Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals Volume II Part 16

"The practical inference from this law is that a telegraphic communication on my plan may with certainty be established across the Atlantic!

"Startling as this may seem now, the time will come when this project will be realized."

On September 11, he reports an item of saving to the Government which ill.u.s.trates his characteristic honesty in all business dealings:--

"I would also direct the attention of the Honorable Secretary to the payment in full of Mr. Chase, (voucher 215), for covering the wire according to the contract with him. The sum of $1010 was to be paid him.

In the course of the preparation of the wire several improvements occurred to me of an economical character, in which Mr. Chase cheerfully concurred, although at a considerable loss to him of labor contracted for; so that my wire has been prepared at a cost of $551.25, which is receipted in full, instead of $1010, producing an economy of $458.75."

The work of trenching was commenced on Sat.u.r.day, October 21, at 8 A.M., and then his troubles began. Describing them at a later date he says:--

"Much time and expense were lost in consequence of my following the plan adopted in England of laying the conductors beneath the ground. At the time the Telegraph bill was pa.s.sed there had been about thirteen miles of telegraph conductors, for Professor Wheatstone's telegraph system in England, put into tubes and interred in the earth, and there was no hint publicly given that that mode was not perfectly successful. I did not feel, therefore, at liberty to expend the public moneys in useless experiments on a plan which seemed to be already settled as effective in England. Hence I fixed upon this mode as one supposed to be the best. It prosecuted till the winter of 1843-44. It was abandoned, among other reasons, in consequence of ascertaining that, in the process of inserting the wire into the leaden tubes (which was at the moment of forming the tube from the lead at melting heat), the insulating covering of the wires had become charred, at various and numerous points of the line, to such an extent that greater delay and expense would be necessary to repair the damage than to put the wire on posts.

"In my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, of September 27, 1837, one of the modes of laying the conductors for the Telegraph was the present almost universal one of extending them on posts set about two hundred feet apart. This mode was adopted with success."

The sentence in the letter of September 27, 1837, just referred to, reads as follows: "If the circuit is laid through the air, the first cost would, doubtless, be much lessened. Stout spars, of some thirty feet in height, well planted in the ground and placed about three hundred and fifty feet apart, would in this case be required, along the tops of which the circuit might be stretched."

A rough drawing of this plan also appears in the 1832 sketch-book.

It would seem, from a voluminous correspondence, that Professor Fisher was responsible for the failure of the underground system, inasmuch as he did not properly test the wires after they had been inserted in the lead pipe. Carelessness of this sort Morse could never brook, and he was reluctantly compelled to dispense with the services of one who had been of great use to him previously. He refers to this in a letter to his brother Sidney of December 16, 1843:--

"The season is against all my operations, and I expect to resume in the spring. I have difficulties and trouble in my work, but none of a nature as yet to discourage; they arise from neglect and unfaithfulness (_inter nos_) on the part of Fisher, whom I shall probably dismiss, although on many accounts I shall do it reluctantly. I shall give him an opportunity to excuse himself, if he ever gets here. I have been expecting both him and Gale for three weeks, and written, but without bringing either of them. They may have a good excuse. We shall see."

The few months of suns.h.i.+ne were now past, and the clouds began again to gather:--

December 18, 1843.

DEAR SIDNEY,--I have made every effort to try and visit New York. Twice I have been ready with my baggage in hand, but am prevented by a pressure of difficulties which you cannot conceive. I was never so tried and never needed more your prayers and those of Christians for me. Troubles cl.u.s.ter in such various shapes that I am almost overwhelmed.

And then the storm of which the little cloud was the forerunner burst in fury:--

December 30, 1843.

DEAR SIDNEY,--I have no heart to give you the details of the troubles which almost crush me, and which have unexpectedly arisen to throw a cloud over all my prospects. It must suffice at present to say that the unfaithfulness of Dr. Fisher in his inspection of the wires, and connected with Serrell's bad pipe, is the main origin of my difficulties.

The trenching is stopped in consequence of this among other reasons, and has brought the contractor upon me for damages (that is, upon the Government). Mr. Smith is the contractor, and where I expected to find a _friend_ I find a FIEND. The word is not too strong, as I may one day show you. I have been compelled to dismiss Fisher, and have received a very insolent letter from him in reply. The lead-pipe contract will be litigated, and Smith has written a letter full of the bitterest malignity against me to the Secretary of the Treasury. He seems perfectly reckless and acts like a madman, and all for what? Because the condition of my pipe and the imperfect insulation of my wires were such that it became necessary to stop trenching on this account alone, but, taken in connection with the advanced state of the season, when it was impossible to carry on my operations out of doors, I was compelled to stop any further trenching. This causes him to lose his profit on the contract.

_Hinc illae lachrymae._ And because I refused to accede to terms which, as a public officer, I could not do without dishonor and violation of trust, he pursues me thus malignantly.

Blessed be G.o.d, I have escaped snares set for me by this arch-fiend, one of which a simple inquiry from you was the means of detecting. You remember I told you that Mr. Smith had made an advantageous contract with Tatham & Brothers for pipe, and had divided the profits with me by which I should gain five hundred dollars. You asked if it was all right and, if it should be made public, it would be considered so. I replied, 'Oh! yes; Mr. Smith says it is all perfectly fair' (for I had the utmost confidence in his fair dealing and uprightness). But your remark led me to think of the matter, and I determined at once that, since there was a doubt, I would not touch it for myself, but credit it to the Government, and I accordingly credited it as so much saved to the Government from the contract.

And now, will you believe it! the man who would have persuaded me that all was right in that matter, turns upon me and accuses me to the Secretary as dealing in bad faith to the Government, citing this very transaction in proof. But, providentially, my friend Ellsworth, and also a clerk in the Treasury Department, are witnesses that that sum was credited to the Government before any difficulties arose on the part of Smith.

But I leave this unpleasant matter. The enterprise yet looks lowering, but I know who can bring light out of darkness, and in Him I trust as a sure refuge till these calamities be overpast.... Oh! how these troubles drive all thought of children and brothers and all relatives out of my mind except in the wakeful hours of the night, and then I think of you all with sadness, that I cannot add to your enjoyment but only to your anxiety. ... Love to all. Specially remember me in your prayers that I may have wisdom from above to act wisely and justly and calmly in this sore trial.

While thus some of those on whom he had relied failed him at a critical moment, new helpers were at hand to a.s.sist him in carrying on the work.

On December 27, he writes to the Secretary of the Treasury: "I have the honor to report that I have dismissed Professor James C. Fisher, one of my a.s.sistants, whose salary was $1500 per annum.... My present labors require the services of an efficient mechanical a.s.sistant whom I believe I have found in Mr. Ezra Cornell, and whom I present for the approval of the Honorable Secretary, with a compensation at the rate of, $1000 per annum from December 27, 1843."

Cornell proved himself, indeed, an efficient a.s.sistant, and much of the success of the enterprise, from that time forward, was due to his energy, quick-wittedness, and faithfulness.

Mr. Prime, in his biography of Morse, thus describes a dramatic episode of those trying days:--

"When the pipe had been laid as far as the Relay House, Professor Morse came to Mr. Cornell and expressed a desire to have the work arrested until he could try further experiments, but he was very anxious that nothing should be said or done to give to the public the impression that the enterprise had failed. Mr. Cornell said he could easily manage it, and, stepping up to the machine, which was drawn by a team of eight mules, he cried out: 'Hurrah, boys! we must lay another length of pipe before we quit.' The teamsters cracked their whips over the mules and they started on a lively pace. Mr. Cornell grasped the handles of the plough, and, watching an opportunity, canted it so as to catch the point of a rock, and broke it to pieces while Professor Morse stood looking on.

"Consultations long and painful followed. The anxiety of Professor Morse at this period was greater than at any previous hour known in the history of the invention. Some that were around him had serious apprehensions that he would not stand up under the pressure."

Cornell having thus cleverly cut the Gordian knot, it was decided to string wires on poles, and Cornell himself thus describes the solution of the insulation problem:--

"In the latter part of March Professor Morse gave me the order to put the wires on poles, and the question at once arose as to the mode of _fastening the wires to the poles_, and the insulation of them at the point of fastening. I submitted a plan to the Professor which I was confident would be successful as an insulating medium, and which was easily available then and inexpensive. Mr. Vail also submitted a plan for the same purpose, which involved the necessity of going to New York or New Jersey to get it executed. Professor Morse gave preference to Mr.

Vail's plan, and started for New York to get the fixtures, directing me to get the wire ready for use and arrange for setting the poles.

"At the end of a week Professor Morse returned from New York and came to the shop where I was at work, and said he wanted to provide the insulators for putting the wires on the poles upon the plan I had suggested; to which I responded: 'How is that, Professor; I thought you had decided to use Mr. Vail's plan?' Professor Morse replied: 'Yes, I did so decide, and on my way to New York, where I went to order the fixtures, I stopped at Princeton and called on my old friend, Professor Henry, who inquired how I was getting along with my Telegraph.

"'I explained to him the failure of the insulation in the pipes, and stated that I had decided to place the wires on poles in the air. He then inquired how I proposed to insulate the wires when they were attached to the poles. I showed him the model I had of Mr. Vail's plan, and he said, "It will not do; you will meet the same difficulty you had in the pipes."

I then explained to him your plan which he said would answer.'"

However, before the enterprise had reached this point in March, 1844, many dark and discouraging days and weeks had to be pa.s.sed, which we can partially follow by the following extracts from letters to his brother Sidney and others. To his brother he writes on January 9, 1844:--

"I thank you for your kind and sympathizing letter, which, I a.s.sure you, helped to mitigate the acuteness of my mental sufferings from the then disastrous aspect of my whole enterprise. G.o.d works by instrumentalities, and he has wonderfully thus far interposed in keeping evils that I feared in abeyance. All, I trust, will yet be well, but I have great difficulties to encounter and overcome, with the details of which I need not now trouble you. I think I see light ahead, and the great result of these difficulties, I am persuaded, will be a great economy in laying the telegraphic conductors.... I am well in health but have sleepless nights from the great anxieties and cares which weigh me down."

"_January 13._ I am working to retrieve myself under every disadvantage and amidst acc.u.mulated and most diversified trials, but I have strength from the source of strength, and courage to go forward. Fisher I have dismissed for unfaithfulness; Dr. Gale has resigned from ill-health; Smith has become a malignant enemy, and Vail only remains true at his post. All my pipe is useless as the wires are all injured by the _hot process_ of manufacture. I am preparing (as I said before, under every disadvantage) a short distance between the Patent Office and Capitol, which I am desirous of having completed as soon as possible, and by means of it relieving the enterprise from the heavy weight which now threatens it."

To his good friend, Commissioner Ellsworth, he writes from Baltimore on February 7:--

"In complying with your kind request that I would write you, I cannot refrain from expressing my warm thanks for the words of sympathy and the promise of a welcome on my return, which you gave me as I was leaving the door. I find that, brace myself as I will against trouble, the spirit so sympathises with the body that its moods are in sad bondage to the physical health; the latter vanquis.h.i.+ng the former. For the spirit is often willing and submits, while the flesh is weak and rebels.

"I am fully aware that of late I have evinced an unusual sensitiveness, and exposed myself to the charge of great weakness, which would give me the more distress were I not persuaded that I have been among real friends who will make every allowance. My temperament, naturally sensitive, has lately been made more so by the combination of attacks from deceitful a.s.sociates without and bodily illness within, so that even the kind attentions of the dear friends at your house, and who have so warmly rallied around me, have scarcely been able to restore me to my usual buoyancy of spirit, and I feel, amidst other oppressive thoughts, that I have not been grateful enough for your friends.h.i.+p. But I hope yet to make amends for the past.... I have no time to add more than that I desire sincere love to dear Annie, to whom please present for me the accompanying piece from my favorite Bellini, and the book on Etiquette, after it shall have pa.s.sed the ordeal of a mother's examination, as I have not had time to read it myself."

On March 4, he writes to his brother:--

"I have nothing new. Smith continues to annoy me, but I think I have got him in check by a demand for compensation for my services for seven months, for doing that for him in Paris which he was bound to do. The agreement stipulates that I give my services for '_three months and no longer_,' but, at his earnest solicitation, I remained seven months longer and was his agent in 'negotiating the sale of rights,' which by the articles he was obliged to do; consequently I have a right to compensation, and Mr. E. and others think my claim a valid one. If it is sustained the tables are completely turned on him, and he is debtor to me to the amount of six or seven hundred dollars. I have commenced my operations with posts which promise well at present."

"_March 23._ My Telegraph labors go on well at present. The whole matter is now critical, or, as our good father used to say, 'a crisis is at hand.' I hope for the best while I endeavor to prepare my mind for the worst. Smith, if he goes forward with his claim, is a ruined man in reputation, but he may sink the Telegraph also in his pa.s.sion; but, when he returns from the East, where he fortunately is now, we hope through his friends to persuade him to withdraw it, which he may do from fear of the consequences. As to his claims privately on me, I think I have him in check, but he is a man of consummate art and unprincipled; he will, therefore, doubtless give me trouble."

"_April 10._ A brighter day is dawning upon me. I send you the Intelligencer of to-day, in which you will see that the Telegraph is successfully under way. Through six miles the experiment has been most gratifying. In a few days I hope to advise you of more respecting it. I have preferred reserve until I could state something positive. I have my posts set to Beltsville, twelve miles, and you will see by the Intelligencer that I am prepared to go directly on to Baltimore and hope to reach there by the middle of May."

"_May 7._ Let me know when Susan and the two Charles arrive [his son and his grandson] for, if they come within the next fortnight, I think I can contrive to run on and pay a visit of two or three days, unless my marplot Smith should prevent again, as he is likely to do if he comes on here. As yet there is no settlement of that matter, and he seems determined (_inter nos_) to be as ugly as he can and defeat all application for an appropriation if I am to have the management of it. He chafes like a wild boar, but, when he finds that he can effect nothing by such a temper, self-interest may soften him into terms.

"You will see by the papers that the Telegraph is in successful operation for twenty-two miles, to the Junction of the Annapolis road with the Baltimore and Was.h.i.+ngton road. The nomination of Mr. Frelinghuysen as Vice-President was written, sent on, and the receipt acknowledged back in two minutes and one second, a distance of forty-four miles. The news was spread all over Was.h.i.+ngton one hour and four minutes before the cars containing the news by express arrived. In about a fortnight I hope to be in Baltimore, and a communication will be established between the two cities. Good-bye. I am almost asleep from exhaustion, so excuse abrupt closing."

This was the first great triumph of the telegraph. Morse and Vail and Cornell had worked day and night to get the line in readiness as far as the Junction so that the proceedings of the Whig Convention could be reported from that point. Many difficulties were encountered--crossing of wires, breaks, injury from thunder storms, and the natural errors incidental to writing and reading what was virtually a new language. But all obstacles were overcome in time, and the day before the convention met, Morse wrote to Vail:--

"Get everything ready in the morning for the day, and do not be out of hearing of your bell. When you learn the name of the candidate nominated, see if you cannot give it to me and receive an acknowledgment of its receipt before the cars leave you. If you can it will do more to excite the wonder of those in the cars than the mere announcement that the news is gone to Was.h.i.+ngton."

The next day's report was most encouraging:--

"Things went well to-day. Your last writing was good. You did not correct your error of running your letters together until some time. Better be deliberate; we have time to spare, since we do not spend upon our stock.

Get ready to-morrow (Thursday) as to-day. There is great excitement about the Telegraph and my room is thronged, therefore it is important to have it in action during the hours named. I may have some of the Cabinet to-morrow.... Get from the pa.s.sengers in the cars from Baltimore, or elsewhere, all the news you can and transmit. A good way of exciting wonder will be to tell the pa.s.sengers to give you some short sentence to send me; let them note time and call at the Capitol to verify the time I received it. Before transmitting notify me with (48). Your message to-day that 'the pa.s.sengers in the cars gave three cheers for Henry Clay,'

excited the highest wonder in the pa.s.senger who gave it to you to send when he found it verified at the Capitol."