The National tribune., 1902-04-17
THE FIRST TELEGRAM.

THE FIRST TELEGRAM.
"reminiscences of an old-Tiue Telegraphsr.
| Henry A. Reed in Electrical Review
As you ride through Manhattan or other
of our principal cities in elegant cars,
heated, lighted and propelled by electricity,
which Is conducted and applied by invisible
agents, and consider that all the energy
| necessary for these various functions, and
also much of that used for lighting the
streets and great buildings is being ex
| tracted from coal which is burned miles
away, you and most thinking people say,
not as did the first public telegraph mes
sage, What hath God wrought" but
what hath the inspiration of God enabled
man to accomplish?
How different 80 years ago. Then, as
now, New York was the first city of the
land, but its streets were lighted by whale
| oil lamps. Its water was obtained from
cisterns, which were supplied from dirty
roofs and street pumps, which were in
| dangerous proximity to various sources of
cCntagion, and there were no sewers.
The trucking was done by single drays
without springs, and the only public con-
yeyanceS for the people were three or four
| lines Of Omnibuses, all of which started
at South Ferry and each ran about three
miles to various points on the northern
limits of the city. The fare was one York
shilling.
Faraday and Morse were both born in
the year in which Washington was first in
augurated President of the United States.
Daniel was then about one year old.
Henry was born six years later.
Tho first recording telegraph, which was
the result of the combined labors of these
four great men, although for more than
ten years it was enduring its birth throes,
did not become q publicly acknowledged
child of science until 1913.
In that year, with difficulty, an appro-
priation of 100000 for building an eI-
perimental line was obtained from Con
gresS, 1t being then impossible to engage
private capital.
Col. Tom Benton, as he voted aye, said:
Give the crank the money to get rid of
him. Hon. Cave Johnson, who two years
later became Postmaster-G General, sug-
gested that part of the appropriation
should be used for experiment in mesmer-
ism, and the Hon. Sam Houston thought
Mlllerism should be assisted with it.
The acquaintance of the common people
at that time with electricity was well illus
trated Gf you will pardon a personal allu-
SOM by neighbOr of my mothers, who
inquired of her what Henry was doing.
Being sure that the inquirer had never
heard of electricity, she replied: He is
sending messages by lightning" to which
the reply was: "Ah! that must be
mistake, for nobody bnt God Almighty
can control that"
Such was the field in which the first tele-
graph was being established in 1914. Its
first public exhibition in New York was
in the Winter of 1S44-45, when Ezra Cor
nell (the founder of Cornell University
and Mr.. o. S. Wood (who is still living),
having paid Prof. Stilman $50 for an
opinion that the amount of electricity for
their experiments would not endanger the
buildings were allowed TO run q wire over
housetops from the corner Of Chambers
street and Broadway several blocks north
ward, and to amuse the people for the pur-
pose of getting subscriptions to stock of
$4,000 to build a line from Fort Lee to
Philadelphia.
Even at that date they watered the |
stock and gave 5000 scrip for 500 cash. |
BY this inducement they got from New |
Workers about half the subscription, and |
the owners of the patents made up the |
balance.
The first record | find of electricity |
earning money was on April i, 1874. The |
only line then existing was the Govern |
ment line from Baltimore to Washington. |
As the Government had no use for it,
consent was obtained to charge for private |
messages, the Postmaster General fixing |
the charge III one cent for each four char |
acters.
\ certain politician was willing to take
the risk Of being the first fool but claimed |
to have only one cent in change. The
Washington operator said to Baltimore for
him, Il. which was an agreed signal for
what time is it." The reply came back,
one o'clock" This customer seems to
have paid the first cent ever earned by
this great industry. This was the only
revenue for four days. On the fifth day
II cents were earned.
Soon after, however, people began to
smell money in it, and in 1915 lines were
built from Philadelphia to New York, to
to Baltimore and Washing
ton.
In 1876 the woods were full Of people
hunting poles, and a surprisingly large
mileage of lines was built.
Starting from Utica, lines were built
each way, and New York and Buffalo
were connected in the Fall of 1S4S. This
was the first line working from New York,
messages had been previously
sent from Fort Lee, South, the messages
having been taken across the river in
boats.
When Professor Morse first announced
graph, people thought him a crank. if not
a lunatic. When he first demonstrated
the truth of his claim beyond possible
doubt. most people looked upon it as an III
spiration, as though it had been handed
down to him as were the tables of the law
unto Moses.
Later, and still, men wonder that this