The Washington herald., 1914-02-15
= - -.E-
TEXAS REPUBLIC
PASSED UP OFFER
S. F. B. Morse in, 1898 Pro-
posed to Give Ii Electric
Magnetic Telegraph.
EVIDENCE IS DISCOVERED
Documents Throwing Light on Case
Are Discovered by the State
Librarian.
EVIDENCE Is DISCOVERED

The Wisdom OF the fathers Is a
phrase that has passed into proyerb (and
out of Joe Bailey several hundred times).
and yet the historical student delving
into the records OF by-gone years occa-
sionally runs up against a fact that
iiiuminates the stupidity and sometimes
the meanness o: the most iilustrious OF
old, writes r. Bedichek In the San An
tonic Express. from Austin. Tex
For instance. Just the other DAY r.
W. Winkler, State librarian, uncovered
indisputable documentary evidence in
the archives Of the State capitol that
Samuel F. b. Morse offered his elctro
magnetic telegraph to the republic Of
Texas In 1898 free OF charge as a gra-
and to enjoy and TO capitalize, then and
forever, and that the wise fathers of the
republic stuck the offer away In a pigeon
hole, where IL collected the dust OF
twenty years. forgetting. meanwhile,
Morse and his fool invention, until the
said Morse in his own handwriting with
drew the offer formally by letter dated
August .. 1850. Poughkeepsie. n. Y.
Investigation Is started.
The investigation of this curious his
torical fact was started by George G.
Maynard. curator. division OF mechan-
ical technology .Smithsonian institution.
He was musing over an after-dinner
cigar on the evening of December IL
when a vague remembrance wandered
into his head Of someone's telling him
that soon after Morse started the tele-
graph business. he assigned the rights
to use his Invention to the Republic Of
Texas.
Unable to decide whether or not this
was a dream. he dictaphoned to George
W. Foster. editor OF the Southwestern
Telephone News, Dallas. Tex, asking IL
lie knew anything about the matter. Mr.
Foster gave IL up. and passed the letter
on to the secretary of the Texas Histor-
ical Association. That gentleman got out
from under by passing the query on TO
E. W. Winkler. State librarian.
Letter Discovered.
Mr.. Winkler soon uncovered the fol-
lowing letter. dated Navy Department.
Houston. April a, 1852" addressed to his
excellency NJ. b. Lamar, president of the
Republic of Texas:
Sir: i have the honor to present to
your excellency a copy of a CORE
spondence Of NJ. s. F. r. Morse and N.Y.
self. which occurred during my resi-
dence as Minister at Washington, in
which that gentleman rendered the per-
petual use of his electro magnetic tele-
graph to this republic: likewise an orig
inal letter. accompanied by a drawing
of the electro magnetic telegraph, so far
as il was then completed. with a request
that they be placed for the present in
the secret archives of the nation. 7 have
the honor to be your cXcellency's ODE
dent servant,
'MEMUCAN HUNT.
Secretary Of the Navy"
You see. Memucan handed 1t TO Mira
beau.
And a few days after the discovery
Of the Hunt letter, and while really en-
gagged in looking up another matter, Mr..
stumbled upon the following in
the careful and Grabbed chfrography Of
Samuel +. Il. himself:
"Po'keepsie. August .. 1ss0-May It
please your excellency: In the year 1888
l made an offer of gift of my inyen-
ton of the electro magnetic telegraph to
Texas. Texas being then an indie
pendent republic. Although the offer was
as. neither while an independent State.
nor since It has become one of the
United States, has ever directly or i'm
pliedly accepted the offer.
withdraws His Oner.
II am induced. therefore, to believe
that in its condition as a gift it was
Oh no Nalue 10 lne Stdlt. pul Oii tie
contrary has. rather been an embarrass-
ment In connection. however, with my
other patent. Il has become for the pub
lie interest, as well as my own. that l
should be able to make completed title
10 the whole invention in the United
States.
Il. therefore, now respectfully with
iraw the offer then made, in lSsS. the
better to be in position to benefit
Texas, as well as the other States of the
Union. / am with respect and sincere
personal esteem, your obedient servant
''SAMEUL +. B. MORSE.
To His Excell-ncy. Sam Houston, Gov
ernor of the State of Texas
You see Samuel took it back from
sam
What a pity the fathers didn't
umble to he simple business PROPOSE
ion wrapped up in that Morse fellows
etter, as any third-rate promoter would
tumble in this day and time, All OF
which leads one to the jolly conclusion