Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-30

Of government. He submitted to Secretary
Of the Treasury Spencer an estimate OF the
exact amount which would be required to
complete the proposed line, the total amount
of which was SIS, 40 This estimate was ap-
proved by Mr.. Spencer. and In March OF
1913 active operations Of laying wires were
begun. Conduits, or lead pipes. were used
as a means Of conducting the wires, ana
a line Of these was laid as far as Relay
station on the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road. 1t was then discovered that this sys-
tenn was impracticable and q system OF
poles was substituted.
The line was completed on the sd day Of
May. 1874 and on the following day Prof
Morse was prepared to put to the test the
been laboring for twelve anxious. weary
years. At the Mount Clare depot in Balti-
more one terminus Of the line had been To-
Gated, and the other was located In the
United States Supreme Court chamber. At
the Washington end Mr.. Morse sat at the
instrument, and in Baltimore his assist
ant Mr.. Vail. occupied a like position. Prof
Morse had extended an invitation to his
friends to be present at the test
and the chambers were crowded with
an interested throng Of unbelevers, who
had gathered there to Witness what they
fully expected would result In a failure.
The First Message.
To Miss Ellsworth had been given the
promise that she should indite the first
message. and accordingly she was sent for.
Her message. What hath God wrought"
was transmitted to Baltimore, and received
correctly by Mr.. VAIL who repeated It The
triumph Of the inventor was sublime. The
effect on the crowd was wonderful They
had gathered there to scoff, and they went
away convinced and impressed.
Those who had not witnessed the test
however. refused to believe in the inven-
ton. claiming that the whole affair was a
hoax and a gigantic swindling scheme
Notwithstanding this. the papers. which
had SO long ignored the invention. teemed
with accounts of the wonderful telegraph.
and people focked to the Capitol daily to
see the instrument and IL possible be con-
WINGED. Numbers who were unable to gain
entrance to the Capitol contented them
selves with standing on the outside and
staring at the wires. During the first few
days OF the telegraph's existence many
amusing Incidents occurred in connection
with 1t. Numbers believed that messages
were conveyed in the same form as letters
through the mails. A pretty little maiden
tripped into the Capitol one day and fold
mr.; Morse that she had just had a quarrel
with her lover in Baltimore. and asked that
she be simultaneously transmitted to that
city, in order that she might tell him that
she still loved him. Trains, she said were
too slow for her. She desired to be trans
ported there in an instant She was shown
the fmpractfcability of such a proceeding
ana went away highly indignant at not
oelng allowed to go to Baltimore by tele-
graph. Men OF prominence would come to
the Capitol and send silly messages TO
friends in Baltimore. and when they would
eeceive answers thereto they would evince
the greatest surprise. and go OFF gazing az
the slip or paper as a child at a new TOW.
The message sent by Miss Ellsworth. the
first ever sent over a wire. is now pra-
served In the archives Of Hartford Museum
Hartford, Conn. Miss Ellsworth's native
home.
ProRered to the Government.
1t was a favorite idea with Prof Morse
from the inception of his enterprise that
the telegraph should belong to the general
government. In pursuance of this inten-
ton, on the day that the line was COM
pleted he sent a communication to Congress
making formal overture Of the telegraph
to the government The sum named as the
price for which the Morse Telegraph Com
pany would dispose of the telegraph to the
government was 100000. To accept this
proposition was considered to be the limit
clined. An appropriation of $500 was made
for the purpose of supporting the line be-
tween Washington and Baltimore, but
further than that the government refused
to go. The Postmaster General ridiculed
the idea as one unworthy the notice of
sensible men.
In order that the government might be
reimbursed for the amount appropriated by
II a toll of l cent for every four characters
was charged, and then II was that its COM
mercial value was illustrated. The mer-
chants in both Washington and Baltimore
began using the line for business purposes.
and the success Of the enterprise was fairly
established.
A quarter Of a century after the refusal
Of the government to accept the offer to
control the telegraph a project was started
to establish lines Of telegraph to be used by
the government, as part OF Its mail postal
system. or to take possession of the lines
already established. The matter was re-
farr,a 20 the poSfma ster General. Mr. CreS-