The Nevada Democrat., 1861-12-30
Progress OF the Electric Telegraph.


The rapid development and extensive appli-
cation OF the electric telegraph seems more
like miraculous result than the Efforts OF
man. This discovery confers upon human
beings movers almost akin 10 those possess
ed by the Omniscent Governor OF the uni
verse. With a few plates OF platinum and
zinc immersed in dilute acid, coil OF cop
per wire surrounding an iron bar, and an
iron cord stretched upon poles extending
along the highway, man can now hold ln-
stantaneons converse with bis fellow man
from one end Of the continent to the Other.
With materials SO simple in form and ar
rangement, such power seems, indeed to
be superhuman.
The march of invention has been regular in
all its cadences; every note is situated 10
its appropriate place and all its numbers
flow haImoniously.
The invention of the compass for naVlga-
ting seas enabled the daring mariner TO
cross unknown oceans aud discover new
realms. After this came the progression OF
peoples to the western hemisphere aud the
settling of new continents aud isles OF the
sea. that united distant lands by the ties
of kindred and commerce. Emigration aud
precedented ratio, and the wings OF the
wind were found all TO slow for waiting the
merchants bark across the billows. Some
great Improvement was felt to be necessary
for increasing commercial facilities aud OBJ
tanning more frequent communication Win
separated friends, AS il designed to sup
ply the want, steam power then joined in
the march Of invention, long voyages were
shortened upon the sea, and by the railway
distant settlements were more nearly linked
together.
But while these improvements undoubt-
edly brought separated nations and Kindred
closer together, they also, at the same time,
tended to invite the enterprising to the ex'
ploration of new and more distant realms.
AS the result of this influence, the golden
slopes of the Pacific have been peOpled IN a
very few years with many thousands OF hu-
man beings whose native bearths are on the
shores of the Atlantic. Itreally appears as
if the wide earth, through the Influence OF
discoveries in science. had OF late years been
growing more and more like the abode OF
one family, for there is scarcely house
hold iu any civilized community which has
not representative 10 some far off land,
and with whom freqnent communication
is much desired. And now the telegraph
joins in to complete the grand ro il of social
improvements. The electric cord now spans
the continent of the New World, and faster
than the earth revOlves upon its axis, mes.
sages speed along the slender wire between
the Atlantic aud Pacific cities.
The first scientific suggestion for the con-
struction of the present electric telegraph
was made by Ampere. in 1920. and he APP
piled the subtitle galvanic coil the principle
upon which the electric telegraph is based
In 1887 Professor Morse publicly described
bis telegraph, which was invented in 1882,
but Cook aud Whealstone, Of England. first
applied the electric telegraph to public bus
mess in 1888. In 1874 the first public tele-
graph line in America was erected between
Washington and Baltimore, and since then
we may truly assert the whole world has
been electrified by the invention. II is but
seventeen years since the first line Of A.
miles was erected, and now there are no
less than Sc 900 miles of line in operation
in America. What an astounding devel-
opment of the agencies for rapid communi'
cation
But with the triumph of The Pacific tele.
graph, inventors aud telegraph companies
must not fold their hands under the suppo.
eition that we are at the end of improve
meut We take this opportunity to suggest,
as we did on former OCCASION that the
telegraph is capable of being improved aud
adapted to much greater extent than it is.
as substitute for the post office system.
OF course improvements are necessary for
increasing the number Of messages sent by
each machine, aud the cost of operation
must be greatly reduced. One man can
write as fast as a common sounding instru-
ment can receive messages but this is too
slow for the present electric age. Compan.
les for working short Independent lines
should be formed in every city aud in all
thickly peopled districts, for introducing
the telegraph as a substitute for the "penuy
post" The powers of each machine may
be greatly increased by modifying its parts
and adapting it for working four, five OF
more wires-such a number not being OBJ
jectionable on short lines. This is an i'm
portant subject and it deserves general at
tention.-[Scientihc American.
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