Dickson was typical Edison employee the
nineteenth century— ambitious young man considerable
.L. Tate resigned. The lab was moving away from hiring
generally trained experimenters towards professional engineers
with commercial experience. Although mechanics like
the Otts were still Edison's side, providing link of
continuity with the past, there were many new faces the lab
in the late 1890s.
A new generation workers were beginning make their
mark West Orange, symbolizing the evolving functions the
laboratory the Edison enterprise. Yet new
direction labor policy had begin the the turn the
century when employees with specific skills and formal
education were sought instead the generalists the
nineteenth century.
Edison had once commented that the "boys" worked with him for
fame and fortune. Many them saw their main chance the
1890s and left the lab: Batchelor quietly disappeared from the
scene and devoted himself travel, looking after his health,
and carefully tending his investments; Kennelly left become
Professor Electrical Engineering Harvard. The
ranks the "boys" steadily diminished the 1890s when
several muckers went their own way and left Edison's employ.K.
W. The older generation Edison associates
was spent and new one emerging, very much different. Samuel Insull
took job Chicago Edison and A.O.VII-32
The daily work experimenters like Kennedy shows that little
had changed the Edison laboratory from the 1880s
