The replies have been numerous, and many of them are very
full and interesting. Those deemed material are annexed,
numbered 2 to 18, inclusive.
From those communications, and such other investigations
as the pressure of business has enabled me to make, I am
satisfied that the establishment of a system of telegraphs
for the United States would be useful to commerce as well as
the Government. It might most properly be made appurtenant
to the Post Office Department, and, during war, would prove
a most essential aid to the military operations of the
country.
The expense, attending it is estimated carefully in some
of the documents annexed; but it will depend much upon the
kind of system adopted: upon the extent and location
of the lines first established; and the charges made to
individuals for communicating information through it which
may not be of a public character.
On these points, as the Department has not been requested
to make a report, no opinion is expressed; but information
concerning them was deemed useful as a guide in deciding
on the propriety of establishing telegraphs, and was,
therefore, requested in the circular before mentioned.
Many useful suggestions in relation to the subject will be
found in the correspondence annexed, and in the books there
referred to.
The Department would take this occasion to express, in
respect to the numerous gentlemen whose views are now
submitted to Congress, its high appreciation and sincere
acknowledgments for the valuable contributions they have
made on a subject of so much interest.
I remain, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
The Hon. J. K. POLK,
_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
No. 1.
_Circular to certain Collectors of the Customs, Commanders of
Revenue Cutters, and other persons._
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _March 10, 1837_.
With the view of obtaining information in regard to “the
propriety of establishing a system of telegraphs for the
United States,” in compliance with the request contained
in the annexed resolution of the House of Representatives,
adopted at its last session, I will thank you to furnish the
Department with your opinion upon the subject. If leisure
permits, you would oblige me by pointing out the manner,
and the various particulars, in which the system may be
rendered most useful to the Government of the United States
and the public generally. It would be desirable, if in your
power, to present a detailed statement as to the proper
points for the location, and distance of the stations from
each other, with general rules for the regulation of the
system, together with your sentiments as to the propriety
of connecting it with any existing department of the
Government, and some definite idea of the rapidity with
which intelligence could ordinarily, and also in urgent
cases, be communicated between distant places. I wish you to
estimate the probable expense of establishing and supporting
telegraphs, upon the most approved system, for any given
distance, during any specified period.
It would add to the interest of the subject if you would
offer views as to the practicability of uniting with a
system of telegraphs for communication in clear weather
and in the day time, another for communication in fogs, by
cannon, or otherwise; and in the night, by the same mode, or
by rockets, fires, &c.
I should be gratified by receiving your reply by the first
of October next.
LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
No. 2.
_Letter from S. F. B. Morse, to the
Secretary of the Treasury._
NEW YORK CITY UNIVERSITY, _Sept. 27, 1837_.
DEAR SIR: In reply to the inquiries which you
have done me the honor to make, in asking my opinion “of
the propriety of establishing a system of telegraphs
for the United States,” I would say, in regard to the
general question, that I believe there can scarcely be two
opinions, in such a community as ours, in regard to the
advantage which would result, both to the Government and
the public generally, from the establishment of a system
of communication by which the most speedy intercourse may
be had between the most distant parts of the country. The
_mail system_, it seems to me, is founded on the universally
admitted principle, that the greater the speed with which
intelligence can be transmitted from point to point, the
greater is the benefit derived to the whole community. The
only question that remains, therefore, is, what system is
best calculated, from its completeness and cheapness, to
effect this desirable end?
With regard to telegraphs constructed on the ordinary
principles, however perfected within the limits in which
they are necessarily confined, the most perfect of them
are liable to one insurmountable objection—_they are
useless the greater part of the time_. In foggy weather,
and ordinarily during the night no intelligence can be
transmitted. Even when they can transmit, much time is
consumed in communicating but little, and that little not
always precise.
Having invented an entirely new mode of telegraphic
communication, which, so far as experiments have yet
been made with it, promises results of almost marvellous
character, I beg leave to present to the Department a brief
account of its chief characteristics.
About five years ago, on my voyage home from Europe,
the electrical experiment of Franklin, upon a wire some
four miles in length was casually recalled to my mind in a
conversation with one of the passengers, in which experiment
it was ascertained that the electricity travelled through
the whole circuit in a time not appreciable, but apparently
instantaneous. _It immediately occurred to me, that if the
presence of electricity could be made_ VISIBLE
_in any desired part of this circuit, it would not be
difficult to construct a_ SYSTEM OF SIGNS _by which
intelligence could be instantaneously transmitted._ The
thought, thus conceived, took strong hold of my mind in the
leisure which the voyage afforded, and I planned a system
of signs and an apparatus to carry it into effect. I cast
a species of type, which I had devised for this purpose,
the first week after my arrival home; and although the
rest of the machinery was planned, yet, from the pressure
of unavoidable duties, I was compelled to postpone my
experiments, and was not able to test the whole plan until
within a few weeks. The result has realized my most sanguine
expectations.
As I have contracted with Mr. Alfred Vail to have a
complete apparatus made to demonstrate at Washington by the
1st of January, 1838, the practicability and superiority
of my mode of telegraphic communication by means of
electro magnetism, (an apparatus which I hope to have the
pleasure of exhibiting to you,) I will confine myself in
this communication to a statement of its peculiar advantages.
_First._ The _fullest and most precise information_
can be almost instantaneously transmitted between any
two or more points, between which a wire conductor
is laid: that is to say, no other time is consumed
than is necessary to write the intelligence to
be conveyed, and to convert the words into the
telegraphic numbers. The numbers are then transmitted
nearly instantaneously, (or if I have been rightly
informed in regard to some recent experiments in the
velocity of electricity, _two hundred thousand miles
in a second_,) to any distance, where the numbers
are immediately recognised, and reconverted into the
words of the intelligence.
_Second._ The same full intelligence can be
communicated _at any moment irrespective of the time
of day or night, or state of the weather._ This
single point establishes its superiority to all other
modes of telegraphic communication now known.
_Third._ The whole apparatus will occupy but
_little space_, (scarcely six cubic feet, probably
not more than four;)[11] and it may, therefore, be
placed without inconvenience, in any house.
_Fourth._ The _record of intelligence is made in
a permanent manner and in such a form_ that it can
be at once bound up in _volumes_ convenient for
reference, if desired.
_Fifth._ _Communications are secret_ to all but the
persons for whom they are intended.
[11] It now occupies a space 10 inches long, 8 inches high, and 5 wide.
These are the chief advantages of the Electro Magnetic
Telegraph over other kinds of telegraphs, and which must
give it the preference, provided the expense and other
circumstances are reasonably favorable.
The newness of the whole plan makes it not so easy to
estimate the expense, but an _approach_ to a correct
estimate can be made.
The principal expense will be the first cost of the wire
or metallic conductors, (consisting of four lengths,) and
the securing them against injury. The cost of a single
copper wire ¹/₁₆ of an inch diameter, (and it should not be
of less dimensions,) for 400 miles, was recently estimated
in Scotland to be about £1,000 sterling, including the
solderings of the wire together; that is, about $6 per mile
for one wire, or $24 per mile for the four wires. I have
recently contracted for twenty miles of copper wire, No. 18,
at 40 cents per pound. Each pound, it is estimated, contains
93 feet, which gives a result coinciding with the Scotch
estimate, if $1.60 per mile be added for solderings.
The preparation of the wire for being laid, (if in the
ground,) comprehends the _clothing of the wires_ with an
insulating or non-conducting substance; the _encasing them
in wood_, _clay_, _stone_, _iron_, or _other metal_; and
the _trenching_ of the earth to receive them. In this part
of the business I have no experience to guide me, the whole
being altogether new. I can, therefore, only make at present
a rough estimate. Iron tubes enclosing the wires, and filled
in with pitch and resin, would probably be the most eligible
mode of securing the conductors from injury, while, at the
same time, it would be the most costly. Iron tubes of 1½
inch diameter, I learn, can be obtained at Baltimore, at
28 cents per foot. The _trenching_ will not be more than
three cents for 2 feet, or about $75 per mile. This estimate
is for a trench 3 feet deep and 1½ wide. There is no
_grading_; the trench may follow the track of any road, over
the highest hills or lowest valleys. Across rivers, with
bridges, the circuit may easily be carried, enclosed beneath
the bridge. Where the stream, is wide, and no bridge, the
circuit, enclosed in lead, may be sunk to the bottom.
If the circuit is laid through the air, the first cost
would doubtless be much lessened. This plan of making
the circuit has some advantages, but there are also some
disadvantages; the chief of which latter is, that, being
always in sight, the temptation to injure the circuit to
mischievously disposed persons, is greater than if it were
buried out of sight beneath their feet. As an offset,
however, to this, an injury to the circuit is more easily
detected. With regard to danger from wantonness, it may be
sufficient to say, that the same objection was originally
made in the several cases, successively, of water-pipes,
gas-pipes, and railroads; and yet we do not hear of
wantonness injuring any of these. Stout spars of some thirty
feet in height, well planted in the ground, and placed
about 350 feet apart, would, in this case, be required,
along the tops of which the circuit might be stretched.
Fifteen such spars would be wanted to a mile. This mode
would be as cheap, probably, as any other, unless the laying
of the circuit in water should be found to be most eligible.
A series of experiments to ascertain the practicability
of this mode, I am about to commence with Professor Gale,
of our university, a gentleman of great science, and to whose
assistance, in many of my late experiments, I am greatly
indebted. We are preparing a circuit of twenty miles. The
result of our experiments I will have the honor of reporting
to you.
The other machinery, consisting of the apparatus for
transmitting and receiving the intelligence, can be made at
a very trifling cost. The only parts of the apparatus that
waste or consume materials, are the batteries, which consume
_acid_ and _zinc_, and the register, which consumes _paper_
for recording, and _pencils_ or _ink_ for marking.
The cost of _printing_, in the first instance, of a
_telegraphic dictionary_,[12] should perhaps also be taken
into the account, as each officer of the Government, as well
as many others, would require a copy, should this mode of
telegraphic communication go into effect. This dictionary
would contain a vocabulary of all the words in common use in
the English language, with the numbers regularly affixed to
each word.
[12] Mr. Francis O. J. Smith has recently published a Secret
Corresponding Vocabulary adapted to this purpose.
The stations in the case of this telegraph may be as
numerous as are desired; the only additional expense for
that purpose being the adding of the transmitting and
receiving apparatus to each station.
The cost of supporting a system of telegraphs on this
plan, (when a circuit is once established,) would, in my
opinion, be much less than on the common plans; yet, for
want of experience in this mode, I would not affirm it
positively.
As to “the propriety of connecting the system of
telegraphs with any existing department of Government,” it
would seem most natural to connect a telegraphic system
with the Post Office Department; for, although it does not
carry a mail, yet it is another mode of accomplishing the
principal object for which the mail is established, to wit:
the rapid and regular transmission of intelligence. If my
system of telegraphs should be established, it is evident
that the telegraph would have but little rest day or night.
The advantage of communicating intelligence instantaneously
in hundreds of instances of daily occurrence, would warrant
such a rate of _postage_, (if it may be so called,) as would
amply defray all expenses of the first cost of establishing
the system, and of guarding it, and keeping it in repair.
As every word is numbered, an obvious mode of rating might
be, a _charge of a certain amount on so many numbers_. I
presume that five words can certainly be transmitted in a
minute; for, with the imperfect machinery I now use, I have
recorded at that rate, at the distance of half a mile.
In conclusion, I would say, that if the perfecting of
this new system of telegraphs (which may justly be called
the American Telegraph, since I can establish my claims
to priority in the invention) shall be thought of public
utility, and worthy the attention of Government, I shall be
ready to make any sacrifice of personal service and of time
to aid in its accomplishment.
In the mean time I remain, sir, with sincere respect and
high personal esteem,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
SAML. F. B. MORSE.
HON. LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
No. 3.
_Letter from S. F. B. Morse to the Secretary of the Treasury._
UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
_November 28, 1837_.
MY DEAR SIR: In my letter to you in answer to
the circular respecting telegraphs, which you did me the
honor to send me, I promised to advise you of the result of
some experiments about to be tried with my electro magnetic
telegraph. I informed you that I had succeeded in marking
permanently and intelligibly at the distance of _half a
mile_.
Professor Gale, of our university, and Mr. Alfred Vail,
of the Speedwell iron-works, near Morristown, New Jersey,
are now associated with me in the scientific and mechanical
parts of the invention. We have procured several miles of
wire, and I am happy to announce to you that our success has
thus far, been complete. At a distance of _five miles_, with
a common Cruikshank’s battery of 87 plates, (4 by 3½ inches
each plate,) the marking was as perfect on the register
as in the first instance of half a mile. We have recently
added _five miles more_, making in all _ten miles_, with the
_same result_; and we have now no doubt of its effecting a
_similar result_ at _any distance_.
I also stated to you, sir, that machinery was in progress
of making, with which, so soon as it should be completed,
I intended to proceed to Washington, to exhibit the powers
of the invention before you and other members of the
Government. I had hoped to be in Washington before the
session of Congress, but I find that the execution of new
machinery is so uncertain in its time of completion, that I
shall be delayed, probably, until the beginning of the year.
What I wish to learn from you, sir, is, “_How late in the
session can I delay my visit, and yet be in season to meet
the subject of telegraphs, when it shall be presented by
your report to Congress?_”
I am anxious, of course, to show as perfect an instrument
as possible, and would wish as much time for the purpose
of perfecting it as can be allowed without detriment to my
interests as an applicant for the attention of Government to
the best plan of a telegraph.
I am, my dear sir, with the greatest respect and personal
esteem,
Your most obedient servant,
SAML. F. B. MORSE.
HON. LEVI WOODBURY,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.
No. 4.
[From the New York Journal of Commerce.]
We have received the following note and diagram, with the
explanation of the latter, from Mr. Morse:
_To the Editors of the Journal of Commerce:_
GENTLEMEN: You had the kindness to assert, a few
days ago, my claim to the invention of the _electro magnetic
telegraph_, for which I thank you. As to the priority of my
invention, entirely planned and for the most part executed
as it was nearly five years ago, I can adduce the amplest
proof.
You announced that I was preparing a short _circuit_, to
show to my friends the operation of the telegraph. This
circuit I have completed, of the length of 1,700 feet, or
about one-third of a mile; and on Saturday, the 2d instant,
in presence of Professors Gale and Torrey of this city, and
Professor Daubeny of the Oxford (English) University, and
several other gentlemen, I tried a preliminary experiment
with the register. It recorded the intelligence sufficiently
perfect to establish the practicability of the plan, and the
superior simplicity of my mode of communication, over any of
those proposed by the professors in Europe.
It will be observed that no account has reached us that
any of the foreign proposed electric telegraphs have as
yet succeeded in transmitting intelligible communications;
but it is merely asserted of the most advanced experiment,
(the one in London,) that “by means of five wires,” &c.
intelligence “_may be_ conveyed.” I have the gratification
of sending you a specimen of the writing of my telegraph,
the actual transmission of a communication made this
morning, in a more complete manner than on Saturday, and
through the distance of one-third of a mile.
Thinking it may be gratifying to your readers to see the
kind of writing which it performs, I have had it engraved
for you, accompanied with an explanation.
Your obedient servant,
SAML. F. B. MORSE.
_N. Y. City University, September 4, 1837._
No. 5.
_Specimen of Telegraphic Writing made by means of electricity
at the distance of one-third of a mile._
[Illustration]
The _words_ in the diagram were the intelligence
transmitted.
The _numbers_ (in this instance arbitrary) are the numbers
of the words in a telegraphic dictionary.
The _points_ are the markings of the register, each point
being marked every time the electric fluid passes.
The register marks but one kind of mark, to wit, (V.) This
can be varied two ways. By intervals, thus, (V VV VVV,)
signifying one, two, three, &c., and by reversing, thus, (Λ)
Examples of both these varieties are seen in the diagram.
The single numbers are separated by short, and the whole
numbers by _long intervals_.
To illustrate by the diagram: the word “successful” is
first found in the dictionary, and its telegraphic number,
215, is set up in a species of type prepared for the
purpose, and so of the other words. The type then operate
upon the machinery, and serve to regulate the times and
intervals of the passage of electricity. Each passage of the
fluid causes a pencil at the extremity of the wire to mark
the points as in the diagram.
To read the marks, count the points at the bottom of each
line. It will be perceived that two points come first,
separated by a _short_ interval from the next point. Set 2
beneath it. Then comes one point, likewise separated by a
_short_ interval. Set 1 beneath it. Then come five points.
Set 5 beneath them. But the interval in this case is a
_long_ interval: consequently, the three numbers comprise
the whole number, 215.
So proceed with the rest, until the numbers are all set
down. Then, by referring to the telegraphic dictionary,
the words corresponding to the numbers are found, and the
communication read. Thus it will be seen that, by means
of the changes upon _ten_ characters, all words can be
transmitted. But there are _two points_ reversed in the
lower line. These are the _eleventh_ character, placed
before a number, to signify that it is to be read as a
_number_, and not as the representative of a word.
No. 6.
Mr. SMITH, from the Committee on Commerce,
made the following Report,
April 6th, 1838.
_The Committee on Commerce to whom the subject was referred,
have had the same under consideration, and report:_
On the 3d of February, 1837, the House of Representatives
passed a resolution requesting the Secretary of the Treasury
to report to the House, at its present session, upon the
propriety of establishing a system of telegraphs for the
United States.
In pursuance of this request, the Secretary of the
Treasury, at an early day after the passage of said
resolution, addressed a circular of inquiry to numerous
scientific and practical individuals in different parts of
the Union; and, on the 6th of December last, reported the
result of this proceeding to the House.
This report of the Secretary imbodies many useful
suggestions on the necessity and practicability of a system
of telegraphic despatches, both for public and individual
purposes; and the committee cannot doubt that the American
public is fully prepared, and even desirous, that every
requisite effort be made on the part of Congress to
consummate an object of so deep interest to the purposes of
Government in peace and in war, and to the enterprise of the
age.
Amid the suggestions thus elicited from various sources,
and imbodied in the before-mentioned report of the Secretary
of the Treasury, a plan for an electro magnetic telegraph
is communicated by Professor Morse, of the University of
the city of New York, pre-eminently interesting, and even
wonderful. See Report, No. 2.
This invention consists in the application, by mechanism,
of galvanic electricity to telegraphic purposes, and is
claimed by Professor Morse and his associates as original
with them; and being so, in fact, as the committee believe,
letters-patent have been secured, under the authority of
the United States, for the invention. It has, moreover,
been subjected to the test of experiment, upon a scale of
ten miles distance, by a select committee of the Franklin
Institute of the city of Philadelphia, and reported upon
by that eminently high tribunal in the most favorable and
confident terms. An abstract from the report thus made is
hereunto annexed. No. 7.
In additional confirmation of the merits of his proposed
system of telegraphs, Professor Morse has exhibited it in
operation (by a coil of metallic wire measuring about ten
miles in length, rendering the action equal to a telegraph
of half that distance) to the Committee on Commerce of
the House of Representatives, to the President of the
United States, and the several heads of Departments, to
members of Congress generally, who have taken interest in
the examination, and to a vast number of scientific and
practical individuals from various parts of the Union; and
all concur, it is believed, and without a dissenting doubt,
in admiration of the ingenious and scientific character of
the invention, and in the opinion that it is successfully
adapted to the purposes of telegraphic despatches, and
in a conviction of its great and incalculable practical
importance and usefulness to the country, and ultimately to
the whole world.
But it would be presumptuous in any one, (and the inventor
himself is most sensible of this,) to attempt, at this
stage of the invention, to calculate in anticipation, or to
hold out promises of what its whole extent of capacity for
usefulness may be, in either a political, commercial, or
social point of view, if the electrical power upon which it
depends for successful action shall prove to be efficient,
as is now supposed it will, to carry intelligence through
any of the distances of 50, 100, 500, or more miles now
contemplated. No such attempt, therefore, will be indulged
in this report. It is obvious, however, that the influence
of this invention over the political, commercial, and social
relations of the people of this widely-extended country,
looking to nothing beyond, will, in the event of success,
of itself amount to a revolution unsurpassed in moral
grandeur by any discovery that has been made in the arts and
sciences, from the most distant period to which authentic
history extends, to the present day. With the means of
almost instantaneous communication of intelligence between
the most distant points of the country, and simultaneously
between any given number of intermediate points which this
invention contemplates, space will be, to all practical
purposes of information, completely annihilated between the
States of the Union, as also between the individual citizens
thereof. The citizen will be invested with, and reduce
to daily and familiar use, an approach to the HIGH
ATTRIBUTE OF UBIQUITY, in a degree that the human mind
until recently, has hardly dared to contemplate seriously
as belonging to human agency, from an instinctive feeling
of religious reverence and reserve on a power of such awful
grandeur.
Referring to the annexed report of the Franklin Institute,
already adverted to, and also to the letters of Professor
Morse, marked 2, 8 and 9, for other details of the
superiority of this system of telegraphs over all other
methods heretofore reduced to practice by any individual or
Government, the committee agree, unanimously, that it is
worthy to engross the attention and means of the Federal
Government, to the full extent that may be necessary to
put the invention to the most decisive test that can be
desirable. The power of the invention, if successful, is so
extensive for good and for evil, that the Government alone
should possess the right to control and regulate it. The
mode of proceeding to test it, as suggested, as also the
relations which the inventor and his associates are willing
to recognise with the Government on the subject of the
future ownership, use, and control of the invention, are
succinctly set forth in the annexed letters of Professor
Morse, marked 8 and 9.
The probable outlay of an experiment upon a scale equal
to fifty miles of telegraph, and equal to a circuit of
double that distance, is estimated at $30,000. Two-thirds of
this expenditure will be for material, which, whether the
experiment shall succeed or fail, will remain uninjured, and
of very little diminished value below the price that will be
paid for it.
The estimates of Professor Morse, as will be seen by
his letter, marked 9, amount to $26,000; but, to meet any
contingency not now anticipated, and to guard against any
want of requisite funds in an enterprise of such moment to
the Government, to the people, and to the scientific world,
the committee recommend an appropriation of $30,000, to
be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the
Treasury; and to this end submit herewith a bill.
It is believed by the committee that the subject is one of
such universal interest and importance, that an early action
upon it will be deemed desirable by Congress, to enable the
inventor to complete his trial of the invention upon the
extended scale contemplated, in season to furnish Congress
with a full report of the result during its present session,
if that shall be practicable.
All which is respectfully submitted.
FRANCIS O. J. SMITH, JAS. M. MASON,
S. C. PHILLIPS, JOHN T. H. WORTHINGTON,
SAMUEL CUSHMAN, WM. H. HUNTER,
JOHN I. DE GRAFF, GEORGE W. TOLAND,
EDWARD CURTIS,
_Committee on Commerce, U. S. H. R._
No. 7.
HALL OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, _Feb. 8, 1838_.
_Report of the Franklin Institute Philadelphia._
The sub-committee, from the committee of science and arts,
appointed to examine the electro magnetic telegraph of
Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, report:
That this instrument was exhibited to them in the hall of
the Institute, and every opportunity given by Mr. Morse and
his associate, Mr. Alfred Vail, to examine it carefully,
and to judge of its operation; and they now present the
following as the result of their observations:
* * * * The operation of the telegraph, as exhibited to
us, was very satisfactory. The power given to the magnet at
the register, through a length of wire of ten miles, was
abundantly sufficient for the movements required to mark the
signals. The communication of this was instantaneous. The
time required to make the signals was as short at least, as
that necessary in the ordinary telegraphs. It appears to
this committee, therefore, that the possibility of using
telegraphs upon this plan, in actual practice, is not to be
doubted; though difficulties may be anticipated, which could
not be tested by the trials made with the model.
One of these relates to the insulation and protection of
the wires, which are to pass over many miles of distance,
to form the circuits between the stations. Mr. Morse
has proposed several plans: the last being to cover the
wires with cotton thread, then varnish them thickly with
gum-elastic, and enclose the whole in leaden tubes. More
practical and economical means will probably be devised; but
the fact is not to be concealed, that any effectual plan
must be very expensive.
Doubts have been raised as to the distance to which the
electricity of an ordinary battery can be made efficient;
but your committee think that no serious difficulty is
anticipated as to this point. The experiment with the wire
wound in a coil, may not, indeed, be deemed conclusive;
but one of the members of the committee assisted in an
experiment in which a magnet was very sensibly affected by a
battery of a single pair, through an insulated wire of two
and three-quarter miles in length, of which the folds were
four inches apart; and when a battery of ten pairs was used,
water was freely decomposed. An experiment is said to have
been made, with success, on the Birmingham and Manchester
rail road, through a circuit of thirty miles in length.
It may be proper to state, that the idea of using
electricity for telegraphic purposes has presented itself
to several individuals, and that it may be difficult
to settle among them the question of originality. The
celebrated Gauss has a telegraph of this kind in actual
operation, for communicating signals between the University
of Göttingen and his magnetic observatory in its vicinity.
Mr. Wheatstone, of London, has been for some time also
engaged in experiments on an electrical telegraph. But the
plan of Professor Morse is, so far as the committee are
informed, entirely different from any of those devised by
other individuals, all of which act by giving different
_directions_ to a magnetic needle; and would, therefore,
require several circuits of wire between all the stations.
In conclusion, the committee beg leave to state their
high gratification with the exhibition of Professor Morse’s
telegraph, and their hope that means may be given to him
to subject it to the test of an actual experiment, made
between stations at a considerable distance from each
other. The advantages which this telegraph would present,
if successful, over every kind heretofore used, make it
worthy the patronage of the Government. These are, that the
stations may be at a distance asunder, far exceeding that to
which all other telegraphs are limited; and that the signals
may be given at night, and in rains, snows, and fogs, when
other telegraphs fail.
R. M. PATTERSON, _Chairman_.
No. 8.
_From S. F. B, Morse, to the Hon. F. O. J. Smith._
WASHINGTON, _February 15, 1838_.
DEAR SIR: In consequence of the conversation
had with the committee on the subject of my telegraph, I
would state, that I think it desirable that an experiment,
on a somewhat extended scale, should first be made to test
both the practicability and the facility of communicating
intelligence for at least one hundred miles. The experiment
may proceed, as to cost, with perfect safety to the
Government. _First._ The wire for this distance, consisting
of four lengths, making a total of four hundred miles of
wire, might be obtained, and receive its covering of cotton
and other insulation. This length would amply suffice
to ascertain the law of the propulsive power of voltaic
electricity, and previous to any measures being taken
for burying it in the earth. So that, if any unforeseen
difficulty should occur fatal to its practicability, the
wire is not consumed or lost. If the expected success is
realized, then, _Second._ The preparation of the wire might
be commenced for burying in the earth, and, being found
complete through the whole route, the several portrules,
registers, batteries, &c., might be provided to put the
telegraph into complete action. This experiment of one
hundred miles would furnish the data from which to make the
estimates of a more general extension of the system. If no
insurmountable obstacles present themselves in a distance
of one hundred miles, none may be expected in one thousand
or in ten thousand miles; and then will be presented for
the consideration of the Government the propriety of
completely organizing the new telegraphic system as a part
of the Government, attaching it to some department already
existing, or creating a new one, which may be called for by
the accumulating duties of the present departments.
It is obvious, at the slightest glance, that this mode
of instantaneous communication must inevitably become an
instrument of immense power, to be wielded for good or for
evil, as it shall be properly or improperly directed. In the
hands of a company of speculators, who should monopolize
it for themselves, it might be the means of enriching the
corporation at the expense of the bankruptcy of thousands;
and even in the hands of Government alone, it might become
a means of working vast mischief to the republic. In
considering these prospective evils, I would respectfully
suggest a remedy which offers itself to my mind. Let the
sole right of using the telegraph belong, in the first
place, to the Government, who should grant, for a specified
sum or bonus, to any individual or company of individuals
who may apply for it, and under such restrictions and
regulations as the Government may think proper, the right
to lay down a way communication between any two points, for
the purpose of transmitting intelligence; and thus would be
promoted a general competition. The Government would have a
telegraph of its own, and have its modes of communicating
with its own officers and agents, independent of private
permission, or interference with and interruption to the
ordinary transmissions on the private telegraphs. Thus
there would be a system of checks and preventives of abuse,
operating to restrain the action of this otherwise dangerous
power, within those bounds which will permit only the good
and neutralize the evil. Should the Government thus take the
telegraph solely under its own control, the revenue derived
from the bonuses alone, it must be plain, will be of vast
amount. From the enterprising character of our countrymen,
shown in the manner in which they carry forward any new
project which promises private or public advantage, it is
not visionary to suppose that it would not be long ere the whole
surface of this country would be channelled for those _nerves_
which are to diffuse, with the speed of thought, a knowledge of
all that is occurring throughout the land; making, in fact,
_one neighborhood_ of the whole country.
If the Government is disposed to test this mode of
telegraphic communication by enabling me to give it a fair
trial for one hundred miles, I will engage to enter into no
arrangements to dispose of my rights as the inventor and
patentee for the United States, to any individual or company
of individuals, previous to offering it to the Government
for such a just and reasonable compensation as shall be
mutually agreed upon.[13]
I remain, sir, respectfully, your most obedient servant,
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
To the Hon. F. O. J. SMITH,
_Chairman of the Committee on Commerce
of the House of Representatives._
[13] It is proper that I should here state, that the patent-right is
now jointly owned, in unequal shares, by myself, Prof. Gale of New York
City University, and Messrs. Alfred and George Vail.
No. 9.
_Letter from S. F. B. Morse to Hon. F. O. J. Smith._
WASHINGTON, _February 22, 1838_.
DEAR SIR: I have endeavoured to approach a proper
estimate of the expense attendant on preparing a complete
telegraphic communication for some distance; and taking
into consideration the possibility that the experiment
may be conclusively tried before the close of the present
session of Congress, I have thought that an appropriation
for fifty miles of distance would test the practicability
of the telegraph quite as satisfactorily as one hundred,
because the obstacles necessary to be overcome would not be
more proportionally in fifty than in one hundred; while, at
the same time, the _double circuit_ necessary in the fifty
miles would give a _single circuit_ of one hundred for the
purpose of testing the effect of distance upon the passage
of electricity. Fifty miles would require a less amount
of appropriation, and the experiment could also be sooner
brought to a result.
Two hundred miles of wire, or wire for two circuits for
fifty miles of distance, including the covering of
the wire with cotton, at $100 per mile, $20,000
Other expenses of preparation of the wire, such as
caoutchouc, wax, resin, tar, with reels for winding,
soldering, &c., say $6 per mile, 1,200
Batteries and registers, with type, &c., for two
stations, and materials for experimenting on the
best modes of magnets at long distances, 800
Services of Professor Gale in the chemical department;
services of Mr. Alfred Vail in the mechanical
department; services of assistants in different
departments; my own services in superintending and
directing the whole—total 4,000
——————
Total, [14]$26,000
=======
This estimate is exclusive of expense necessary to lay
down the wire beneath the ground. This is unnecessary until
the previous preparations are found satisfactory.
I cannot say what time will be required for the completion
of the circuits for fifty miles. If the order could be
immediately given for the wire, I think all the other matter
connected with it might be completed so that every thing
would be in readiness in _three months_. Much will depend
on the punctuality with which contractors fulfil their
engagements in furnishing the wire and other apparatus.
I remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE.
To the Hon. F. O. J. SMITH,
_Chairman of the Committee on Commerce_.
[14] This line could now be constructed for less than half the sum.
No. 10.
_Mr. Ferris, from the Committee on Commerce,
made the following Report, December 30, 1842._
That they regard the question, as to the general utility
of the telegraphic system, settled by its adoption by
the most civilized nations; and experience has fully
demonstrated the great advantages which may be derived
from its use. Its capability of speedily transmitting
intelligence to great distances, for national defence,
and for other purposes, where celerity is desirable,
is decidedly superior to any of the ordinary modes
of communication in use. By it, the first warning of
approaching danger, and the appearance of hostile fleets
and armies on our coasts and borders, may be announced
simultaneously at the most distant points of our
widely-extended empire, thus affording time and opportunity
for concentrating the military force of the country,
for facilitating military and naval movements, and for
transmitting orders suitable to the emergency.
In the commercial and social affairs of the community,
occasions frequently arise in which the speedy transmission
of intelligence may be of the highest importance for the
regulation of business transactions, and in relieving
the anxious solicitude of friends, as to the health and
condition of those in whose fortunes they feel an interest.
The practicability of establishing telegraphs on the
electric principle is no longer a question. Wheatstone, of
London, and his associates, have been more fortunate than
our American inventor, in procuring the means to put his
ingenious system into practical use for two or three hundred
miles, in Great Britain; and the movements of the cars on
the Blackwall rail road are at this time directed with
great economy, and perfect safety to life and property, by
means of his magnetic needle telegraph. If a system more
complicated and less efficient than the American telegraph
is operated for great distances in England, with such
eminent success and advantage, there can be no reasonable
doubt that, if the means be furnished for putting in
operation the system of Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, of
New York, the original inventor of the electro-magnetic
telegraph, the same, if not greater success, will be the
result. Your committee are of opinion that it is but justice
to Professor Morse, who is alike distinguished for his
attainments in science and excellence in the arts of design,
and who has patiently devoted many years of unremitting
study, and freely spent his private fortune, in inventing
and bringing to perfection a system of telegraphs which
is calculated to advance the scientific reputation of the
country, and to be eminently useful, both to the Government
and the people, that he should be furnished with the means
of competing with his European rivals.
Professor Morse bases his system upon the two following
facts in science:
First. That a current of electricity will pass to any
distance along a conductor connecting the two poles of a
voltaic battery or generator of electricity, and produce
visible effects at any desired points on that conductor.
Second. That magnetism is produced in a piece of soft iron
(around which the conductor, in its progress, is made to
pass) when the electric current is permitted to flow, and
that the magnetism ceases when the current of electricity
is prevented from flowing. This current of electricity is
produced and destroyed by breaking and closing the galvanic
circuit at the pleasure of the operator of the telegraph,
who in this manner directs and controls the operation
of a simple and compact piece of mechanism, styled the
register, which, at the will of the operator at the point of
communication, is made to record, at the point of reception,
legible characters, on a roll of paper put in motion at the
same time with the writing instrument. These characters the
inventor has arranged into a conventional _alphabet_, and
which is capable of being learned and used with very little
practice.
Professor Morse has submitted his telegraphic plan to the
severe scrutiny of European criticism; and the Academy of
Sciences, of Paris, the highest scientific tribunal in the
world, hailed it with enthusiasm and approbation, when its
operation was exhibited, and its principles explained by
their distinguished perpetual secretary, M. Arago.
It appears, from documents produced by Professor Morse,
that the thanks of several learned bodies in France were
voted to him for his invention, and the large medal of honor
was awarded to him by the Academy of Industry. It further
appears, that several other systems of telegraphs on the
electric plan (among which were Wheatstone’s, of London,
Steinheil’s, of Munich, and Masson’s, of Caen) had been
submitted at various times for the consideration of the
French Government, who appointed a commission to examine
and report on them all, at the head of which commission
was placed the administrator-in-chief of the telegraphs of
France, (M. Foy,) who, to a note to Professor Morse, thus
writes:
“I take a true pleasure in confirming to you in writing
that which I have already had the honor to say to you viva
voce—that I have prominently presented to Monsieur the
Minister of the Interior your electro magnetic telegraph,
as being the system which presents the best chance of a
practical application; and I have declared to him that, if
some trials are to be made with electric telegraphs, I do
not hesitate to recommend that they should be made with your
apparatus.”
Your committee, in producing further evidence of the
approbation by the scientific world of the system of
Professor Morse, would cite the letter of Professor Henry,
of Princeton College, well known for his eminent attainments
in electrical science, (marked 11,) in the appendix of this
report.
More recently, a committee, consisting of some of our most
distinguished scientific citizens, was appointed by the
American Institute of New York, to examine and report upon
this telegraph, who made the report (12) in the appendix.
In compliance with the recommendation of this report, the
Institute awarded to Professor Morse the gold medal.
Besides the evidence these testimonials furnish of the
excellence of Professor Morse’s system, your committee,
as well as the greater part of the members of both Houses
of Congress, have had a practical demonstration of the
operation of the electro magnetic telegraph, and have
witnessed the perfect facility and extraordinary rapidity
with which a message can be sent by means of it from one
extremity of the capitol to the other. This rapidity is not
confined in its effects to a few hundred feet, but science
makes it certain that the same effects can be produced, at
any distance on the globe, between any two given points
connected by the conductors.
Your committee have alluded to other electric telegraphs;
for, as is not uncommon in the birth of great inventions,
scientific minds have, at nearly the same period of time,
in various parts of Europe, conceived and planned electric
telegraphs; but it is a matter of national pride, that the
invention of the _first electro magnetic telegraph_, by
Professor Morse, as well as the _first conception_ of using
electricity as the means of transmitting intelligence, by
Doctor Franklin, is the offspring of American genius.
Your committee beg leave to refer to the letter of
Professor Morse, (marked 13,) in the appendix, to C. G.
Ferris, one of the committee, giving, at his request a brief
history of the telegraph since it was before Congress, in
1838, for some interesting information concerning it, and
for Professor Morse’s estimate of the probable expense of
establishing his system of telegraphs for thirty or forty
miles.
They would also refer to the House document, No. 15,
(December 6, 1837,) and to House report, No. 753, (April 6,
1838,) for valuable information on the subject of telegraphs.
Your committee invite special attention to that part
of Professor Morse’s letter which details the plan of
a _revenue_ which may be derived from his telegraphic
system, when established to an extent sufficient for the
purposes of commercial and general intelligence. From these
calculations, made upon safe data, it is probable that
an income would be derived from its use by merchants and
citizens more than sufficient to defray the interest of the
capital expended in its establishment. So inviting, indeed,
are the prospects of profit to individual enterprise,
that it is a matter of serious consideration, whether the
Government should not, on this account alone, seize the
present opportunity of securing to itself the regulation
of a system which, if monopolized by a private company,
might be used to the serious injury of the Post Office
Department, and which could not be prevented without such
an interference with the rights of the inventor and of the
stockholders as could not be sustained by justice or public
opinion.
After the ordeal to which the electro magnetic telegraph
system has been subjected, both in Europe and in America,
and the voice of the scientific world in its favor, it is
scarcely necessary for your committee to say that they have
the fullest confidence in Professor Morse’s plan, and they
earnestly recommend the adoption of it by the Government
of the United States. They deem it most fortunate that
no definite system of telegraphs should hitherto have
been adopted by the Government, since it enables them to
establish this improved system, which, in the opinion of
your committee, is decidedly superior to any other now in
use, possessing an advantage over telegraphs depending
on vision, inasmuch as it may be used both by night and
day, in all weathers, and in all seasons of the year, with
equal convenience; and, also, possessing an advantage
over electric telegraphs heretofore in use, inasmuch as
it records, in permanent legible characters on paper, any
communication which may be made by it, without the aid of
any agent at the place of recording, except the apparatus
which is put in motion at the point of communication.
Thus, the recording apparatus, called the register, may be
left in a closed chamber, where it will give notice of its
commencing to write, by a bell, and the communication may
be found, on opening the apartment. Possessing these great
advantages, and the means of communication not being liable
to interruption by the ordinary contingencies which may
impede or prevent the successful action of other telegraphs,
the advantages to be derived from it will soon be apparent
to the community, and it will become the successful rival of
the Post Office, when celerity of communication is desired,
and create a revenue from which this system of telegraphs
may be extended and ramified through all parts of the
country, without imposing any burden upon the people or
draughts on the treasury, beyond the outlay for its first
establishment.
As a first step towards the adoption of this system of
telegraphs by the Government, your committee recommend
the appropriation of thirty thousand dollars to be
expended under the direction of the Postmaster General, in
constructing a line of electro magnetic telegraphs, under
the superintendence of Professor Sam’l F. B. Morse, of
such length and between such points as shall fully test
its practicability and utility; and for this purpose they
respectfully submit the following bill:
_A bill to test the Practicability of Establishing a System
of Electro Magnetic Telegraphs by the United States._
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States in Congress assembled_, That the sum of
thirty thousand dollars be, and is hereby, appropriated, out
of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated,
for testing the capacity and usefulness of the system of
electro magnetic telegraphs invented by Samuel F. B. Morse,
of New York, for the use of the Government of the United
States, by constructing a line of said electro magnetic
telegraphs, under the superintendence of Professor Samuel F.
B. Morse, of such length and between such points as shall
fully test its practicability and utility; and that the same
shall be expended under the direction of the Postmaster
General, upon the application of said Morse.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That the
Postmaster General be, and he is hereby, authorized to pay,
out of the aforesaid thirty thousand dollars, to the said
Samuel F. B. Morse, and the persons employed under him, such
sums of money as he may deem to be a fair compensation for
the services of the said Samuel F. B. Morse and the persons
employed under him, in constructing and in superintending
the construction of the said line of telegraphs authorized
by this bill.
No. 11.
_Letter from Professor Henry to Professor Morse._
PRINCETON COLLEGE, _February 24, 1842_.
MY DEAR SIR: I am pleased to learn that you have
again petitioned Congress in reference to your telegraph,
and I most sincerely hope that you will succeed in
convincing our representatives of the importance of the
invention. In this you may, perhaps, find some difficulty,
since, in the minds of many, the electro magnetic telegraph
is associated with the various chimerical projects
constantly presented to the public, and particularly
with the schemes, so popular a year or two ago, for the
application of electricity as moving power in the arts. I
have asserted, from the first, that all attempts of this
kind are premature, and made without a proper knowledge
of scientific principles. The case is, however, entirely
different in regard to the electro magnetic telegraph.
_Science is now fully ripe for this application_, and I have
not the least doubt, if proper means be afforded, of the
perfect success of the invention.
The idea of transmitting intelligence to a distance by
means of electrical action, has been suggested by various
persons, from the time of Franklin to the present; but
until within the last few years, or since the principal
discoveries in electro magnetism, all attempts to reduce
it to practice were necessarily unsuccessful. The mere
suggestion, however, of a scheme of this kind is a matter
for which little credit can be claimed, since it is one
which would naturally arise in the mind of almost any person
familiar with the phenomena of electricity; but the bringing
it forward at the proper moment when the developments of
science are able to furnish the means of certain success,
and the devising a plan for carrying it into practical
operation, are the grounds of a just claim to scientific
reputation as well as to public patronage.
About the same time with yourself, Professor Wheatstone,
of London, and Dr. Steinheil, of Germany, proposed plans of
the electro magnetic telegraph, but these differ as much
from yours as the nature of the common principle would well
permit; and unless some essential improvements have lately
been made in these European plans, I should prefer the one
invented by yourself.
With my best wishes for your success, I remain, with much
esteem yours, truly,
JOSEPH HENRY.