The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1871-06-20
r n o r ssO'R MORSE,
HIS; Trials Before the Congress
SiOnal ThicK-Heads,.
Iron the Philadelphia Ledger. !

we remember YIvldly the trials OF
Prof Morse during his long and weary
effort, 10 get aid from Congress- andthe
sneering and insulting amendments offer
edto the. bill which appropriated thirty
thousand dollars TO construct the first
line from Washington,to Baltimore-one
member proposing that half the sum be
devoted to "Mesmerism," and another
that part be disSursed in favor Of emil.
lcrism." This.was during the session of
1S43, on the last day of which the. appro-
priation he had been struggling and striv-
Ing for for five years was finally granted.
Then. came the inevitable new crop of
troubles which beset every great enter
prise The first attempt to construct the
line was a mortifying failure. Nine or
ten miles of Insulated wire were placed in
leaden pipes and laid between Baltimore
and the "ReIay House," and then it was
discovered that the "carth currents of
electricity prevented the line from work
ing Scarcely single mile of the line
could be made to respond to- the battery.
The work had to be commenced anew ,and
this time by. carrying the wires on poles
as at present, though with far inferior ap-
pliances forinsuring insulation to those
which now exist. The line was -corrple-
ted and ready foroperation on Saturday,
May %, 1874. and on the morning of that
day messages were interchanged, in the
presence of few spectators, between the
Capitol at Washington and the old Pratt
street depot Of the Washington railway
in Baltimore. Names and compliments
were sent back and forth, and to the ques.
ton from Baltimore, whats the news in
Washington /" the answer came, "Van
Buren, stock is rising" This was two
days before the famous. Baltimore Demo
cratic Convention, of 1914, when Mr.. Van
Buren was beaten by the equally famous
"two thirds rule" "
The first spress message" was sent to
the Baltimore Patriot at i p NJ. of the
same day, and was published as follows
'ssOne o'clock. There has just been g
motion in the House 10 go into Commit
,teeof the whole on the Oregon question
Rejected ayes 70, nays &C." This is the
first public dispatch by magnetic tele.
graph of which we. can find any record
The line was opened for business on the
following Monday, May 30. 1t was nearly
two years before the. next hundred miles
was completed from Baltimore to Phila
delphia. This part of the line was open.
ed for business on Tuesday, June 2, 1916
and in the Public Ledger Of Wednes.
day, June 8, we find the irstreport BY
'allagnetic Telegraph" published in
Philadelphia, Of the Congressional pro
ccedings of the day before. They rela
ted to the Mexican war and the ''tariff OIL
'46." then in embryo, and the debate OH
these subjects was conducted mainly by
Chittenden. Websterand Calhoun. =
Thus we see that more than two years
after the magnetic telegraph was a dem
onstrated success, it took more than two
years to secure the construction Of one
hundred miles of additional telegraphit
line Now, the wires are being extended
throughout the world at the rate of one
hundred thousand miles year. At the
beginning of the present year, there were
150,S43 miles of wires in operation in the
United States, supplying 5,Ol4 offices ,ant
employing in the neighborhood of 10000
persons. In America, Europe, Asia, AT
rica and Australia, there are now about
650,000 miles of wires and about 20,00(
telegraphic stations. All this vast resul
Prof Morse has lived to see, as the result
of his labors and those of his colaborers
among whom we are glad to see that ir
his interesting address he mentioned with
honor, Prof Joseph Henry, without
whose electro-magnet of insulated wires
around an iron bar the telegraphic instru
ment would be bereft of half its life.