to talk to you about the principles of rotating magnetic fields and their applications in power transmission—this is also the 'secret' of AC motors.

His words caused an uproar, and even Thomas Edison's expression changed.

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(End of this chapter)