The sheer volume the work done West Orange and
. These were
no mere academic pursuits.Ill- 7
perfected the Edison laboratory.Tate, who became
indispensable Edison business manager and personal
secretary. The other
Edison electrical companies carried the same practice,
drawing the laboratory's position source higher
education the Edison enterprise.
Edison's labor force also included administrators and
clerks, notwithstanding his well publicized disdain for office
work. Insull was succeeded
as secretary protege, Alfred O. fact, was stickler for accurate record keeping,
and determined find the costs experimentation. well dealing with all company business, Tate
also handled Edison's voluminous correspondence and his family
affairs.
Samuel Insull had defined the position private secretary to
Edison and made him very important person the hierarchy of
the laboratory.^ The Edison Machine Works
kept some their men the lab work projects which
they were interested, and they paid the men's wages. the old
days Newark and Menlo Park, the administration the
laboratory had been carried out Edison's personal secretary
who doubled bookkeeper, chief clerk, and general assistant. West Orange, Edison employed secretaries who
not only carried out bookkeeping duties, but also had power of
attorney deal with financial affairs. The requirements patent law made
a daily record experiments neccessity and financial
backers required breakdowns experimental costs
