Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-02-10

ing the nOOr. fearful OF SHOCKS. Inef
skeptcal countenances would have
driven the original Doubling Thomas
wild with envy. But finally they ranged
themselves AS closely MS they dared be-
side the animated clectr elan and
AWAITED HIS EXPERIMENTS
"Now. gentlemen. what shall we
send over tile wires?' calculated the
old man. "Pick out your own message
and I'll show you how simple this
whole thing is and how it accompishes
everything that I've claimed.
The gentlemen were hardly expect
ing IA challenge like this, but finally
congressional genius asserted ITSELF
and one of the party proposed that
this startlngly orig nal information be
flashed along:
Mr.. Brown of Indiana is here
Prof. Morse bent over his instru-
ment and pegged away. Tick. tick,
tick -tick-tick went the electric tapping.
and then moment later came the
same rafting line of signals upon an
adjoining nlachine-the indentation
Morse register.
The old man grabbed the 81 p of pa
per as it came released from the instru-
ment scanned il eagerly. and then
with the air of an emperor whose
crown is self-w he thrust the tlutter
ing white scrap forward What to the
congressmeniappeare a cofused collec-
t on of uninteligible dots and dashes
stretched along the paper. 1t was the
telegraphic alphabet, explained the
enthusiast.
"See"-and he displaced another
sheet on VIII ch his dot and dash sign
manual ppeared-"See! Take this
for guide and you'll find printed
there the very words you asked trans
melted "
The delegation did as directed, and
sure enough they spelled out the sem
sationa goings-on of "Mr. Brown of
! Indiana
Converted? Those congressman con-
verted? Well. hardly. This is the re-
collection of Mr. X rk: "One of them
| hunched me and winked in superior
and knowing sort of way. while
another whspered: That's what call
pretty thin!' and a third remarked
right out loud: 1T won't do That
doesn't prove anything Poor Morse's
! heart was almost broken. His triumph
was turned all to bitterness. Every
/ one OF his Wis tors went awav
MORE sKEPTICAL THAN EVER.
! The public or so small portion as
/ took any interest in the matter.
generally attributed the results that
/ Morse obtained to diabolism, or (when
/ the moro intelligent and scientific
minds considered i) to mere legerde-
main.
Every body" continued Mr. Kirk
Thought it good joke on me and
! had to stand lots of chatting around the
1 cap tol. II wasn't long before | saw
| that Assistant Postmaster General Bry-
an had IA pretty level head as polti-
clan in not wanting to b. mixed up
with what he called 'Morsc's foolish
ness. But | held on The truth 5.
/ had fallen in love with that resolute
| old man battling against such odds as
! prejudice kept piling up against h IN. "
Morse worked only the harder after
| his failure to convince the wise men
/ from congress by the test of his five
/ mile loop. Day by day more poles
were set and more wire was stretched,
and Annapolis junction-half way to
| Baltimore-was ust about reached
when the whig nat onal convent ON of
! May. 1874 opened In baltimore. Here,
at the suggestion of Mr.. Kirk. Morse
saw opportunities beyond any that had
come to him before. On the morning
that the convention organized he was
able, by dint of work bv night "a we'll
as by dav, to get connection through to
Annapolis junction from his little
Washington machine-shOp. He had
placed a bright Young fellow at the An
napois junction. and with instruct ons
to get information of what the conven-
ton had done just as soon As the after
noon Baltimore train arrived at the
! junction and telegraph it at once to
! Washington.
OF course the capital was in fer
ment; every citizen was anxious for the
news from Baltimore; but till trains
! should arrive from the scene it was re-
cognized that nothing could be known.
THE EARNEST OLD FELLOW
spent that eventful afternoon all alone.
save for the companionship OF John
Kirk. Anxious even to excitement. he
had fully succeeded in gett nc asatisfy-
ing message from the junction that all
was right at that end of the line and
ready for the transm ssion Of the news
as soon as the expected train should ar
rye. 1t was an experience to leave life
long Impressions. and 1t isn't wonderful
that Mr. Kirk still wildly recalls that
strange, remote room in its forlorn
trappings of wire and pots and chem
icals. set i'm its center with the old man.
nervous. eager. veritably gasping. for
the realization of his life's chief hope.
Suddenly there came an animated
clicking. He who was most Interested
bent forward as # intent on fairly con-
Stunning the strip of paper that crept
out from the register. There WAS almost
agony in his face. as. snail-like. the pa
per halted AMI hesitated. spurted n
little. stood still. made false starts and
then spurted more till-the message
completed-Morse rose erect, looked
proudly about him. and said as grandly
as though he were distributing king
doms:
"Mr. Kirk. the convention has adj
journed. The train for Washington
has just left Annapolis junction. And
the tcket-'he hesitated holding fin
ally proof of his victory be, ond all dis