Evening journal., 1910-01-18
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
How Telegraph Wires Came
TO be Strung on Poles
BY Holland"

maj plans OF the inventor OF lue leie-
graph the telegraph pole did not fig
ure by so much as a feeting thought.
How the telegraph pole did come
into existence was told to me a short
time before his death by one Of the
two men who were associated with
Prof. Morse in building the first ex-
perimental telegraph line between
Baltimore and Washington.
My informant was Gen. Edward
Wellman Serrell, who died about three
years ago; and while it may have
been stated before that the original
plan was to place the first CONNER
cial telegraph line in a subway, but
that poles we're used instead, l hard
ly believe that the full story of how
this came about has been told.
The late Alfred Vail, whose various
suggestions led to great improvements
in Prof. Morse's invention, and myself
we're closely associated with Prof.
Morse in establishing the first operat
ing telegraph plant between Baltimore
and Washington" the general said, as
we sat in the library Of his home.
Ahnu lNA AnN lIA g0uf A. wac q RANAAS
serious question whether we we're 60
ing to be able to complete for com
mercial use any telegraph plant at all.
/ Prof. Morse had the instrument all
| right, and he could send a message
through several miles of coiled wire,
but the problem was, how was he go.
ing to set up a telegraph plant, when
he had not the money with which to
build It?
"Mr. Vail, who afterwards became
one OF the great leaders in American
telegraphing, had some money, and
was willing to back Prof. Morse as far
as he could. But Prof. Morse had the
idea that. If the telegraph was going
to be commercially successful, it
would have to be carried through
pipes, laid in trenches, exactly as the
telegraph and telephone wires are
now installed in cities where overhead
wires are not allowed by law. Vail,
who was a practical inventor, and l,
who was a civil engineer, realized
that to dig a trench from Baltimore TO
Washington. put hollow pipes in it,
and haul telegraph wires through the
pipes would cost great deal more
money than Vail had to put back of
Morse, or than Morse could obtain
from other sources. SO the situation
looked dubious for days, and Prof.
Morse, naturally, was much discour-
aged.
Finally, there came a day when
Mr.. Vail, who had been thinking al
most constantly over the grave prob
lem confronting us, said to Morse in
my presence:
81 wonder how It would do to
string the wires on sticks?'
cit wouldn't do at ALL Morse re
piled. The wires would constantly be
broken, or otherwise interfered with.
"Al Vail was man who always
spoke his mind.
81 don't believe it, he said, blunt
ly to Morse. L have made several ex
periments stringing wires upon sticks
At the sticks ! have run the wires
through the necks Of broken bottles
to insulate them, and they work al
right. Now, If we get tall enough
sticks. and utilize trees wherever We
find them along the route, I am sure
that we can string our wires at very
small cost, and nothing short of a bis
windstorm or heavy snowstorm would
do them any damage
Il took sides with A Vail at once,
the venerable engineer continued, will
a reminiscent smile. "YOu see, my
!
told Prof. Morse that Wallis plan wal
perfectly feasible; and when Vail add
ed. during the course of the ensuing
argument, that all we'd have to d,
would be to set up the sticks-as We
called them then-along the highways
and that the right of way would cos
us nothing, argued for his viewI
more strongly than ever.
AT last we persuaded Prof. Mors'
to put aside the trench, or buried wire
idea, and to turn to sticks, or poles
In the meantime, however. Vail haC
set up some clothes poles and struni
telegraph wire along them, and thu
proved by ocular demonstration tina
his plan was feasible. At that tim'
we got the idea of having the tele
graph sticks about the height of th'
ordinary clothes pole, but before W.
began the work OF securing and pla
cling the poles, we all three decided
that a higher pole would be better
it would keep the wires out Of reacl
of people and vehicles, out Of harm
way. SO a pole about the height o
the present telegraph pole was de
cided on. Vail, believe, determining
the height
Later on the telegraphic demon
strauon that we made between Balti
more and Washington over our wire
strung on sticks, or poles, was per
feet, and the telegraph took its prop
er place among the great invention
OF the ages. But not until many year
later when, in some Of our big cities
there came public outcry to get ril
of telegraph wires and poles, wa
there a return to Prof. Morses oris
inal plan to run the telegraph through
subways."
Copyright. 1902. BY E. J. Edwards.)
Tomorrow, Mr.. Edwards, will tell {
"The Bread That Returned to Thurlo'
Weed"