JANUARY 6, 1839--MARCH 9, 1839
Despondent letter to his brother Sidney.--Longing for a home.--Letter to
Smith.--More delays.--Change of ministry.--Proposal to form private
company.--Impossible under the laws of France.--Telegraphs a government
monopoly.--Refusal of Czar to sign Russian contract.--Dr. Jackson.--M.
Amyot.--Failure to gain audience of king.--Lord Elgin.--Earl of Lincoln.
--Robert Walsh prophesies success.--Meeting with Earl of Lincoln in later
years.--Daguerre.--Letter to Mrs. Cass on lotteries.--Railway and
military telegraphs.--Skepticism of a Marshal of France.
Thus hopefully the inventor kept writing home, always maintaining that
soon all obstacles would be overcome, and that he would then have a
chance to demonstrate in a really practical way the great usefulness of
his invention. But, instead of melting away, new obstacles kept arising
at every turn. The dilatoriness of the French Government seems past all
belief, and yet, in spite of his faith in the more expeditious methods of
his own country, he was fated to encounter the same exasperating slowness
at home. It was, therefore, only natural that in spite of the courageous
optimism of his nature, he should at times have given way to fits of
depression, as is instanced by the following extracts from a letter
written to his brother Sidney on January 6, 1839:--
"I know not that I feel right to indulge in the despondency which, in
spite of all reason to the contrary, creeps over me when I think of
returning. I know the feelings of Tantalus perfectly. All my prospects in
regard to the Telegraph are bright and encouraging, and so they have been
for months, and they still continue to be so; but the sober _now_ is that
I am expending and not acquiring; it has, as yet, been all _outgo_ and no
income. At the rate business is done here, the slow, dilatory manner in
which the most favorable projects are carried forward, I have no reason
to believe that anything will be realized before I must leave France,
which will probably be in about six weeks. If so, then I return
penniless, and, worse than penniless, I return to find debts and no home;
to find homeless children with all hope extinguished of ever seeing them
again in a family. Indeed, I may say that, in this latter respect, the
last ray is departed; I think no more of it.
"I now feel anxious to see my children educated with the means they have
of their own, and in a way of usefulness, and for myself I desire to live
secluded, without being burdensome to my friends. I should be glad to
exchange my rooms in the university for one or two in your new building.
I shall probably resign both Professorship and Presidency on my return.
The first has become merely nominal, and the latter is connected with
duties which properly confine to the city, and, as I wish to be free to
go to other places, I think it will be best to resign.
"If our Government should take the Telegraph, or companies should be
formed for that purpose, so that a sum is realized from it when I get
home, this will, of course, change the face of things; but I dare not
expect it and ought not to build any plans on such a contingency. So far
as praise goes I have every reason to be satisfied at the state of things
here in regard to the Telegraph. All the savants, committees of learned
societies, members of the Chamber of Deputies, and officers of Government
have, without exception, been as enthusiastic in its reception as any in
the United States. Both the priority and superiority of my invention are
established, and thus the credit, be it more or less, is secured to our
country. The Prefect of the Seine expressed a desire to see it and called
by appointment yesterday. He was perfectly satisfied, and said of his own
accord that he should see the king last evening and should mention the
Telegraph to him. I shall probably soon be requested, therefore, to show
the Telegraph to the king.
"All these are most encouraging prospects; there is, indeed, nothing that
has arisen to throw any insurmountable obstacle in the way of its
adoption with complete success; and for all this I ought to feel
gratitude, and I wish to acknowledge it before Him to whom gratitude is
due. Is it right or is it wrong, in view of all this, to feel
despondency?
"In spite of all I do feel sad. I am no longer young; I have children,
but they are orphans, and orphans they are likely to be. I have a
country, but _no home_. It is this _no home_ that perpetually haunts me.
I feel as if it were duty, duty most urgent, for me to settle in a family
state at all hazards on account of these children. I know they suffer in
this forming period of their lives for the want of a home, of the care of
a father and a mother, and that no care and attention from friends, be
they ever so kind, can supply the place of parents. But all efforts,
direct and indirect, to bring this about have been frustrated.
"My dear brother, may you never feel, as I have felt, _the loss of a
wife_. That wound bleeds afresh daily, as if it were inflicted but
yesterday. There is a meaning in all these acute mental trials, and they
are at times so severe as almost to deprive me of reason, though few
around me would suspect the state of my mind."
These last few lines are eminently characteristic of the man. While
called upon to endure much, both mentally and physically, he possessed
such remarkable self-control that few, if any, of those around him were
aware of his suffering. Only to his intimates did he ever reveal the pain
which sometimes gnawed at his heart, and then only occasionally and under
great stress. It was this self-control, united to a lofty purpose and a
natural repugnance to wearing his heart on his sleeve, which enabled him
to accomplish what he did. Endowed also with a saving sense of humor, he
made light of his trials to others and was a welcome guest in every
social gathering.
The want of a place which he could really call home was an ever-present
grief. It is the dominant note in almost all the letters to his brothers
and his children, and it is rather quaintly expressed in a letter, of
November 14, 1838, to his daughter:--
"Tell Uncle Sidney to take good care of you, and to have a little snug
room in the upper corner of his new building, where a bed can be placed,
a chair, and a table, and let me have it as my own, that there may be one
little particular spot which I can call _home_. I will there make three
wooden stools, one for you, one for Charles, and one for Finley, and
invite you to your father's house."
In spite of the enthusiasm which the exhibition of his invention aroused
among the learned men and others in Paris, he met with obstructions of
the most vexatious kind at every turn, in his effort to bring it into
practical use. Just as the way seemed clear for its adoption by the
French Government, something happened which is thus described in a letter
to Mr. Smith, of January 28, 1889:
"I wrote by the Great Western a few days ago. The event then anticipated
in regard to the Ministry has occurred. The Ministers have resigned, and
it is expected that the new Cabinet will be formed this day with Marshal
Soult at its head. Thus you perceive new causes of delay in obtaining any
answer from the Government. As soon as I can learn the name of the new
Minister of the Interior I will address a note to him, or see him, as I
may be advised, and see if I can possibly obtain an answer, or at least a
report of the administration of the Telegraphs. Nothing has occurred in
other respects but what is agreeable....
"All my leisure (if that may be called leisure which employs nearly all
my time) is devoted to perfecting the whole matter. The invention of the
correspondent, I think you will say, is a more essential improvement. It
has been my winter's labor, and, to avoid expense, I have been compelled
to make it entirely with my own hands. I can now give you its exact
dimensions--twelve and a half inches long, six and a half wide, and six
and a half deep. It dispenses entirely with boxes of type (one set alone
being necessary) and dispenses also with the rules, and with all
machinery for moving the rules. There is no winding up and it is ready at
all times. You touch the letter and the letter is written immediately at
the other extremity.... In my next I hope to send you reports of my
further progress. One thing seems certain, my Telegraph has driven out of
the field all the other plans on the magnetic principle. I hear nothing
of them in public or private. No society notices them."
"_February 2._ I can compare the state of things here to an April day, at
one moment sunshine, at the next cloudy. The Telegraph is evidently
growing in favor; testimonials of approbation and compliments multiply,
and yesterday I was advised by the secretary of the _Academie
Industrielle_ to interest moneyed men in the matter if I intended to
profit by it; and he observed that now was the precise time to do it in
the interval of the Chambers.
"I am at a loss how to act. I am not a business man and fear every
movement which suggests itself to me. I am thinking of proposing a
company on the same plan you last proposed in your letter from Liverpool,
and which you intend to create in case the Government shall choose to do
nothing; that is to say, a company taking the right at one thousand
francs per mile, paying the proprietors fifty per cent in stocks and
fifty per cent in cash, raising about fifty thousand francs for a trial
some distance. I shall take advice and let you know the result.
"I wish you were here; I am sure something could be done by an energetic
business man like yourself. As for poor me I feel that I am a child in
business matters. I can invent and perfect the invention, and demonstrate
its uses and practicability, but 'further the deponent saith not.'
Perhaps I underrate myself in this case, but that is not a usual fault in
human nature."
It was natural that a keen business man like F.O.J. Smith should have
leaned rather toward a private corporation, with its possibilities of
great pecuniary gain, than toward government ownership. Morse, on the
contrary, would have preferred, both at home and abroad, to place the
great power which he knew his invention was destined to wield in the
hands of a responsible government. However, so eager was he to make a
practical test of the telegraph that, governments apparently not
appreciating their great opportunity, he was willing to entrust the
enterprise to capitalists. Here again he was balked, however, for,
writing of his trials later, he says:--
"An unforeseen obstacle was interposed which has rendered my patent in
France of no avail to me. By the French patent law at the time one who
obtained a patent was obliged to put into operation his invention within
two years from the issue of his patent, under the penalty of forfeiture
if he does not comply with the law. In pursuance of this requisition of
the law I negotiated with the president (Turneysen) of the Saint-Germain
Railroad Company to construct a line of my Telegraph on their road from
Paris to Saint-Germain, a distance of about seven English miles. The
company was favorably disposed toward the project, but, upon application
(as was necessary) to the Government for permission to have the Telegraph
on their road, they received for answer that telegraphs were a government
monopoly, and could not, therefore, be used for private purposes. I thus
found myself crushed between the conflicting forces of two opposing
laws."
This was, indeed, a crushing blow, and ended all hope of accomplishing
anything in France, unless the Government should, in the short time still
left to him, decide to take it up. The letters home, during the remainder
of his stay in Europe, are voluminous, but as they are, in the main, a
repetition of experiences similar to those already recorded, it will not
be necessary to give them in full. He tells of the enthusiastic reception
accorded to his invention by the savants, the high officials of the
Government and the Englishmen of note then stopping in Paris. He tells
also of the exasperating delays to which he was subjected, and which
finally compelled him to return home without having accomplished anything
tangible. He goes at length into his negotiations with the representative
of the Czar, Baron Meyendorf, from which he entertained so many hopes,
hopes which were destined in the end to be blasted, because the Czar
refused to put his signature to the contract, his objection being that
"Malevolence can easily interrupt the communication." This was a terrible
disappointment to the inventor, for he had made all his plans to return
to Europe in the spring of 1839 to carry out the Russian contract, which
he was led to believe was perfectly certain, and the Czar's signature
simply a matter of form. While at the time, and probably for all his
life, Morse considered his failure in Europe as a cruel stroke of Fate,
we cannot but conclude, in the light of future developments, that here
again Fate was cruel in order to be kind. The invention, while it had
been pronounced a scientific success, and had been awarded the palm over
all other systems by the foremost scientists of the world, had yet to
undergo the baptism of fire on the field of battle. It had never been
tried over long distances in the open air, and many practical
modifications had yet to be made, the necessity for which could only be
ascertained during the actual construction of a commercial line. Morse's
first idea, adhered to by him until found by experience, in the building
of the first line between Washington and Baltimore, to be impracticable,
had been to bury the wires in a trench in the ground. I say it was found
to be impracticable, but that is true only of the conditions at that
early date. The inventor was here again ahead of his time, for the
underground system is now used in many cities, and may in time become
universal. However, we shall see, when the story of the building of that
first historic line is told, that in this respect, and in many others,
great difficulties were encountered and failure was averted only by the
ingenuity, the resourcefulness, and the quick-wittedness of the inventor
himself and his able assistants. Is it too much to suppose that, had the
Russian, or even the French, contract gone through, and had Morse been
compelled to recruit his assistants from the people of an alien land,
whose language he could neither speak nor thoroughly understand, the
result would have been a dismal failure, calling down only ridicule on
the head of the luckless inventor, and perhaps causing him to abandon the
whole enterprise, discouraged and disheartened?
Be this as it may, the European trip was considered a failure in a
practical sense, while having resulted in a personal triumph in so far as
the scientific elements of the invention were concerned. I shall,
therefore, give only occasional extracts from the letters, some of them
dealing with matters not in any way related to the telegraph.
He writes to Mr. Smith on February 18, 1839:--
"I have been wholly occupied for the last week in copying out the
correspondence and other documents to defend myself against the infamous
attack of Dr. Jackson, notice of which my brother sent me.... I have sent
a letter to Dr. Jackson calling on him to save his character by a total
disclaimer of his presumptuous claim within one week from the receipt of
the letter, and giving him the plea of a 'mistake' and 'misconception of
my invention' by which he may retreat. If he fails to do this, I have
requested my brother to publish immediately my defense, in which I give a
history of the invention, the correspondence between Dr. Jackson and
myself, and close with the letters of Hon. Mr. Rives, Mr. Fisher, of
Philadelphia, and Captain Pell.
"I cannot conceive of such infatuation as has possessed this man. He can
scarcely be deceived. It must be his consummate self-conceit that
deceives him, if he is deceived. But this cannot be; he knows he has no
title whatever to a single hint of any kind in the matter."
I have already alluded to the claim of Dr. Jackson, and have shown that
it was proved to be utterly without foundation, and have only introduced
this reference to it as an instance of the attacks which were made upon
Morse, attacks which compelled him to consume much valuable time, in the
midst of his other labors, in order to repel them, which he always
succeeded in doing.
In writing of his negotiations with the Russian Government he mentions M.
Amyot, "who has proposed also an Electric Telegraph, but upon seeing mine
he could not restrain his gratification, and with his whole soul he is at
work to forward it with all who have influence. He is the right-hand man
of the Baron Meyendorf, and he is exerting all his power to have the
Russian Government adopt my Telegraph.... He is really a noble-minded
man. The baron told me he had a _large soul_, and I find he has. I have
no claim on him and yet he seems to take as much interest in my invention
as if it were his own. How different a conduct from Jackson's!... Every
day is clearing away all the difficulties that prevent its adoption; the
only difficulty that remains, it is universally said, is the protection
of the wires from malevolent attack, and this can be prevented by proper
police and secret and deep interment. I have no doubt of its universal
adoption; it may take time but it is certain."
"_Paris, March 2, 1839._ By my last letter I informed you of the more
favorable prospects of the telegraphic enterprise. These prospects still
continue, and I shall return with the gratifying reflection that, after
all my anxieties, and labors, and privations, and your and my other
associates' expenditures and risks, we are all in a fair way of reaping
the fruits of our toil. The political troubles of France have been a
hindrance hitherto to the attention of the Government to the Telegraph,
but in the mean time I have gradually pushed forward the invention into
the notice of the most influential individuals of France. I had Colonel
Lasalle, aide-de-camp to the king, and his lady to see the Telegraph a
few days ago. He promised that, without fail, it should be mentioned to
the king. You will be surprised to learn, after all the promises hitherto
made by the Prefect of the Seine, Count Remberteau, and by various other
officers of the Government, and after General Cass's letter to the aide
on service, four or five months since, requesting it might be brought to
the notice of the king, that the king has not yet heard of it. But so
things go here.
"Such dereliction would destroy a man with us in a moment, but here there
is a different standard (this, of course, _entre nous_).... Among the
numerous visitors that have thronged to see the Telegraph, there have
been a great many of the principal English nobility. Among them the Lord
and Lady Aylmer, former Governor of Canada, Lord Elgin and son, the
Celebrated preserver, not depredator (as he has been most slanderously
called) of the Phidian Marbles. Lord Elgin has been twice and expressed a
great interest in the invention. He brought with him yesterday the Earl
of Lincoln, a young man of unassuming manners; he was delighted and gave
me his card with a pressing invitation to call on him when I came to
London.
"I have not failed to let the English know how I was treated in regard to
my application for a patent in England, and contrasted the conduct of the
French in this respect to theirs. I believe they felt it, and I think it
was Lord Aylmer, but am not quite sure, who advised that the subject be
brought up in Parliament by some member and made the object of special
legislation, which he said might be done, the Attorney-General to the
contrary notwithstanding. I really believe, if matters were rightly
managed in England, something yet might be done there, if not by patent,
yet by a parliamentary grant of a proper compensation. It is remarkable
that they have not yet made anything like mine in England. It is evident
that neither Wheatstone nor Davy comprehended my mode, after all their
assertions that mine had been published.
"If matters move slower here than with us, yet they gain surely. I am
told every hour that the two great wonders of Paris just now, about which
everybody is conversing, are Daguerre's wonderful results in fixing
permanently the image of the _camera obscura_, and Morse's
Electro-Magnetic Telegraph, and they do not hesitate to add that,
beautiful as are the results of Daguerre's experiments, the invention of
the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph is that which will surpass, in the
greatness of the revolution to be effected, all other inventions. Robert
Walsh, Esq., who has just left me, is beyond measure delighted. I was
writing a word from one room to another; he came to me and said:--'The
next word you may write is IMMORTALITY, for the sublimity of this
invention is of surpassing grandeur. _I see now that all physical
obstacles, which may for a while hinder, will inevitably be overcome; the
problem is solved;_ MAN MAY INSTANTLY CONVERSE WITH HIS FELLOW-MEN IN ANY
PART OF THE WORLD.'"
This prophecy of the celebrated American author, who was afterwards
Consul-General to France for six years, is noteworthy considering the
date at which it was made. There were indeed many "physical obstacles
which for a while hindered" the practical adoption of the invention, but
they were eventually overcome, and the problem was solved. Five years of
heart-breaking struggle, discouragement and actual poverty had still to
be endured by the brave inventor before the tide should turn in his
favor, but Robert Walsh shared with Morse the clear conviction that the
victory would finally be won.
Reference having been made to Lord Elgin, the following letter from him
will be found interesting:--
Paris, 12th March, 1839.
Dear Sir,--I cannot help expressing a very strong desire that, instead of
delaying till your return from America your wish to take out a patent in
England for your highly scientific and simple mode of communicating
intelligence by an Electric Telegraph, you would take measures to that
effect at this moment, and for that purpose take your model now with you
to London. Your discovery is now much known as well as appreciated, and
the ingenuity now afloat is too extensive for one not to apprehend that
individuals, even in good faith, may make some addition to qualify them
to take out a _first patent_ for the principle; whereas, if you brought
it at once, now, before the competent authorities, especially under the
advantage of an introduction such as Mr. Drummond can give you to Lord
Brougham, a short delay in your proceeding to America may secure you this
desirable object immediately.
With every sincere good wish for your success and the credit you so
richly deserve, I am, dear sir,
Yours faithfully
ELGIN.
While it is futile to speculate on what might have been, it does seem as
if Morse made a serious mistake in not taking Lord Elgin's advice, for
there is no doubt that, with the influential backing which he had now
secured, he could have overcome the churlish objections of the
Attorney-General, and have secured a patent in England much to his
financial benefit. But with the glamour of the Russian contract in his
eyes, he decided to return home at once, and the opportunity was lost.
We must also marvel at the strange fact that the fear expressed by Lord
Elgin, that another might easily appropriate to himself the glory which
was rightly due to Morse, was not realized. Is it to be wondered at that
Morse should have always held that he, and he alone, was the humble
instrument chosen by an All-Wise Providence to carry to a successful
issue this great enterprise?
Regarding one of his other visitors, the Earl of Lincoln, it is
interesting to learn that there was another meeting between the two men
under rather dramatic circumstances, in later years. This was on the
occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales, afterward Edward VII, to
America, accompanied by a suite which included, among others, the Duke of
Newcastle. Morse was invited to address the Prince at a meeting given in
his honor at the University of the City of New York, and in the course of
his address he said:--
"An allusion in most flattering terms to me, rendered doubly so in such
presence, has been made by our respected Chancellor, which seems to call
for at least the expression of my thanks. At the same time it suggests
the relation of an incident in the early history of the Telegraph which
may not be inappropriate to this occasion. The infant Telegraph, born and
nursed within these walls, had scarcely attained a feeble existence ere
it essayed to make its voice heard on the other side of the Atlantic. I
carried it to Paris in 1838. It attracted the warm interest, not only of
the continental philosophers, but also of the intelligent and
appreciative among the eminent nobles of Britain then on a visit to the
French capital. Foremost among these was the late Marquis of Northampton,
then President of the Royal Society, the late distinguished Earl of
Elgin, and, in a marked degree, the noble Earl of Lincoln. The last-named
nobleman in a special manner gave it his favor. He comprehended its
important future, and, in the midst of the skepticism that clouded its
cradle, he risked his character for sound judgment in venturing to stand
godfather to the friendless child. He took it under his roof in London,
invited the statesmen and the philosophers of Britain to see it, and
urged forward with kindly words and generous attentions those who had the
infant in charge. It is with no ordinary feelings, therefore, that, after
the lapse of twenty years, I have the singular honor this morning of
greeting with hearty welcome, in such presence, before such an
assemblage, and in the cradle of the Telegraph, this noble Earl of
Lincoln in the person of the present Duke of Newcastle."
Reference was made by Morse, in the letter to Mr. Smith of March 2, to
Daguerre and his wonderful discovery. Having himself experimented along
the same lines many years before, he was, naturally, much interested and
sought the acquaintance of Daguerre, which was easily brought about. The
two inventors became warm friends, and each disclosed to the other the
minutiae of his discoveries. Daguerre invited Morse to his workshop,
selecting a Sunday as a day convenient to him, and Morse replied in the
following characteristic note:--
"Professor Morse asks the indulgence of M. Daguerre. The _time_ M.
Daguerre, in his great kindness, has fixed to show his most interesting
experiments is, unfortunately, one that will deprive Mr. M. of the
pleasure he anticipated, as Mr. M. has an engagement for the entire
Sunday of a nature that cannot be broken. Will Monday, or any other day,
be agreeable to M. Daguerre?
"Mr. M. again asks pardon for giving M. Daguerre so much trouble."
Having thus satisfied his Puritan conscience, another day was cheerfully
appointed by Daguerre, who generously imparted the secret of this new art
to the American, by whom it was carried across the ocean and successfully
introduced into the United States, as will be shown further on.
Writing of this experience to his brothers on March 9, 1839, he says:--
"You have, perhaps, heard of the Daguerreotype, so called from the
discoverer, M. Daguerre. It is one of the most beautiful discoveries of
the age. I don't know if you recollect some experiments of mine in New
Haven, many years ago, when I had my painting-room next to Professor
Silliman's,--experiments to ascertain if it were possible to fix the
image of the _camera obscura_. I was able to produce different degrees of
shade on paper, dipped into a solution of nitrate of silver, by means of
different degrees of light, but finding that light produced dark, and
dark light, I presumed the production of a true image to be
impracticable, and gave up the attempt. M. Daguerre has realized in the
most exquisite manner this idea."
Here follows the account of his visit to Daguerre and an enthusiastic
description of the wonders seen in his workshop, and he closes by
saying:--
"But I am near the end of my paper, and I have, unhappily, to give a
melancholy close to my account of this ingenious discovery. M. Daguerre
appointed yesterday at noon to see my Telegraph. He came and passed more
than an hour with me, expressing himself highly gratified at its
operation. But, while he was thus employed, the great building of the
Diorama, with his own house, all his beautiful works, his valuable notes
and papers, the labor of years of experiment, were, unknown to him, at
that moment the prey of the flames. His secret, indeed, is still safe
with him, but the steps of his progress in the discovery and his valuable
researches in science, are lost to the scientific world. I learn that his
Diorama was insured, but to what extent I know not.
"I am sure all friends of science and improvement will unite in
expressing the deepest sympathy in M. Daguerre's loss, and the sincere
hope that such a liberal sum will be awarded him by his Government as
shall enable him, in some degree at least, to recover from his loss."
It is pleasant to record that the French Government did act most
generously toward Daguerre.
The reader may remember that, when Morse was a young man in London,
lotteries were considered such legitimate ways of raising money, that not
only did he openly purchase tickets in the hope of winning a money prize,
but his pious father advised him to dispose of his surplus paintings and
sketches in that way. As he grew older, however, his views on this
question changed, as will be seen by the following letter addressed to
Mrs. Cass, wife of the American Minister, who was trying to raise money
to help a worthy couple, suddenly reduced from wealth to poverty:--
January 31, 1889.
I am sure I need make no apology to you, my dear madam, for returning the
three lottery tickets enclosed in the interesting note I have just had
the honor to receive from you, because I know you can fully appreciate
the motive which prompts me. In the measures taken some years since for
opposing the lottery system in the State of New York, and which issued in
its entire suppression, I took a very prominent part under the conviction
that the principle on which the lottery system was founded was wrong. But
while, on this account, I cannot, my dear madam, consistently take the
tickets, I must beg of you to put the price of them, which I enclose,
into such a channel as shall, in your judgment, best promote the
benevolent object in which you have interested yourself.
Poverty is a bitter lot, even when the habit of long endurance has
reconciled the mind and body to its severities, but how much more bitter
must it be when it comes in sudden contrast to a life of affluence and
ease.
I thank you for giving me the opportunity of contributing my mite to the
relief of such affliction, hoping sincerely that all their earthly wants
may lead the sufferers to the inexhaustible fountain of true riches.
With sincere respect and Christian regard I remain, my dear madam
Your most obedient servant
S.F.B. MORSE.
Before closing the record of this European trip, so disappointing in many
ways and yet so encouraging in others, it may be well to note that, while
he was in Paris, Morse in 1838 not only took out a patent on his
recording telegraph, but also on a system to be used on railways to
report automatically the presence of a train at any point on the line. A
reproduction of his own drawing of the apparatus to be used is here
given, and the mechanism is so simple that an explanation is hardly
necessary. From it can be seen not only that he did, at this early date,
realize the possibilities of his invention along various lines, but that
it embodies the principle of the police and fire-alarm systems now in
general use.
It is not recorded that he ever realized anything financially from this
ingenious modification of his main invention. Commenting on it, and on
his plans for a military telegraph, he gives this amusing sketch:--
"On September 10, 1838, a telegraph instrument constructed in the United
States on the same principles, but slightly modified to make it portable,
was exhibited to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, and explained by M.
Arago at the session of that date. An account of this exhibition is
recorded in the _Comptes Rendus_.
"A week or two after I exhibited at my lodgings, in connection with this
instrument, my railroad telegraph, an application of signals by sound,
for which I took out letters patent in Paris, and at the same time I
communicated to the Minister of War, General Bernard, my plans for a
military telegraph with which he was much pleased.
[Illustration: RAILWAY TELEGRAPH DRAWING BY MORSE
Patented by him in France in 1838, and embodying principles of Police and
Fire Alarm Telegraph]
"I dined with him by invitation, and in the evening, repairing with him
to his billiard-room, while the rest of the guests were amusing
themselves with the game, I gave him a general description of my plan. He
listened with deep attention while I advocated its use on the
battle-field, and gave him my reasons for believing that the army first
using the facilities of the electric telegraph for military purposes
would be sure of victory. He replied to me, after my answering many of
his questions:--
"'Be reticent,' said he, 'on this subject for the present. I will send an
officer of high rank to see and converse with you on the matter
to-morrow.'
"The next day I was visited by an old Marshal of France, whose name has
escaped my memory. Conversing by an interpreter, the Reverend E.N. Kirk,
of Boston, I found it difficult to make the Marshal understand its
practicability or its importance. The dominant idea in the Marshal's
mind, which he opposed to the project, was that it involved an increase
of the material of the army, for I proposed the addition of two or more
light wagons, each containing in a small box the telegraph instruments
and a reel of fine insulated wire to be kept in readiness at the
headquarters on the field. I proposed that, when required, the wagons
with the corps of operators, two or three persons, at a rapid rate should
reel off the wire to the right, the centre and the left of the army, as
near to these parts of the army as practicable or convenient, and thus
instantaneous notice of the condition of the whole army, and of the
enemy's movements, would be given at headquarters.
"To all this explanation of my plan was opposed the constant objection
that it increased the material of the army. The Hon. Marshal seemed to
consider that the great object to be gained by an improvement was a
decrease of this material; an example of this economy which he
illustrated by the case of the substitution of the leather drinking cup
for the tin cup hung to the soldier's knapsack, an improvement which
enabled the soldier to put his cup in his vest pocket. For this
improvement, if I remember right, he said the inventor, who was a common
soldier, received at the hands of the Emperor Napoleon I the cross of the
Legion of Honor.
"So set was the good Marshal in his repugnance to any increase to the
material of the army that, after a few moments' thought, I rebutted his
position by putting to him the following case:--
"'M. Marshal,' I said, 'you are investing a fortress on the capture of
which depends the success of your campaign; you have 10,000 men; on
making your calculations of the chances of taking it by assault, you find
that with the addition of 5000 more troops you could accomplish its
capture. You have it in your power, by a simple order, to obtain from the
Government these 5000 men. In this case what would you do?'
"He replied without hesitation: 'I should order the 5000, of course.'
"'But,' I rejoined, 'the material of the army would be greatly increased
by such an order.'
"He comprehended the case, and, laughing heartily, abandoned the
objection, but took refuge in the general skepticism of that day on the
practicability of an electric telegraph. He did not believe it could ever
be put in practise. This was an argument I could not then repel. Time
alone could vindicate my opinion, and time has shown both its
practicability and its utility."