“I always endeavored, while at Lockport, and in every other position I
have filled, to perform more service than that which was allotted to
me and to watch my employer’s interests at all times, regardless of
stipulated hours. It is a great mistake for a young man to think that
his efforts to be efficient and to perform more work than is set apart
for him will not be noticed by his employers or superior officers. The
appreciation of such services may seem tardy, but it is almost sure
to come, and, in my case, it came very soon. After I had served at
Lockport for a few months, I was transferred to Springfield, Illinois,
which is a more important station. I was not seventeen when I began my
work there, but I felt myself to be quite an experienced person in the
business, and capable of caring for almost any office. On account of my
night study I had a thorough knowledge of the principles of telegraphy,
and my practice as an operator had given me the necessary technical
qualifications.
“Operators didn’t receive as much then as they do now, but living
expenses were low. When I went to Lockport, I believe that I was
paid about a dollar a day, and at Springfield my wages were somewhat
higher. In 1854, two years after I first began to carry messages, I
was sent to St. Louis, as the company’s chief operator, and of course
that was a considerable promotion. I remained in that position until
1858, when I became superintendent of the St. Louis and Missouri River
Telegraph Company, which was constructing many new lines in the border
region. The company was not very rich, but it was very necessary that
its system should be extended. It occurred to me that the citizens
of the border towns ought to be willing to pay something to have the
convenience of the telegraph; so, when the line was constructed to
Kansas City, I raised three thousand dollars in Leavenworth to extend
it to that place, and two thousand dollars in Atchinson to have it
built to that city from Leavenworth. In this way we accomplished what
the company was financially unable to do.