Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1847-09-08
THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

A Mr.. House, Of New York, we believe, has in
vented great Improvement upon the electric lee-
graph, which consists in writing by its means, the
letters OF the alphabet, that they do not require
iranscrlblng. Notwithstanding violent opposition
on the part OF Professor Morse and his partners no
rs already setting up posts between the cities of
New York and Philadelphia, and in very short
time will have his experiment, in full operation.
MIR: Amos Kendall, who is partner in the pre-
sent Telegraph, and who has always been a great
enemy OF monopolies when they did not make in
his favor, has been writing series Of articles i'm the
Union to prove that House is violating Morse's
patent. We make the following extract which is
as remarkable for its monstrois pretensions rs it
Is Tor being at variance with the practise in all cases
Of patents that ever came under our notice, Or we
venture to say that Ofour readers either:
"Eouse's patent only covers mode Of arricing
AT an end airea,ty patented TO Morse and secures
nothing but the right to use Houses instrument
after having obtained from Morse the privilege of
using the electromagnetic power to make marks or
sounds for telegraph purposes. The use of Houses
instrument, therefore, without having first obtain
ed the right to use Morse's prior invention is di-
rect Infringement of Morse's patent"
We have placed the most remarkable part of this
passage in italics. He maintains farther, that
Morse's patent embraces any and all combinations
ol machinery moved 10y eectro-magnetsm, "wLici.
may be used to imprint signals upon paper or O.
Their material, on to produce sounds in any desired
summer for the purpose Of telegraphc connr,,nicp
tom" Pretty well for enemy of monopolies
This doctrine, if followed out, would leave the in
ventlon always where the first inventor found it
and would be the death of all ingenuity.
We have understood that before Professor Morse
established has Telegraph, there had already been
one in existence between London and Windsor fol-
years. 1t was much more clumsy, to be sure, than
hlorse's. and had no pretensions to convey news
with the same rapidity; but still 'sthe end' and
1.-THE mode OF arriving at it too had been discover
ed and put in operation before Morse had though,
OF getting out patent. There can, therefore, be
properly no patent for the end, Chat is, commune
eating the news,) nor of the mode, (that is of do
ing SO by electricity The only thing a patent
can cover, is the particular plan of each pateniee.
We hope TO see the monopoly of the TELEGRAPH
broken up. The Government ought to have pur
chased 1t at first. In the hands of private indivd
Nals II is subject TO great and very serious abuses
Suspicion has already begun to attach TO it.. W,
know not with what Justice, and mean not To take
any part IN any sluabble; but it certainly has at
tached itself TO it, and that to an extent of which
the propretors are little aware Just or unjust, i
Is an argument with us, of overwhelming weipht
IN favor of competition.
1t is useless, however, for the rival propretors {,
squabble, since an invention of another kind put
theirs behihd the age. 1t is announced in the Gin
cinnat Times in the following terms
"GREAT lNvENTIoN.-A gentleman in this cit,
has discovered plan by which he can send 4 maj
from this city to New York and transact business
IN two and half hours, by Railroad which shal
not cost more than three times as much rs In,
Telegraph, including via-ducts and other etceteras
lie can, he says, transport from Cincinnati to New
York, IN day of ten hours, four hundred tons O
merchandise, and at a cost not exceeding the usla
rates, and that without steam or horse power"
Wonder If Morse's patent covers that!-Whie