The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-10-02
Klse.rle Telsgr.pl..ss
J IS Klsctrlc 9Telegrapla.ss5' 80 ~
i The. recent accident on the Charlotte
Railrosdsby which Mr.. osohard and Che
snginees lost thSir lives hnd thamode

engineer aost their lives and thasmode
OF com asaa;sss ~ ;sss..::S :.As ss.=4!!:seA=s.rc=
the spot tSbroughE to my mind hslmost
wonderful Of all modern inventions, aud
some2 Incidents which. by yohr permis.
sion. I will mention. It will be remem.
bersd that Morse; the inventor, was
poor, and that he asked Congress to
make small appropriation to enable
MIN 70 construct an experimental teis.
graph line from Washington to Balii-
more. This was foR many years de.
clined, but finally, s.When Morse had
despsired OF success, Congress voted
the small sum. think, Of $50, 900. This
was due to the perseyering efforts of
Mr.. Ellsworth, ommissioner of Patents.
believe. The incident of its passage
is quite. interesting. It was the Last
night OF the session; the petition had
passed the lower House, was low down
in the calendar of the Senate, and could
not be reached in regular order. Morse
left for his lodgings in utter despair.
Mr. Ellsworth remained, and succeeded
in having it taken up ont Of ats place.
It was passed late at night. Early next
morning. he, sent his little daughter.
Annie El'sworth, to Mr. Morse's lodg-
Ings,with congratulations, and the re-.
guest that he oome and breakfast with
hlm. The thing OF Congratulations"
ne could not understand, as he had no
doubt OF defeat when he left the Senate
chamber. The young girl-for she was
only fourteen years old-told him that
the appropriation had been made It
was hard for him to believe it, but he
went to breakfast with Mr.. E. and there
learned all the particulars. He e1-
pressed his gratitude to Mr.. E., by hay.
ing little Annie to send tho first mess
age. which. as the world knows, was,
What hath God wrought!' This WAS
May ~, 1874. Iu the simmer of 1912,
l was in New York, and my friend, Prof.
Ellet, OF the South Carolina College,
was in the city. He was constant in his
efforts r. Introduce me TO such things as
were oongenial to my taste, and which
he conceived would interest me. He
said to me that gentleman, Professor
Morse, had invented q machine which
he called tho electric telegraph, aud
which be (Ellet) thought would rank
among the most brilliant and useful
Inventions Of modern times. He ex-
planned it to me, and promised to in-
troduce me to Professor Morse ut his
rooms. that I might see it and wit
ness It's mysterious workings The
next day, we called on the Professor,
who was in q building of five or six
stories, and with the wires stretched
from the basement to the highest floor,
be gratihed me by an exhibition of its
power. may be pardoned for saying.
that look upon it as one of tho fortu-
nate events of my life. that shook this
world-renowned man by the hand when
he was yet in obsourity-thatI touched
|-and handled tho little model telegraph,
which is now become historical. It was
this little machine, "the observed OF all
observers, the parent of tie many
hundreds scattered over our country,
that figured 30 conspiouously at tue late
national Morse celebration. But thirty
years have rolled by since the coEstruc-
ton OF the line from Baltimore to Wash
lngton, and now our entire land NAV be
SAID to be network Of telegraph wire.
The alphabet, as the reader knows. is
composed Of dots and dashes, and these
were read and deciphered by the ope-
rator, and translated into the language
OF the country. This was the work Of
the eys. In the progrese of the art, it
was transferred to the ear, aud now,
strange to tell, the operator reads by
sound. Gould our fathers be aroused
from their sleep, what could astonish
them more than visit to the telegraph
office; and what would be their emo.
tions when informed that oceans offer
no barrier, and that people separated by
thousands Of miles of water, by this
means communicate with each other in
few seconds! But all is not vet told.
When circumstances will not allow Of
the usual methods Of communication, u
first class operator wants nothing more
than delicate nervous system. The
letters Of the alphabet are readily dis
singnished by the character of the
shock. the electrical impulse, and as
clearly known by sensation as by tue
eye or ear. This was kone by that
worthy gentleman aud most accom-
plished operator, ". Richard Cathcart,
Esq. on the occasion Of the accident on
the Charlotte Road. He detached the
wire from pole near by. telegruphcd
the intelligence, and received the reply
through his hands. which, by their
nerves, transmitted the sensations to the
great centre OF perception. The cleo
trical current was sufficiently strong for
him to receive it through the hands;
had it been weak, he would have used