The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-23
Fortunes in Telegraph
 Investments
How Money Invested in Telegraphs Lead to For tune is Best Illustrated by the History of the
 Western Union Telegraph Company.

Morse first conceived the idea of the electro-mag netic telegraph in 1852 while on voyage from Eu- rope to America. By November 9th of that year he had the idea pretty thoroughly well worked out in his mind He was professor in the New York Uni versity at that time and artist His slender income was wholly inadequate to the costly experiments nee essary to be conducted and he was many times close to starvation Porte Crayon. the famous artist tells of lending Morse $l0 on learning that he had not eaten for twenty-four hours. Neveyheess in 1855 Morse completed his first practicable instrument and in 1857 first publicly exhibited it.
 From 1852 to l837 were years of poverty and struggle In l64l he wrote friends: have not cent in the world But by October l6, l642. he had managed to get enough money to lay insulated wire from Castro Garden to Governors Island. Be fore any experiments could be ed the anchors of ves- seb had fouled and the wires and his labors were lost to him forever.
 He thereupon appealed to congress. and having ex- hbited his instruments and demonstrated their efcien- cy. after much debate an appropriation of S3O.OO0 was voted by vote of ninety yeas and eghty-two nays for the construction of telegraph line from Bal timore to Washington. He had given up all hopes of success in the senate and about to depart from Washington when Miss Annie c. Ellsworth. daugh- ter of the patent commissioner. brought him the joyful news of the success of the measure. He thereupon pledged her the privilege of sending the first dispatch over the completed Ene Ezra Cornell then young iron worker became his assistant and chief aide. To- gether they attempted to lay the first line underground Having expended 1000 in this endeavor 1t proved failure because of excessive earth leaks Cornell in- vented several aduncts the construction of the lines which were finally erected poles and successfully operated in l844. According to promise Miss Els worth sent the first message. It was this
 WHAT GOD HATH WROUGHTr'
 In l044 election returns were received at Wash ington from Baltimore over Morse's telegraph line.
 On April l. l845. the line was first opened to pub lie business. The schedule of rates cent for each four signals The entire revenue for the first four days was one cent; the fifth day lZ lZ cents; the seventh day. 60 cents; the eighth day. $l B; the ninth day. $l.04.
 Morse in burst of patriotic generosity offered to sell all his rights to the United States government for $l00,000 for the service of the postal system.
 The posmaster-g reported the revenues of the telegraph could by means be made equal to the pendtures and congress rejected Morses liberal offer
 He turned to private capital for assistance. The Magnetic Telegraph Company organized with $60.O00 capital; $30000 went to Morse and $3O- 900 to the capitalists who paid in .000. With this sum line was constructed from Fort Lee to Phila delphia The first hard freeze put this line out oi business and new one had to be constructed. An extension from Philadelphia to Baltimore made by floating $f4000 additional stock.
 Up to July 7. lS46. the total profits of the com pany had been but $5l6.67. and the total cash re- cepts for lS46 were but $4 228.T. In 1852 the gross earnings were $l03.64l AZ.
 Now came a perfect deuge of telegraph inventions and companies operating under House. Henry. Bain. Wheatstone and other patents Companies were ganized in great profusion. An exclusive franchise was obtained for one of the House companies in New York city, and Morse's lines were shut out. Patent suits were brought by Morse and his packers and tualy Morse won. but not before some of the other companies had built up large industries and revenues.
 The basic company of what is now the Western Union. operated another system than Morses. al- though it now uses the Morse system exclusively; for not only did the courts decide in favor of Morse, but the test of time showed that Morses system sim plest and best.
 The New York and Western Union Telegraph Company was a consolidation of the New York State Printing Telegraph Company. and the companies or ganized and controlled by Ezra Cornell in the West. Its original capital was $5OO.OOO. Cornell subse- quently obtained $2.000.000 of stock in exchange for his rights to the Morse system in the West. The company gradually grew. absorbed and consolidated until obtained complete monopoly of the business in the United States.
 One of the most active competitors of the Morse system was one O'Rey. who organized telegraph companies recklessy and broadcast throughout the United States under other than Morse patents. Few of his stockholders obtained any returns for their investments and few of the companies ever earned dividend. but O'Riey had slogan that sounded well and carried conviction: Thousands of miles up and thousands under contract-dividends for everybody.