Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-07-18


It is not inappropriate give this time BRIEF
summary Of the history of the telegraph that upon
the progress made and the results obtained ia the
few years since its discovery, We may found eur an
ticipatons for the future Of the telegraph
In the year 1854 DIR. HOoke invented plan for
an .erial telegraph, which followed By expert
ments Of NJ. Amontons for the same end. However,
neither Of these plans carried into eheci; ana
it was not until 1894 that the semaphore was aetuaL
" used In that year an Rrial telegraph, the Ia
yention Of NJ. Claude Chsppe, was employed for the
transmission Of intelligence between Paris and
Lille; the convey auee of signal from one OF these
/ places TO the other occupying only two mInuies-
/ SsmaphoFes we're soon in use throughout Europe
I in England in 1895; Denmark in 1902; India IN
| 1923; Prussia and Austria about 1888, and Russia
| in 1880
The cost Of working the erial telegraph was
| very great. The line above mentioned cost about
s. 500 per annum and q similar line between Lon
don and Portsmouth cost about 1880 per annuul-
/ These telegrsphs we're necessarily imperfect, eK-
cee6ingly slow, and liable to total interruption d
storms and fogs.
| The idea Of the employment Of electricity, as
means Of converting intelligence to a distance ap-
nears to have been long enterteiDed, and expert
ments to ascertain the PrAelieabiity Of electrical
( communication between distant places, we're early
| made By scientific men throughout the CIVILIZED
! world In 1929, Grey and Wheeler discovered tnat
I \ current OF eieclFleiY c0ulu DC Hla4o " Ao"
/ through considerable length Of wire. In 1f4o,
Wiuckler, at Leipsic, and LsMonnier, at Paris eX-
perimened on the same subject Of the TRANSMISSION
Of the electric current through conducting bodies
Ia lT47, DR.. Watson, in England, repeated and ex-
tended these experiments, sending current through
Two miles Of wire and two Of eRrth sending shocks
! across theThames and the new River Dr. Frank
lin. in l748, and DeLuc, in 1749 repeated many Of
/ these experiments. Ia addition, experiments bear
more or less on the subj Of electric teiegraphy
were made By Lesage in l7I4, Reusser IN lt94' "a
vallo in 1885, Belancourt in 1913, Soemmering II
1907, and Prot Oersted in 1873.
The first electric telegraph actually applied seems
to have been the invention Of NJ. D. +. saliva
Humboldt says his telegraph was established be-
/ tween Madrid and AraDjuez in l796, distance Of
about tWentySsix miles
Afcr many improvements and changes, Prof. 5.
F. B. Morse, in the year 1885, constructed the basis
f his present 81 ulpe and beautiful instrument Ia
Senfember, 1897, he exhibited his iustrum snt at
the New York University, working through l. W
feet Of wire.
Morse applied for patent in the Units1 States in
! April 1888 This application was afterwards Whh'
drawn and his patent was not taken out until June
1910 In 1872 be pettioned Congress, who apprO
priated $50 600 to his use for the construction OF
line between Washington and lnmore- In June
1874 Morse had his invention in successful opera
tion between Washington and Baltimore, uistaac'
Of forty miles This the only line il the Unlte'
States constructed under government patronage.
The House Telegraph, the invention Of Royal
House differs from previously invented telegraphr
instruments, by printing messages IN the Ordlnar,
Roman letters; aud this invention, with the lnTeh
ton of David E. hughes Of Kentucky, is well htie
to precede the experiment Of the Atlantic cable
/, BV the latter invention the labor which eleetTiei
has to perform IS reduced to a minimum BY maxim
it necessary to use only single electrical imPuls
i to form letter, whereas by previous systems seV
eIal distinct impulses were necessary. with n
aid Of this invention we transmit a message IN
distance Of one continent to another; and so "
here have the practical decision in regard 70 ID
feasibility OF the Atlantic cable, the ether dlihen
ties being only mechanical
To show the progress which has been mad
- throughout the world in building teegraphie line
nd we give a summary Of the existing lines in Il
world