Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-16
the United States.

The first telegraphlc dispatch was sent In
1874 1t announced the result of the Whig
convention at Baltimore, which nominated
Henry Clay for President and Theodore
Frelinghuysen for Vice President of the
United States. The only telegraph line then
in existence extended from Washington
to Annapolis Junction. A number of people
who had attended the convention were on
their way back to Washington, and when
they stopped at Annapolis Junction, they
sent dispatch to the Capital, saving: "Clay
has been nominated"
''Of course CLAY has been nominated, q"
said the people in Washington, ''we knew
beforehand that he would be. Your tele-
graph trick is too thin"
Nobody believed that transmission by
telegraph was an accomplished fact. Pretty
soon another dispatch was received saying
''Frelinghuysen was nominated TOR Vice
President"
FRELNGHUYsEN CONVINCED THEM.
''Who is Frelinghuysen?'' everybody
asked. Nobody seemed to know him.
When the train reached Washington, the
doubters found out that the telegraph had
announced the ticket correctly. 1t was that
incident which first gave faith in the tele-
graph. The first. dispatch that passed be-
tween Baltimore and Washington was sent
by Prof Morse from the former city to the
President of the United States. 1t read:
Glory to God in the highest. Peace earth;
good will to all men.
When lines were first opened from Port
land, Me-, to Portland, Ore, it cost SIG to
send a ten-word message between the two
points The rate is now 81. In fact that
is the maximum rate between any points in
the country. When Ezra Cornell opened
the first telegraph Office in New York, he
lived on one meal day and slept in the
Office to save expenses. To add to his meager
income, he charged everybody who wanted
70 look at the instrument 10 cents. Those
were precarious days for the telegraph.
From 1874 to 1854 no company made money.
Rates we're low and patrons were scarce.
can remember when the Office at Rochester
n. Y, had to remit to the Chicago office to
make up the deficiency there. Now the
Chicago Office turns in sec, 900 a month.
Its gross receipts are S75, 900. 1t was Ezra
Cornell who built the first telegraph line.
He was the founder OF Cornell University.
Ex-Governor Alonzo B. Cornell is his son.
The first wires that were tried were cop
per, 1 think. But it was found that while
they were better conductor than the iron
wires they were not strong enough. When
Eleet collected on them they broke down.
Nov, however, hard copper wires are pro-
dvced which will bear the strain. Copper
wire about one-ffth the weight of iron will
give the same conductivitv. In other words
. copper wire, weighing $50 pounds to the
mile, is as good a conductor as a No. iron
wire weighing $50 pounds to the mile. 1t is
only within the last six years that copper
wire could be produced that was strong
enough for telegraph purposes.
FIRST LINE WAS UNDERGROUND.
1t was rather curious fact that when the
building of the first telegraph line was be-
gun, the wire was laid underground. Con-
Etruction was begun at Washington, and
when the line reached Bladensburg, a dis
tance of II miles from the Capital, The in
sulstion failed. Prof Morse saw that the
plan which had been adopted was failure.
Mr.. Cornell had dug the trench in which
the wire was laid, by means of sharp plow
drawn BY four or five yoke of oxen. He
purposely steered the plOw against a rock
and broke it Then a new plan was adopted.
1nsu-atOrs were procured, and the wires
were strung on poles. Bladensburg, where
the plow was broken, is, BY the way, his
toric ground. 1t was q great dueling
place, 1t was there that Henry Clay and
John Randolph fought. 1t was there also
that Jonathan Cillery, of Connecticut, fell
before the rife of W. j. Graves, of Ken
tucky.
SERVICE OF THE PRESS.
The New York Herald was the first news
paper to patronize the telegraph largely.
On one occasion an important event oc- |
CURED at Buffalo which the Herald wished |
to report fully. There was only one wire |
working through between Buffalo and New |
York. The Herald correspondent filed the |
Bible as a message, and told the operator to |
start in at Genesis and send until other |
matter was furnished TO take its place. The |
Herald man, of course, wanted to monopo- /
lie the wire. The operator was in doubt If 1
he ought to countenance this proceeding. |
He telegraphed to the superintendent for |
instructions. The superintendent replied |
that there was evidently no intention to |
publish the Bible, and the operator must |
take dispatches in good faith as they were |
handed in, and transmit them in their order. |
The trick OF the Herald was a clever one, |
but the telegraph company could not be a
confederate.
In those days the rates to newspapers were |
about one-half the rates for commercial mes !
sages They are now about one-third BY day |
and one-fourth by night Tor specials on ac- |
count OF the immense business done by the |
press. The messages of the several press as
sOciations are dropped at great number of |
places, and ior such drops the charges are /
One-fourth the commercial rates for day and |
one-eighth for night reports.
THE FIRST NEWS ORGANIZATION.
Lit hAeb aAA6dtAOu 4OI euppll luE uGhS /
TO the newspapers was conducted by D. H. |
Craig. His messages giving directions for
the sending of news we're sent free and won |
for him the title among the operators of
dead Head Craig" The term dead head'
did not, however, originate with Mr. Craig /
Mr.. Craig was the first to make a speciality
of foreign news He had reporters who
boarded vessels of Newfoundland and sent /
their news thus obtained by carrier pigeons.
The messages reached New York some four
days in advance of the steamers.
IL was not believed possible to use tele-
graph wire for sending messages in two
directions simultaneously until 1871 or
1872. Now, by the use Of quadruplex in
struments, four messages can be sent at
once-two in each direction. Two multi
plex devices have been arranged, but thev
are not successful. One will send eight
messages each way across room, but it will
not work in sending messages between New
York and Boston. The WheatStone instru-
ment punches messages through a sheet of
paper, which is subsequently, ground
through the machine. The messages are
written out at the point where received.
The " heatstone works with very light
current. Our lines have been working with
Wheatstone instruments to San Francisco
through 20 miles of snow piled up ten feet
above the tops of the poles. This could not
be done with the Morse instruments.
OPERATORS DELIVERED TIE MESSAGES.