Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-08-27
nailg airaiaian.
Prof. M orso before Congress

Prof. Morse before Congress.
At the recent Atlantic Cable goriiicalion in In
danapolis. cx Gov. Wallace gave the following In.
,eresting account of the first Telegraph bill in the
House ofkcprcscntatiyes of the United States. Mr..
Wallace ssid.
Some sixteen years ago had the honor of seat
in Congress the Representative Of this district.
The Wing party had just achieved n great victory.
They held possession of the Government. In the
midst Of the political strife around ustwo remark
able persons appeared-Espy, the ''Storm King"
aud Morse, the Electrician. Each was asking for
assistance. Each becamo tho butt Of rdcule, the
target Of mcrciless arrows Of wit. They were vo-
ted downrig ght bores and tho idoa of giving them
money was pronounced mrcical. They were con-
sdcrcd monomaniacs. md ns such were laughed
at, punnod upon, and almost desplscd. e
One morning entered the House OF Represen-
tnliycs, and, to my nstunishmcnt, saw gentleman
rise from his seat whom had never heard open
his mouth before. unless it was to vote or address
the Speaker hold in my hand, he said, "a
'resonion which respectfully offer for tho con
sidcration Of the House."
In moment page was at his desk. and tho
resolution WAS transferred to the Speaker nnd by
him delivered to tho Clerk who road; "Resolvod,
THAT the Committee of Ways aud Means be IN
"structcd u inquire into tho expedency Of nppro
"priating 100000 to enable Professor Morse to
"tablsh line Of telegraph between Washington
and Baltimore" The gentleman who offered IL
was Mr.. Ferris, one of tho Representatives from
the City of Ncw-iork. u man vi wealth and learn
ing. but modest, retiring and diilidcnt in his de
mcanor. 1t being merely u resolution oflnquiry,
it passed without opposition md ont Of regird 10
the mover without comment. In timc il came to
the Committee ul Why's and Means and when in
its order it came before tho Cominittcea seeno pro-
sent4l itself that shall not soon iorget. The
Committee was composed Of five Wings and four
Democrats Tho latter were Mr.. Athcrton Of Now.
Hampshire, John W. Jones of Virginia, Frank
Pickeus ui North Carolina nnd Dixon II Lewis uf
Alabama. On tho Wing side were Millard Fill
more Of Ncw-iolk jos. Il. Ingersoll Of pcnnsyl-
yania. Sampson Mason OF Ohio, Thos. \. Marshull
of Kentucky. and David Wallace of Indiana all Of
whom, both Wings aud Democrats. excepting your
humble servant. had hy their public services, aud
brilliant talents. acquired IL national reputation.
Tho clerk oi tho tonmlttc0 read the resolution.
Tie chairman, Mr., Fillmore. in clear, distinct
voice, said "t'rntcmen what disposition shall
he made OF iY' Thore wns Il dcad pause around
the table. n one seemed inclined to take tho li-
itiatiyc. confess Tint, inasmueh tho mover of
the resolution i'll the House WAS n Democrat | OK.
pcccl the Democratic side of the Committee to
stand godfather 10 II there. But not II bit of ii.
They gave il no countennncc.
At length Mr.. lngorsoll. or Mr.. Mason, eau
not now rccollcct which, broke the ominous 81
lencc by nv, ing that tho Committee instruct tho
Chairman b. report bill to the House, nppropra
ting sju,0h for the purpose named in the resolu-
ton. lhis as the saying is " brought us all up
standing Nospcoclles were mnde. Tho question
was called for. Tho yeas and nayy were taken.
alphabetically. and to my astonshment. found
every Democrat voting No; Fillmore. Mason In
gorsoll and Marshall voting in tho affirmative
My vote would decide the question othor way
To tell tlc truth, had paid no attention to the
matter. Like the majority around mo, consider
cd it grent humbug. | had not tho faintest idea
Of the Importance Of my vote. But as fortune
would have 1t, recolected that Mr.. Morse was
thon experimenting III the Capitol with his tele-
graph. llc had stretched wire from the bnse-
ment story TO the anie-room Of tho Senate Cham
ber, and 1t was IN my power to satisfy myself in
regard to its feasibility. determined To try it,
! askdd lcnyc to consider my vote. 1t was grant
cd. Immediately stepped out Of the committee
rooin and went 10 tho ante chamber. | found it
crowded with Representatives mud strangers. ]
requested permission To ruta question to the mail
man ut the other end Of the wire. 1t was grant
el Immediately. ! wrote the question and hand
ei it the telrgrapher The crowd cried, "read,
read Ina very short timo tho answer was reccy-
ed. When written out the samecry of read, read!"
came from the crowd. To my utter a,tonsllment.
i found that the mailman Mt tho other end of the
wirs, lad more wit and force than the Congress.
men ut this end. lilo turned tho laugh upon me
completely. But as you know. we Western men
are never satisfied with fall that never less
than two out Of three can force from us un ao-
Acknowledgement Of defeat. SO | put second ques-
tlon aud there came u second answer. If the
first raised laugh ut my expense, the second
converted that laugh into roar and u shout.
was more than satisfied. picked up my hat,
bowed myself out of tho crowd, and as passed
along the halls and passages Of tho Capitol, that
shout followed me. As IL matter Of course |
voted in the affirmative Of tho motion then
pending before the Committee, and il pre-
vailed. The Chairman reported the bill Tho
AZ | aspH
without asking the Yeas and Nays. And
thus concurring, the Whg portion of that Com
m,tec, and that old New-Yorker, play cd tho part
of Isabella toward Mr.. Morse in this his last
struggle 10 demonstrate the prncticabiliiy of tho
most amazing invention of the age, the Magnetic
Telegraph. If the Committee had ignored the
proposition there is no telling what would have
been the result. That the experiment would have
been finally made, no ono can entertain doubt
But when or by whom is the question. 1t was
not within the range Of individual fortune to mako
it, and, if it was, none but Prof Morse would
shared tho fate of the Ocean Telegraph. Although
conceived years ago, as ! read in Cincinnati pa-
per n few days since, by the editor Of The COM
mercidt, and application was made to Congress
for assistance, which entirely disregarded, yet
English sagacity seized with avidty what Amer-
can supineness had neglected. and took the ini-
tlative III this magnificent enterprise and plucked
from American brows the glory of the achieve
ment.
Party demagogues in Indiana says an exchange,
used the telegraph vote of Gov. Wallace to his
disadvantage, and succeeded in making the people
generally regard it with utter contempt. One old
Shelby County farmer urged the Governor to deny
having voted for the telegraph. and o Jerry John
son, to show his contempt for the humbug, sug-
gcste1 that I'VE would next hear of the people
driving God Almighty's lightning across the
ocean to split Europe into fragments"
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