The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-03-18
TIE REAL INVENTOR.
Are We Indebted to Professor Morse foT
tho Electric Telegraph?

tho Electric Telegraph;
\ full and complete account Of the inven.
ton of the telegraph appeared 10 The Cen
ury Magazine for April, 1888, and recently
in examining an old file Of The Now Nors
sun for the year ISL. found the following
editorial in the issue of Sept. -, Of that year
written bv Moses ). Beach, the then proprie
tor and editor, and who knew from personal
KNOWLEDGE whereof be wrote. Tho article
vas entitled "Honor to Whom Honor i
Due"
Tho laying Of tho Atlantic cable has
walked up hundreds Of claimants for honor
bestowed upon Professor Morse, and while
each IS SO loudly telling his story, and Is 20
inpatient that it Is coldly received, we viii
mention a few incidents connected With Pro
fessor Morso's own experience which We have
never seen IN print, and which lose none Of
their interest from tho unassuming modesty
Of the other parties referred 10.
"Soon after Mr.. Morse's invention OF She
telegraph which has made him famous he was
a professor in the University OF New Nork
CITY. As VT the invention was merely an
idea without material form. Among the
students there was a son Of Judge Stephen
Vail. OF Morristown, Y j., Alfred Vail, and
the worthy professor had 10 auditor more In
torestei in his supposed 20 be vagaries Al
fred was a Young man 81 an active turn q
mind. and no readily espoased Professor
.iorses ideas But tho professor had no
means. his brother Sydney looked upon him
rs a chimerical dreamer vino deserved ~
helm. and so Alfred Vail cot about overcom-
inc that difficulty. He told the s~tory-vislon4
and aI-mauy times over 10 his father. Tbs
tad-o was. as he is now, a liberal and gener-
Gus man. with do small degree OF contrlVonce
about him. lie became interested and In
vitei the professor 10 his house Tho result
was n personal friendship and q years exper-
imenting at Judge Vail expense.
~Aifrei Vail entered into these experiments
with his whole soul. ani to him Is Professor
Morse indebted quito as much a. 10 his W
wit for his ultimate triumph. II was Alirea
Vail who invented the far famed alphabet,
and be. too. was tho inventor Of tho instru-
ment that bears Morsc's name. But what
oyer he did or contrived went cheerrully &c
the GREAT end. Alfred felt rewarded in see
inc the Gradual accomplishment Of the dream
1Iudco Vail had q small factory near his
bossea and separated from tho Specdwel iron
Works, belonging to him, with water power
and in il tho experiments were carried on
Three miles of copper wire, about Tour tuhe'
as large as that used IN tho Atlantic cane,
wcre purchased at Bellevilie, y. ). Inc wire
was sent 10 New York and wound With cot
ton. under the supposition that II could mol
otherwise DO made serviceable. Ihon inc
first clumsy registering machine was devised
mi with II the writing machine, with its me
chanical action by means OF types ihelr
construction and abandonment for something
better took place In the same factory, ana
there in an upper room, the remains OF them
cog wheels, ratchets ana ""S'" "
few days since might, still be seen
THE first telegraph message ever SenS ~
,ler the 80 called Morse system was Ooln seAs
aud received in that same upper ROOM anu
was dictated by Judge Nan-'A patient
waiter IS no loser
Thence came the apparatus subsequently
exhibited ia New York and elsewhere Win
such electrical effect. We have IN our pos
session now a pieco Of that original 'n~'
miles Of wire. and we prize 1t as Q Ilenicn'o
much moro than our loot Of the AsIAnu~
cable.
..The ~oricinal plan for laying the lines o.
telegraph was by cables submerged N VIC
ground. For this purpose the wire was 70 .
inclosed Ia lead pipe, and preparations "er'
made for the introduction OF the wire IN tn'
PHO simultaneously with It's manliaeture
EXPERIMENTS showed, however, that win sue
mersion the necessary insulation OF tue WIZ
would be- difficult. II not impossible, ana tn'
cheaper and more ~effectuai method Oh suspeh
sion was adopted ~
"Another Incident and we arc o Mors
,-os 4, thosa davr. il be Is not now. no Deii