Lindsey Graham

At first taken aback, Tesla then resolved to follow the advice of the veteran inventor, later recalling, He impressed me tremendously.

I shined my shoes, and I liked it.

During the summer of 1884, Tesla continued to work for Edison.

And despite growing competition, business was brisk.

Edison's crews lit up the New York Stock Exchange, the New Haven Steamboat Company offices, and other prominent businesses on Wall Street.

But Tesla continued to be frustrated with the limitations of direct current, including the fact that Edison's stations could only provide electricity a half mile in any direction.

By the end of the summer, despite Edison's dominance, his company had only managed to install 18 power stations in the entire country, and most of them served only densely populated areas, leaving small, rural towns completely in the dark.

Tesla was convinced his AC system could deliver electricity more efficiently over greater distance and to far more people.

So as the months wore on, Tesla continued to refine his designs, eventually gathering the courage to present his idea to Edison.

But Edison dismissed him.

Tesla recalled that Edison responded very bluntly that he was not interested in alternating current.

And he went even further, saying that there was no future to it, and anyone who dabbled in that field was wasting his time.

And besides, it was a deadly current, whereas direct current was safe.

Tesla was stung by the rejection and felt that he was being misunderstood.

Edison justified his commitment to his direct current system by pointing to the dangers of alternating current systems already in use, including the high-voltage AC wires that powered the bright arc lights in Manhattan.

Edison cited incidents where workers had been shocked and even killed from accidental contact with AC power.

In contrast, Edison proudly pointed out that DC was a low-voltage system, and if a person touched the wires or bulbs or even the power source itself, they were unlikely to be seriously hurt.

But Tesla vowed not to give up, convinced that his improvements to the alternating current system would be revolutionary.

Still, he realized that he lacked the resources to prove it.

So he continued to work for Edison's company, spurred on partly by the promise of a big bonus from his managers for a successful completion of a big project.