The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-13
WHERE 1BE rELEeRAPH VAS BORN
a Letter Frou. NJ. stepheu vau - the Is-
Nsntlon Of Eleetrle TeIeEraphr.

Letter Fro- AZ. stsrkeu Vail - the Hs-
| vsntiou or Eteetrie reieErsphT.
To The EDrToR OF THE sUS-Sr. THE
sUN Of Sunday. Feb 25 last, contained an arti.
Gle entitled Where the Telegraph was Born"
a few errors in which. with your kind permits
sion. should like TO correct.
In describing the first exhibition OF his In
vention. by Morse. at the University OF New
| York. In 1885. II Ia stated: e" Then
Morse touched tho key Of the instrument
making few breaks In the circuit. and the
first teleRrsphic word sparkled from tho rude
| sounder at the other end OF the room"
Prof Gale tof whom mention Is made at the
| end OF the articlel wrote to Prof Joseph Henry.
| April z. 1866. abiding to tho apparatus. men
TONED In preceding paragraph. as follows:
This apparatus was Morsos original instru-
ment. usually known as tho type apparatus,
In which the types. set up in q com posing
stick. were run through = circuit breaker"
As the signals or words received at the other
end OF the room were made upon q strip OF pa
per passing under a lead pencil and 30 pro-
duced by similar action at the other end OF
the wire to which the message was sent. IL IL
obvious that no key was or could DO used. and
consequently there was 10 such thing. There
fore the touching OF the KEY by Morse. go
graphically described By the writer Of your
communication. was more largely in his
i'm agination than in fact
And. too. to state that the 1rst telegr aphic
word sparked from the rude sounder' when
no sounder was In use is equally incorrect
and calculated to convey u very erroneous
impression as to the constituents OF Morse's
rude device.
The code Of conventional signals which had
been devised By Morse aud which, In connec-
ton with his machine. he proposed to use for
the transmission Of intelligence was numerl-
m MI hail nj H. 81 Ia IL
scheme specially prepared dictionary was
REQUIRED. In which every word in the English
number Of projections. or teeth.
Morse BY the nomadic life imposed upon
his inability to interest any. one, even his own
feIatlves. 10 what was considered most vls-
eompllshlng anything hey ond the construction
n na ms rude wooden apnaratns and the mould
Witch and Ss with
He had been unable. for want OF means, to |
obtain the patent he believed he was entitled
TENDER 1887 upon which date he entered into into
apartnsrshin agreement with Alfred Vail by
gpirsd but as we'll the SeIentiS Services 4pS Of
MT: Vail that. on the I'd Of October. 1887. he |
ent in which were enum Grated the essential |
points OF his apparatus. as follows:
and consequently words and sentences. are
ssg,n second: get Of type. adapted to
in which to set up the syps tSird an apns
ratus called the portrule. for regulating the |
mosem 81 to OF the type rules; which rules. py
times and intervals Of the passage Of eiec-
tricity fourth. a register. which records the
this system OF telegraph: sixth. modes Of lay:
:? fs'S 'nst Inc .ssss ans d.
whatever in common with the essentials OF the
mo1ern system o. teegraphy. nor is the code
in telsgraphy. throughout the world the same,
either 10 PRINCIPLE or construction. rs that
% the so year fss7 Alfred Val. .on.
aaa sasb ~ devised the
Satas consisted of a key now used for the
partnership interest by Alfred Vail solslyI to-
netic coil Invented by Joseph Henry m conssi-
tute the electric telegraph.
taken place the key remaining up oh an Ged sx-
.cept IN size. while the recording receiver, with
dots and dashes constituting the message. has has
sssa Tey to fss r but
he the % ans s,Ts qPSSs
ven alpha6et" upon T. the noise thereby
etters and words, thus ena bling tn em to discard
me PAPER and rely solely upon their hearing;
Morse fell into desustude' so that the ess. nv
tial telegraph OF to- day and the universal tele-
gtaph OF the future comprises solely the work
Of Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail The gran
ieur OF Alfred Nail's conception OF an alpha
beticsl code. based on the elements OF time
and space, has never met with the arprecia-
lion which IL deserves" Thus wrote Prof. |
this day,
Your writer near the close NJ his article.
makes the statement that "afterward with |
he aid Of Mr.: tProf) Gale. and later OF the
Alessrs Vail better instruments were made"
Permlt me TO state that the Messrs. Vail had
he mode o. tseGraphy Mt tho time mentioned.
or Alfred VAL was alone in all that was done
Inc established across the park from the stu
Ito window 20 the old tavern opposite" for his
work was all performed after he became a |
partner Of Morse In the Invention, and at the
Speedwell Iron Works. Morristown, n. j., own
ID by his father. Judge Stephen Vail.
WASHINGTON. March 8. 1894. "--