The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-06
FOR ONLY FIFTY YEARS.
HAYIsT VAS THE sEAI-CENTESff-
ALoF Tag MORSE TBLEGBAPBY
Sending the First Messege-How the News
of Ciay's Nomination was licked 10
Washington by Alfred Vail.

The first important message ever sen.
over an electric telegraph was TRANSMITTED
just hfty years ago a few days since Owe
the wire which had been constructed NC
tween Washington and Annapolis Juhctio"'
The message which has gone into MS
tory as the first. and which was sem
when the telegraph line was COMP iS 49,
between Washington and Baltinois' 49,,
not transrnltted until twenty-Iour Gays
later. The message from Ah1ap 80 Nav
tion 10 Washington on the ISL o. "ia5,
1874. was significant because IL "so S,,,,S't
first news dispatch ever wired ali other
30 Washington. in advance OF az 81 Tho
means OF Transmission, the htms , ~
nomination of Clay and ffeuusnuS D.
by the Wing National CohVehlio.Ii' I'm
Gently an effort has been ma1e 10 o' ~o,,1
memorate the invention or tne te 49, *" h.,
on the semi-centennial OF the uay ~
making provision for the ereciioh V1 ~ .
suitable memorial in washington. l.. 80
day fixed as the semi-centehiiiai = -
oned from the completion OF ths tSi0 sdahI,.
20 Baltimore, but the 1st OF nay 4''
has a prior claim TO this holor. o,oo
THE transmission of intelligence Ny eieS 4,
tricity was first conceived by q ,ios55 ti ~,
Morse IN the month OF Oetopel, co.. tS91
n was not until early in Septenp,eI, . LOT
that he was enabled TO show 10 shep.l0as
audience at the University OF Inc CITY "
New York that signals mace at ouT 't ~
of a wire 700 feet In length CouIu p
reproduced at the other end, ana, py inc
ala Of a. code or dictionary, be made IN
Want OF funds necessary TO extend MS
operations prevented any iurtner agF1nE1c
until some weeks later, when A ,,. al" T.,
recent graduate OF the UNIVERSITY, IN
which Morse was A professor haNl1s W.
messed the experiment before an ~
and being deeply impressed win lne pUs
sibllites OF the invention, became 70
-. fnn
only a Caveat had then been H.Su 80
catered into a contract with Morse 10
supply all Of the means necessary -, - 80
struct and exhibit before q commit Se ~
Congress zone Of the telegrapns Oh tnt
plan and invention Of Morse ahu u'a1
he should give his time and PERSONA SCI
vices without pay. 10 the woIk anu a.
sumo the expense ar eNnlnluhs w az
paratus and Of procuring patents IN vi.
United States Morse and VAN shofu$
after left New York for MOrr!stoWn, -:
j.. where were situated the SPeedWe.i
Iron Works, belonging 10 Judge Stephth
Vail. the father Of Alfred. Repeated at
tenpts 10 obtain satisfactory reSuit9 ,lol''
the crude apparatus invented by M0rac
proved unaVailing, and IL and the 9lc-
fionary were cast aside and an alphaDet'
known as the dot and dash alphabet
was devised by MI. Vail, ana ne me
chanlsm necessary for us utilZatlon.
ON the 9th of January. 1873, the new ap-
naratus being ready for a formal trlal'
Judge Vail dictated 10 his son the mes
sage "a patient waiter Is no losers anu
IL was transmitted over three miles Oh
conner wire hung around the walls OF a
large room IN the iron works, resulting ~
the Judges satisfaction and Withdrawn
OF his declared intention Of soon stopping
the supply Of funds necessary 10 con-
tinue the experiments IN consequence OF
the many delays in completing the IN
NcntiOu.
shortly after this public exhibition was
made and late IN the month Morse ana
Vail left MorristOwn for WashlnstQn. In
February an exhibition was given before
the House Committee on commerce re-
suiNng in instructions "a the chairman to
report a bill appropHatng $1,000 10 CON
Struct an experimental line between W ASH
ilgton and Baltimore. The bill ala not
pass that session, nor did II meet with any
better fate in succeeding sessions, unu II
ally received an affirmative vote IN the
Senate (having already passed the House
on the last night Of the session, March ..
1s43 after five long, weary years or
anxiety and dependency, hope and fear.
ARRANGEMENTS for the construction OF the
line were soon under way and Alfred
Vail was appointed h. the Postmaster
General assistant superintendent OF the
United Sta magnetic telegraph ana
SUPERINTENDENT Of the machinery depart
m-nt of the work, but 1t was not until
October that the process Of laying the
wire in lcaden pipes in the ground was
commenced. Ten miles ot this work had
been accomplished when fl was found
that the insulation had entirely disap-
peared.
After many days spent IN discussion as
10 the means of overcoming this serious
obstacle ii was decided 10 place the wires
upon poles which work was, however
not commenced until the following April
QND when communication was es-
| tablished between Morse at the Cdpitol
| and Nail, who transported his instru-
Inent from place to place, as the building
| OF the line progressed.
on the Both Of April the line was COM
pleted To Annapolis Junction on the Bal
| tlmore and Ohio railroad. some twenty
two miles from Washington. and. as the
| following day. May Isl. was the date
upon which was TO assemble the national
| Wig Convention 20 nominate candidates
for the presidency and ce-presidency, 1T
was arranged by Prof. Morse and Mr
| Vail that the latter should obtain from
| passengers upon the afternoon train or
that day, from Baltimore Tor Washing
| ron. any news they might have concern
| ing the proceedings Of the convention,
| and transmit it az once by the telegraph
TO the former AT Washington
| Ralph Plumb. member Of the ttttY-
| first Congress from Illinois, was one OF
| the delegates from ohio TO that conVen-
| ton, and was one Of the passengers on
| the train intercepted by Mr.. Vail. and
| which bore the FIRST news Of the nomina-
| tio1. and in a communication 90 Mr..
| Stephen Vail. the Oldest son OF Mr.. Al
| fred Vail under date Of Washington,
| February =, ISIS, he wrote:
1T seems ike real romance "a me
| TO think that a son Of the then young
| man who was sending what may larry
| be said to have been the first important
| message by telegraph that was ever
| transmitted IS asking of one. yet alive
| respecting what happened on that occa-
| fDuriun ESQ fOTtV-fOUr years see
| what has been accomplished as a result
| OF that first successful effort what
| civilized country is there now that mas
| not the telegraph, and how many Of
| them are covered by lines as by net
| work.
Il remember the little shed at the
| junction where we stopped on orr way
TO Washington. and | saw Mr.. Vail tick
| Ing away upon "a little brass machine.
| ! talked with him. for | wanted 10 know
what strange thing he was doing lie
| az swered that ne was telegraphing 10
| Morse in Washington about the conyen-
| tlOn,' and he pointed toward the wire
| overhead, running In the direction OF
! that city, over the first wire ever erected
| or used for public telegraphing and the
| message / have Just sent is the first news
| ever transmitted for the public benefit
In common with all the rest of the real
| wise ones Of the day, / hailed the atfaii
| as a huge joke until we landed at the
| station in Washington. when. sure
! enough, Morse had received the new;
| an hour or more before, and the whole
| city had been Informed Of the fact thai
We had put dark horse IN the tleke
| With our hero, Clay. The evidence could
not be disputed, Of course. The mos
! preiudiced Of us could not presume II
| suggest that MoTses work was guessing
for no man alive would have imagined
that Frelinghuysen could be made homl
= NHs.f