Day and night the work was carried on incessantly. During the height of the investigation, toward the close of this five-year campaign, Edison and a few of his faithful experimenters—facetiously called "The Insomnia Squad"—stayed steadily at the works for a period of over five weeks—eating, drinking, working, and sleeping (occasionally) there. During that time Edison went home only four or five times, and then merely to change his clothing. He and the men slept for short periods in the works or in the library, on benches and tables, resuming their labors immediately on waking up. Edison had arranged for an abundant supply of good substantial food which they themselves cooked, hence the inner man was well cared for. The wives of the men came around at intervals with changes of clothing for their husbands. This intense application to work left no time for shaving, with the result that all hands might well have been taken for a gang of traditional pirates from their unkempt appearance.
They were all happy, however, and, strange to say, all increased in weight, although a contrary result might naturally have been expected. The intense work has never ceased, but there has been no similar protracted siege since, as the main principles were practically settled at that time. The foregoing instance has been merely mentioned to illustrate the fierce vigor with which Edison works when he is seeking to complete one of his inventions. He has been, and still is, prosecuting his labors with the same energy to bring about the utmost perfection that is possible.
He has not confined his work to the refinement of the merely mechanical parts, such as the instrument and the records, but during the last ten years he has devoted an immense amount of time to music itself. Becoming convinced that the public desired really beautiful music, he set himself to a thorough study of the subject, not only of compositions, but also of the human voice, its powers and limitations, and of different effects of various styles of orchestration. He determined to hear for himself music of all kinds, and with this object in view hired a number of sight-reading players and singers to render musical selections by the hour.
"THE INSOMNIA SQUAD"—Copyright by Thomas A. Edison
In the past ten years he has heard upward of twenty-five thousand compositions of a wide range, from grand opera to ragtime. As he hears them he indicates his opinions, which range from "beautiful" to "punk," according to his idea of availability for the phonograph. An elaborate card system preserves these indications for further application in selecting music for the phonograph.
It might seem dogmatic to have the reproduction of musical compositions depend upon his opinion, but it must be said that he is not entirely committed to such drastic measures if there is a real demand for some musical selection which does not seem to merit his good opinion. His decision as to a composition is not based on a merely personal whim or fad, but upon his opinion of it from the standpoint of an inventor. He has said to the writer more than once: "There is invention in music just as much as in the arts. Composers such as Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti were inventors. They did not copy, nor did some of the other great composers. But the rank and file of musicians are not inventors; they have copied the ideas of the others, consciously or unconsciously. If you will sit down for a few hours and have a lot of miscellaneous compositions played you will be convinced of it."