The Red Cloud chief., 1876-07-20
Growth Of the Telegraph.
The Old and the New, tho Past aud the
Pre~Amf

b1S~Wu.
Telegraphy was born in 1874. The
name itself is of more recent date. The
first message of Importance transmitted
was that of Silas Wright, written at his
seat in the Senate to the Baltimore
Convention, in June of the year We
name, declining the nomination for the
Vice Presidency which the Convention
had conferred upon him. At that time
the only telegraph line in the world was
between Washington City and Balti-
more, and the first practical use of it
was the transmission OF messages to
and from the Democratic Convention
in Baltimore.
In IS4S the nomination of Van Buren,
and Adams at Buffalo, on the Free
Soil platform, was sent over the wires
as far as they reached.
The nomination of Franklin Pierce
in 1852 was known throughout the
greater part of the Union within a few
minutes of the time it was made, and as
details came from the convention almost
simultaneously kilograms were received
of the enthusiasm with which the
nomination was hailed and of the Sa-
lutes fired in the East, the South and
the West in rejoicing over it.
In 1856 the nomination of Fremont
and Dayton i'm Onr own city vas tele-
graphed to every State in the Union.
Being on the spot and the marvellous
invention being no longer a novelty,
telegraphy left no particular impression
of its use on that occasion upon us. But
in November of that year the Presiden-
tial election for the first time was held
in all the States on the same day, and the
definite result was known about forty
eight hours after the polls had closed.
During all of the first day following,
anxious crowds thrOnged Third street
to hear the hourly dispatches from all
sections of the vote of the previous day.
News of MI. LincOln's nomination III
1860 was received in this city about 3
p. NJ. The same night some thousands
of ardent Republicans. unOrganized,
paraded the streets with music, torches,
Roman candles, and Bengal lights.
shouting for the "FlatbOatman of the
Mississippi" That Mr.. Lincoln was or
had been a Woodworking man every
body knew, and it mattered but little
whether he was a "lat-bOatman" or Il
"rail-splitter." Either was evidence of
his being of the true type of the Ameri-
can self-reliant progressive character.
Since his nomination most of our read
ers easily remember how, ~quadrennially,
Presidential nominations and the result
of elections have been quickly known
by the electric wires. In the deep inter-
est shown yesterday around all the bull
letin boards as the news from Cincin-
natl was posted, there was none of the
wonder that characterized the crowds
twenty years ago, when telegraphy was
a novelty. Familiar as all are with the
| operations and the infinite value of this
modern application of science. still, on
occasions like yesterday and to-day,
when in a moment a few clicks will in
lerm millions who is to be the next
rf~ident, most rejecting minds give a
ui'ueat to the genius of Morse, and the
s.laz'iA OutgrOwth and application Of
MS inventor of 1874. As we sat by the
iecofuing oAstery in our Office receiving
news VI 1ne Sleek markets and produce
markets OF the Country, news from the
convention sitting at Cincinnati, then
intelligence from Lohion that Winslow
was released, then. by asew more clicks,
that the candidates were being placed
in nomination, we for mOmea+sthoueht
more of Morse than Names br1sht and
bold statesman.-Phlddelphid Press.