Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-19

well as passenger cars. This decision is an
important one, in view Of the fact that there
has been some talk Of a company for the
purpose Of running a freight service at
night over the lines Of the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit company.
The case decided by Justice Marean was
an action brought against the Long Island
Electric Railroad company by Aaron DE
Grauw OF Jamaic in an effort to stop the
road from operating express cars on the
street railroad in Jamaica. Since the suit
was Instituted Mr.. De Grauw has died, but
1t has been pressed by the widow, Mary s.
De Grauw. A demurrer by the defendants
on the ground that the complaint did not
contain a sufficient cause of action was dis
missed by Justice Marean. In writing his
opinion, he says in part:
THE demurrer presents the single ques-
ton never before adjudicated, of the con-
struCtion to be given to that provision OF
the railroad law which authorizes street sur
face railways to convey persons and prop
erty.' The obvious import of the words to
convey persons and property comprehends
the conveyance OF property by persons, and
they should not be otherwise construed, un-
less there be some important reason for it.
l can find no such reason.
Until recently there seems to have been
no demand upon street railroad companies
on the part of the public for the carriage
Of freight, and no facilities, therefore, have
been furnished by the railroads, but the
public having discovered that the transport
tation Of freight can be made more econom-
ically than by former methods, there is no
meritorious reason why It should not enjoy
that advantage. Naturally, the method OF
operation of a passenger car by stopping on
call to take up and let down passengers Is
impracticable in the operation of freight
cars. Depots along the line at convenient
places for the collection and delivery of
freight will be obviously necessary in order
not to obstruct other transportation and
travel. But IL It be so collected and loaded
into a car, which is then switched upon
the street line and transported over it,
neither the interest OF the ~abutting owner
nor of the owner of the fee in the street,
nor of the public, is perjudiced to any
greater extent than II the contents of the
car were persons instead of freight"
Home of the Telegraph.
The New York Herald reports that Colonel
N. A. Glassford, United States army, now
chief signal officer in Porto Rico, has dis
covered in Arroyo the telegraph instruments
Of the great inventor Samuel F. b. Morse,
with which he made SOM of his initial at
tempts to control and transmit word
lightning through space. These crude dew
Ices, which modern electricians marvel
should have been capable of conveying mes
sages at all, will in a short time doubtless
find a permanent resting place with some
of Prof. Morse's other early instruments in
the Smithsonian institution at Washington.
On the day of the landing of the American
forces at Arroyo Colonel Glassford fastened
to the nearest local Spanish telegraph office
and took possession, in the hope hat the
equipment might be a valuable addition to
his field service. He found, however, in
stead of modern instruments, a most mis-
cradle set of Anticipated paper-recording
machines and clumsy keys. A few days
afterward he discovered, stored away on
the top shelves of an old closet, the expert
mental machines of Morse. There they had
lain for years, corroding In the moist salt
air, and covered with a generations dust.
The story of these machines was put to-
gether link by link from "reminiscences of
the older Puertoriquenos until there re-
manned no doubt of their authenticity.
1t seems that in the thirties Prof. Morse
went with his daughter Susan to Porto
Rico to escape the rigors of a northern
climate, and while living at a hotel in the
picturesque little village by the blue Carib-
bean sea they met a wealthy and influential
sugar planter named Lind. Who soon fell in
love with Miss Morse. and their marriage
quickly followed. Senior Lind was a wealthy
man, and at once became deeply interested
in the startling conceptions of his inventive
father-in-law, and through his generosity
Morse was enabled to carry out the expert
ments in electrical transmission of Ian
guage which a few years later made so
much stir in the world. He lived in his SON.
| in-1a yy'c ppunfru hama onI Z ppa. - tL;,
same house, a mile and a half from the
sea, that Morse brought the now famous
Daguerre for the purpose of experimenting
with him in the then mysterious art of
photography.
After many futile efforts to construct a
set of instruments which would send and
record a message, Prof. Morse's work was
at last crowned with sufficient success to
warrant the building of a telegraph line
from Seror Lind's residence to his office in
Arroyo, a mile and a quarter away. Such
an undertaking today seems a mere baga-
telle to us who sea from our windows the
mazes of wires at the top of dizzy poles,
or who look at the LUCE cables which hang
in loopcl f%ostccns, all carrying living mes
sages, but in the days Of the whale-oil lamp
and the plodding mail coach, a mile and a
quarter OF suitable iron wire was not only
expensive, but was difficult to obtain. In
fact, all the now common electrical Access
series had to be practically manufactured
for the occasion. With the aid of his son
in"law, however, Morse at last got his line
completed, and the really momentous in
slant of sending a long distance message
had arrived.
Senior lind laid a wager that a courier
mounted on a pony could go from the house
to the office more quickly than an electrical
message could and the bet was eagerly
taken by the inventor. A day was set and
an enthusiastic crowd gathered at both
ends OF the line to see the start and finish,
At q given signal off dashed the speedy
little pony and Prof. Morse began the la
borious tick-tacking of the key which ro-
corded dots and dashes on a narrow ribbon
OF paper at Arroyo. When the heaving pony
was pulled hard up at the office the operator
had received but half the message, which
was being slowly spelled out at the other
end OF the line. 1t is reported that. Prof
Morse's chagrin at his defeat was so grea;
that he almost despaired of his new con-
t%rivance, but in less than six months he
turned the tables and was able to out
distance the fastest horse on record.
1t seems an odd coincidence that two