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.Professor Morse.
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.
Professor Morse.
No. 12.Report of the American Institute on the Electro Magnetic Telegraph.New York,September 12, 1842.The undersigned, the committee of arts and sciences of the American Institute, respectfully report:That, by virtue of the power of adding to their numbers, they called to their aid the gentlemen whose names are hereunto annexed, with those of the original members of the committee, and proceeded to examine Professor Morse’s electro magnetic telegraph.Having investigated the scientific principles on which it is founded, inspected the mechanism by which these principles are brought into practical operation, and seen the instruments in use in the transmission and return of various messages, they have come to the conclusion that it is admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is intended, being capable of forming words, numbers, and sentences, nearly as fast as they can be written in ordinary characters, and of transmitting them to great distances with a velocity equal to that of light. They, therefore, beg leave to recommend the telegraph of Professor Morse for such testimonials of the approbation of the American Institute as may in its judgment be due to a most important practical application of high science, brought into successful operation by the exercise of much mechanical skill and ingenuity.All which is respectfully submitted.JAMES RENWICK, LL. D.,Prof. Chem. and Nat. Phil., Columbia Col., N. Y.JOHN W. DRAPER, M. D.,Prof. Chem. and Min., University, city of New York.WILLIAM H. ELLET, M. D.Prof. Chem., &c. Col. of Columbia, S. C.JAMES R. CHILTON, M. D.,Chem., &c., New York.G. C. SCHAEFFER,Associate Prof. Chem., Columbia Col., N. Y.EDWARD CLARK.CHARLES A. LEE, M. D.Extract from the minutes of the Institute:Resolved, That the report be accepted, adopted, and referred to the premium committee, and that the recording secretary be directed to publish the same, at the expense of the Institute.
No. 12.Report of the American Institute on the Electro Magnetic Telegraph.
New York,September 12, 1842.
The undersigned, the committee of arts and sciences of the American Institute, respectfully report:
That, by virtue of the power of adding to their numbers, they called to their aid the gentlemen whose names are hereunto annexed, with those of the original members of the committee, and proceeded to examine Professor Morse’s electro magnetic telegraph.
Having investigated the scientific principles on which it is founded, inspected the mechanism by which these principles are brought into practical operation, and seen the instruments in use in the transmission and return of various messages, they have come to the conclusion that it is admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is intended, being capable of forming words, numbers, and sentences, nearly as fast as they can be written in ordinary characters, and of transmitting them to great distances with a velocity equal to that of light. They, therefore, beg leave to recommend the telegraph of Professor Morse for such testimonials of the approbation of the American Institute as may in its judgment be due to a most important practical application of high science, brought into successful operation by the exercise of much mechanical skill and ingenuity.
All which is respectfully submitted.
JAMES RENWICK, LL. D.,Prof. Chem. and Nat. Phil., Columbia Col., N. Y.
JOHN W. DRAPER, M. D.,Prof. Chem. and Min., University, city of New York.
WILLIAM H. ELLET, M. D.Prof. Chem., &c. Col. of Columbia, S. C.
JAMES R. CHILTON, M. D.,Chem., &c., New York.
G. C. SCHAEFFER,Associate Prof. Chem., Columbia Col., N. Y.
EDWARD CLARK.CHARLES A. LEE, M. D.
Extract from the minutes of the Institute:
Resolved, That the report be accepted, adopted, and referred to the premium committee, and that the recording secretary be directed to publish the same, at the expense of the Institute.
No. 13.Letter from S. F. B. Morse to the Hon. C. G. Ferris.New York,December 6, 1842.Dear Sir: In compliance with your request, I give you a slight history of my electro magnetic telegraph, since it was presented for the consideration of Congress, in the year 1838.During the session of the 25th Congress, a report was made by the Committee on Commerce of the house, which concluded by unanimously submitting a bill appropriating $30,000 for the purpose of testing my system of electro magnetic telegraphs. The pressure of business at the close of that session prevented any action being taken upon it.Before the session closed, I visited England and France, for the double purpose of submitting my invention to the test of European criticism, and to secure to myself some remuneration for my large expenditures of time and money in elaborating my invention. In France, after a patent had been secured in that country, my telegraph first attracted the attention of the Academy of Sciences, and its operation was shown, and its principles were explained, by the celebrated philosopher, Arago, in the session of that distinguished body of learned men, on September 10, 1838. Its reception was of the most enthusiastic character. Several other societies, among which were the Academy of Industry and the Philotechnic Society, appointed committees to examine and report upon the invention, from all which I received votes of thanks, and from the former the large medal of honour. The French Government at this time had its attention drawn to the subject of electric telegraphs, several systems having been presented for its consideration, from England, Germany and France. Through the kind offices of our minister at the French Court, General Cass, my telegraph was also submitted; and the Minister of the Interior (M. Montalivet) appointed a commission, at the head of which was placed M. Alphonse Foy, the administrator-in-chief of the telegraphs of France, with directions to examine and report upon all the various systems which had been presented. The result of this examination (in which the ingenious systems of Professor Wheatstone, of London, of Professor Steinheil, of Munich, and Professor Masson, of Caen, passed in review) was a report to the Minister in favor of mine. In a note addressed to me by M. Foy, who had expressed his warmest admiration of my telegraph in my presence, he 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 (signalé) 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 stated to him that if some trials are to be made with electric telegraphs, I hesitate not to recommend that they should be made with your apparatus.”In England, my application for a patent for my invention was opposed before the Attorney General by Professor Wheatstone and Mr. Davy, each of whom had systems already patented, essentially like each other, butvery different from mine. A patent was denied me by the Attorney General, Sir John Campbell, on a plea which I am confident will not bear a legal examination. But there being no appeal from the Attorney General’s decision, nor remedy, except at enormous expense, I am deprived of all benefit from my invention in England. Other causes than impartial justice evidently operated against me. An interest for my invention, however, sprung up voluntarily, and quite unexpectedly, among the English nobility and gentry in Paris, and, had I possessed the requisite funds to prosecute my rights before the British Parliament, I could scarcely have failed to secure them, so powerfully was I supported by this interest in my favour; and I should be ungrateful did I not take every opportunity to acknowledge the kindness of the several noblemen and gentlemen who volunteered to aid me in obtaining my rights in England, among the foremost of whom were the Earl of Lincoln, the late celebrated Earl of Elgin, and the Hon. Henry Drummond.I returned to the United States in the spring of 1839, under an engagement entered into in Paris with the Russian Counsellor of State, the Baron Alexandre de Meyendorff, to visit St. Petersburg with a distinguished French savant, M. Amyot, for the purpose of establishing my telegraphic system in that country. The contract, formally entered into, was transmitted to St. Petersburg, for the signature of the Emperor, which I was led to believe would be given without a doubt; and, that no time should be lost in my preparations, the contract, duly signed, was to be transmitted to me in in New York, through the Russian ambassador in the United States, in four or five weeks, at farthest, after my arrival home.After waiting, in anxious suspense, for as many months, without any intelligence, I learnedindirectlythat the Emperor, from causes not satisfactorily explained, refused to sign the contract.These disappointments, (not at all affecting the scientific or practical character of my invention,) combined with the financial depression of the country, compelled me to rest a while from further prosecuting my enterprise. For the last two years, however, under many discouraging circumstances, from want of the requisite funds for more thoroughly investigating some of the principles involved in the invention, I have, nevertheless, been able to resolve all the doubts that lingered in my own mind, in regard to the perfect practicability of establishing my telegraphic system to any extent on the globe. I say, “doubts that lingered in my own mind;” the principle, and, indeed, the only one of a scientific character, which at all troubled me, I will state, and the manner in which it has been resolved:At an early stage of my experiments, I found that the magnetic power produced in an electro magnet, by a single galvanic pair, diminishedrapidly as the length of the conductors increased. Ordinary reasoning on this fact would lead to a conclusion fatal to the whole invention, since at a great distance I could not operate at all, or, in order to operate, I should be compelled to make use of a battery of such a size as would render the whole plan in effect impracticable. I was, indeed, aware, that by multiplying the pairs in the battery—that is, increasing the intensity of its propulsive power, certain effects could be produced at great distances, such as the decomposition of water, a visible spark, and the deflection of the magnetic needle. But as magnetic effects, except in the latter case, had not, to my knowledge been made the subject of careful experiment, and as these various effects of electrical action seemed, in some respects, to be obedient to different laws, I did not feel entirely assured that magnetism could be produced by a multiplication of pairs sufficiently powerful at a great distance to effect my purpose. From a series of experiments which I made, in conjunction with Professor Fisher, during the last summer, upon 33 miles of wire, the interesting fact so favorable to my telegraphic system, was fully verified, thatwhile the distance increased in an arithmetical ratio, an addition to the series of galvanic pairs of plates increased the magnetic power in a geometric ratio. Fifty pairs of plates were used as a constant power. Two miles of conductors at a time, from two to thirty-three, were successively added to the distance. The weight upheld by the magnet from the magnetism produced by 50 pairs, gradually diminished up to the distance of 10 miles; after which,the addition of miles of wire up to 33 miles(the extent to which we were able to try it)caused no further visible diminution of power. The weight then sustained was a constant quantity. The practical deduction from these experiments is the fact that with a very small battery all the effects I desire, and at any distance, can be produced. In the experiments alluded to, the fifty pairs did not occupy a space of more than 8 cubic inches, and they comprised but 50 square inches of active surface.The practicability of establishing my telegraphic system is thus relieved from all scientific objections.Let me now turn your attention, sir, one moment to a consideration of the telegraph as a source of revenue. The imperfections of the common systems, particularly their uselessness, on account of the weather, three quarters of the time, have concealed from view so natural a fruit of a perfected telegraphic system. So uncertain are the common telegraphs as to time, and so meager in the quantity of intelligence they can transmit under the most favorable circumstances, that the idea of making them a source of revenue would not be likely to occur. So far, indeed, from being a source of revenue, the systems in common use in Europe are sustained at great expense; an expense which,imperfect as they are, is justified, in the view of the Government, by the great political advantages which they produce. Telegraphs with them are a Government monopoly, and used only for Government purposes. They are in harmony with the genius of those Governments. The people have no advantage from them, except indirectly as the Government is benefitted. Were our mails used solely for the purpose of the Government, and private individuals forbidden to correspond by them, they would furnish a good illustration of the operation of the common European telegraphic systems.The electro magnetic telegraph, I would fain think, is more in consonance with the political institutions under which we live, and is fitted, like the mail system, to diffuse its benefits alike to the Government and to the people at large.As a source ofrevenue, then, to the Government, few, I believe, have seriously computed the great profits to be derived from such a system of telegraphs as I propose; and yet there are sure data already obtained by which they can be demonstrated.The first fact is, that every minute of the 24 hours is available to send intelligence.The second fact is, that 12 signs, at least, can be sent in a minute, instantaneously, as any one may have proof by actual demonstration of the fact on the instrument now operating in the capitol.[15]There can be no doubt that the cases, where such speedy transmission of intelligence from one distant city to another is desirable, are so numerous, that when once the line is made for such transmission, it will be in constant use, and a demand made for a greater number of lines.The paramount convenience, to commercial agents and others, of thus corresponding at a distance, will authorizea rate of postage proportionate to the distance, on the principle of rating postage by the mails.To illustrate the operation of the telegraph in increasing the revenue, let us suppose that but 18 hours of the 24 are efficiently used for the actual purposes of revenue; that 6 hours are allowed for repetitions and other purposes, which is a large allowance. This would give, upon a single circuit, 12,960 signs per day, upon which a rate of postage is to be charged. Intelligence of great extent may be comprised in a few signs. Suppose the following commercial communication is to be transmitted from New York to New Orleans:Yrs., Dec. 21, rec. Buy 25 bales c., at 9, and 300 pork, at 8.Here are 36 signs, which take three minutes in the transmission from New York to New Orleans, and which informs the New York merchant’s correspondent at New Orleans of the receipt of a certain document, andgives him orders to purchase 25 bales of cotton at 9 cents per pound, and 300 barrels of pork at 8 cents per pound. Thus may be completed, in three minutes, a transaction in business which now would take at least four or five weeks to accomplish.Suppose that one cent per sign be charged for the first 100 miles, increasing the charge at the rate of half a cent each additional 100 miles, the postage of the above communication would be $2.88 for a distance of 1,500 miles. It would be sent 100 miles for 36 cents. Would any merchant grudge so small a sum for sending such an amount of information in so short a time to such a distance? If time is money, and to save time is to save money, surely such an immense saving of time is the saving of an immense sum of money. A telegraphic line of a single circuit only, from New York to New Orleans, would realize, then, to the Government,daily, in the correspondence between those two cities alone, overone thousand dollarsgross receipts, or over $300,000 per annum.But it is a well-established fact, that, as facilities of intercourse increase between different parts of the country, the greater is that intercourse. Thousands travel, in this day of rail roads and steamboats, who never thought of leaving their homes before. Establish, then, the means of instantaneous communication between the most distant places, and the telegraphic line of a single circuit will very soon be insufficient to supply the demands of the public—they will require more.Two circuits will of coursedouble the facilities, and double the revenue; but it is an important fact, that the expense of afterwards establishing a second, or any number of circuits, does not proceed on thedoublingprinciple. If a channel for conveying a single circuit be made, in the first instance, of sufficient capacity to contain many more circuits, which can easily be done, additional circuits can be laid as fast as they are called for, at but little more than the cost of the prepared wire. The recent discovery of Professor Fisher and myself, shows that a single wire may be made the common conductor for at least six circuits. How many more we have not yet ascertained. So that, to add another circuit is but to add another wire. Fifty dollars per mile under these circumstances, would therefore add the means of doubling the facilities and the revenue.Between New York and Philadelphia, for example, the whole cost of laying such an additional circuit would be but $5,000, which would be more than defrayed bytwo months’receipts only from the telegraphs between those two cities.There are two modes of establishing the line of conductors.The first and cheapest is doubtless that of erecting spars about 30 feet in height and 350 feet apart, extending the conductors along thetops of the spars. This method has some obvious disadvantages. The expense would be from $350 to 400 per mile.The second method is that of enclosing the conductors in leaden tubes, and laying them in the earth. I have made the following estimate of the cost of this method:Wire, prepared, per mile,$ 150.00Lead pipe, with solderings,250.00Delivery of the pipe and wire,25.00Passing wire into the pipes,5.00Excavations and filling in about 1,000 yards per mile,or 3 feet deep, at 15 cents per square yard,150.00Laying down the pipe,3.00583.00One register, with its machinery, comprising a galvanicbattery of four pairs of my double-cup battery,$ 100.00One battery of 200 pairs,100.00Expense for thirty nine miles,$ 22,837.00Two registers,200.00Two batteries,200.00Services of chief superintendent of construction, per annum,2,000.00Services of three assistants, at $1,500 each, per annum,4,500.00$ 29,637.00As experience alone can determine the best mode of securing the conductors, I should wish the means and opportunity of trying various modes, to such an extent as will demonstrate the best.Before closing my letter, sir, I ought to give you the proofs I possess that the American telegraph has thepriority in the time of its invention.The two European telegraphs in practical operation are Professor Steinheil’s of Munich, and Professor Wheatstone’s of London. The former is adopted by the Bavarian Government; the latter is established about 200 miles in England, under the direction of a company in London. In a highly interesting paper on the subject of telegraphs, translated and inserted in the London Annals of Electricity, March and April, 1839, Professor Steinheil gives a brief sketch of all the various projects of electric telegraphs, from the time of Franklin’s electrical experiments to the present day. Until the birth of the science of electro magnetism, generated by the important discovery of Oersted, in 1820, ofthe action of electric currents upon the magnetic needle, the electric telegraph was but a philosophic toy, complicated and practically useless. Let it be here noticed, that, after this discovery of Oersted, thedeflection of the needlebecame the principle upon which the savants of Europe based all their attempts to construct an electric telegraph. The celebrated Ampère, in the same year of Oersted’s discovery, suggested a plan of telegraphs, to consist of a magnetic needle, and a circuit for each letter of the alphabet and the numerals—making it necessary to have some 60 or 70 wires between the two termini of the telegraphic line.This suggestion of Ampère is doubtless the parent of all the attempts in Europe, both abortive and successful, for constructing an electric telegraph.Under this head may be arranged the Baron Schilling’s at St. Petersburg, consisting of 36 magnetic needles, and upwards of 60 metallic conductors, and invented, it seems, at the same date with my electro magnetic telegraph, in the autumn of 1832. Under the same head comes that of professors Gauss and Weber, of Göttingen, in 1833, who simplified the plan by using but a single needle and a single circuit. Professor Wheatstone’s of London, invented in 1837, comes under the same category; he employs five needles and six conductors. Professor Steinheil’s, also invented in 1837, employs two needles and two conductors.But there was another discovery, in the infancy of the science of electro magnetism, by Ampère and Arago, immediately consequent on that of Oersted, namely: theelectro magnet, which none of the savants of Europe who have planned electric telegraphs ever thought of applying, until within two years past, for the purpose of signals. My telegraph is essentially based on this latter discovery.Supposing my telegraph to be based on the same principle with the European electric telegraphs, which it is not, mine, having been invented in 1832, would still have the precedence, by some months at least, of Gauss and Weber’s, to whom Steinheil gives the credit of being the first to simplify and make practicable the electric telegraph. But when it is considered that all the European telegraphs make use of the deflection of the needle to accomplish their results, and that none use theattractive power of the electro magnet to write in legible characters, I think I can claim, without injustice to others, to be the first inventor of theelectro magnet telegraph.In 1839, I visited London, on my return from France, and through the polite solicitations of the Earl of Lincoln, showed and explained its operation at his house, on the 19th of March, 1839, to a large company which he had expressly invited for the purpose, composed of Lords of the Admiralty, members of the Royal Society, and members of both Houses of Parliament.Professor Wheatstone has announced that he has recently (in 1840)also invented and patented anelectro magnetic telegraph, differing altogether from his invention of 1837, which he calls hismagnetic needle telegraph. His is, therefore, the first European electro magnetic telegraph, and was invented, as is perceived, eight years subsequent to mine, and one year after my telegraphwas exhibited in the public manner described at the Earl of Lincoln’s residence in London.I am the more minute in adducing this evidence of priority of invention to you, sir, since I have frequently been charged by Europeans, in my own country, with merely imitating long known European inventions. It is, therefore due to my own country, as well as to myself, that in this matter the facts should be known.Professor Steinheil’s telegraph is the only European telegraph that professes towritethe intelligence. He records, however, by the delicate touch of the needle in its deflections, with what practical effect I am unable to say; but I should think that it was too delicate and uncertain, especially as compared with the strong and efficient power which may be produced in any degree by the electro magnet.I have devoted many years of my life to this invention, sustained in many disappointments by the belief that it is destined eventually to confer immense benefits upon my country and the world.I am persuaded that whatever facilitates intercourse between the different portions of the human family will have the effect, under guidance of sound moral principles, to promote the best interests of man. I ask of Congress the means of demonstrating its efficiency.I remain, sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant,SAM. F. B. MORSE.Hon.Charles G. Ferris,Member of the House of Representatives from the city of New York and one of the Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the subject of the expediency of adopting a system of electro magnetic telegraphs for the United States.
No. 13.Letter from S. F. B. Morse to the Hon. C. G. Ferris.
New York,December 6, 1842.
Dear Sir: In compliance with your request, I give you a slight history of my electro magnetic telegraph, since it was presented for the consideration of Congress, in the year 1838.
During the session of the 25th Congress, a report was made by the Committee on Commerce of the house, which concluded by unanimously submitting a bill appropriating $30,000 for the purpose of testing my system of electro magnetic telegraphs. The pressure of business at the close of that session prevented any action being taken upon it.
Before the session closed, I visited England and France, for the double purpose of submitting my invention to the test of European criticism, and to secure to myself some remuneration for my large expenditures of time and money in elaborating my invention. In France, after a patent had been secured in that country, my telegraph first attracted the attention of the Academy of Sciences, and its operation was shown, and its principles were explained, by the celebrated philosopher, Arago, in the session of that distinguished body of learned men, on September 10, 1838. Its reception was of the most enthusiastic character. Several other societies, among which were the Academy of Industry and the Philotechnic Society, appointed committees to examine and report upon the invention, from all which I received votes of thanks, and from the former the large medal of honour. The French Government at this time had its attention drawn to the subject of electric telegraphs, several systems having been presented for its consideration, from England, Germany and France. Through the kind offices of our minister at the French Court, General Cass, my telegraph was also submitted; and the Minister of the Interior (M. Montalivet) appointed a commission, at the head of which was placed M. Alphonse Foy, the administrator-in-chief of the telegraphs of France, with directions to examine and report upon all the various systems which had been presented. The result of this examination (in which the ingenious systems of Professor Wheatstone, of London, of Professor Steinheil, of Munich, and Professor Masson, of Caen, passed in review) was a report to the Minister in favor of mine. In a note addressed to me by M. Foy, who had expressed his warmest admiration of my telegraph in my presence, he 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 (signalé) 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 stated to him that if some trials are to be made with electric telegraphs, I hesitate not to recommend that they should be made with your apparatus.”
In England, my application for a patent for my invention was opposed before the Attorney General by Professor Wheatstone and Mr. Davy, each of whom had systems already patented, essentially like each other, butvery different from mine. A patent was denied me by the Attorney General, Sir John Campbell, on a plea which I am confident will not bear a legal examination. But there being no appeal from the Attorney General’s decision, nor remedy, except at enormous expense, I am deprived of all benefit from my invention in England. Other causes than impartial justice evidently operated against me. An interest for my invention, however, sprung up voluntarily, and quite unexpectedly, among the English nobility and gentry in Paris, and, had I possessed the requisite funds to prosecute my rights before the British Parliament, I could scarcely have failed to secure them, so powerfully was I supported by this interest in my favour; and I should be ungrateful did I not take every opportunity to acknowledge the kindness of the several noblemen and gentlemen who volunteered to aid me in obtaining my rights in England, among the foremost of whom were the Earl of Lincoln, the late celebrated Earl of Elgin, and the Hon. Henry Drummond.
I returned to the United States in the spring of 1839, under an engagement entered into in Paris with the Russian Counsellor of State, the Baron Alexandre de Meyendorff, to visit St. Petersburg with a distinguished French savant, M. Amyot, for the purpose of establishing my telegraphic system in that country. The contract, formally entered into, was transmitted to St. Petersburg, for the signature of the Emperor, which I was led to believe would be given without a doubt; and, that no time should be lost in my preparations, the contract, duly signed, was to be transmitted to me in in New York, through the Russian ambassador in the United States, in four or five weeks, at farthest, after my arrival home.
After waiting, in anxious suspense, for as many months, without any intelligence, I learnedindirectlythat the Emperor, from causes not satisfactorily explained, refused to sign the contract.
These disappointments, (not at all affecting the scientific or practical character of my invention,) combined with the financial depression of the country, compelled me to rest a while from further prosecuting my enterprise. For the last two years, however, under many discouraging circumstances, from want of the requisite funds for more thoroughly investigating some of the principles involved in the invention, I have, nevertheless, been able to resolve all the doubts that lingered in my own mind, in regard to the perfect practicability of establishing my telegraphic system to any extent on the globe. I say, “doubts that lingered in my own mind;” the principle, and, indeed, the only one of a scientific character, which at all troubled me, I will state, and the manner in which it has been resolved:
At an early stage of my experiments, I found that the magnetic power produced in an electro magnet, by a single galvanic pair, diminishedrapidly as the length of the conductors increased. Ordinary reasoning on this fact would lead to a conclusion fatal to the whole invention, since at a great distance I could not operate at all, or, in order to operate, I should be compelled to make use of a battery of such a size as would render the whole plan in effect impracticable. I was, indeed, aware, that by multiplying the pairs in the battery—that is, increasing the intensity of its propulsive power, certain effects could be produced at great distances, such as the decomposition of water, a visible spark, and the deflection of the magnetic needle. But as magnetic effects, except in the latter case, had not, to my knowledge been made the subject of careful experiment, and as these various effects of electrical action seemed, in some respects, to be obedient to different laws, I did not feel entirely assured that magnetism could be produced by a multiplication of pairs sufficiently powerful at a great distance to effect my purpose. From a series of experiments which I made, in conjunction with Professor Fisher, during the last summer, upon 33 miles of wire, the interesting fact so favorable to my telegraphic system, was fully verified, thatwhile the distance increased in an arithmetical ratio, an addition to the series of galvanic pairs of plates increased the magnetic power in a geometric ratio. Fifty pairs of plates were used as a constant power. Two miles of conductors at a time, from two to thirty-three, were successively added to the distance. The weight upheld by the magnet from the magnetism produced by 50 pairs, gradually diminished up to the distance of 10 miles; after which,the addition of miles of wire up to 33 miles(the extent to which we were able to try it)caused no further visible diminution of power. The weight then sustained was a constant quantity. The practical deduction from these experiments is the fact that with a very small battery all the effects I desire, and at any distance, can be produced. In the experiments alluded to, the fifty pairs did not occupy a space of more than 8 cubic inches, and they comprised but 50 square inches of active surface.
The practicability of establishing my telegraphic system is thus relieved from all scientific objections.
Let me now turn your attention, sir, one moment to a consideration of the telegraph as a source of revenue. The imperfections of the common systems, particularly their uselessness, on account of the weather, three quarters of the time, have concealed from view so natural a fruit of a perfected telegraphic system. So uncertain are the common telegraphs as to time, and so meager in the quantity of intelligence they can transmit under the most favorable circumstances, that the idea of making them a source of revenue would not be likely to occur. So far, indeed, from being a source of revenue, the systems in common use in Europe are sustained at great expense; an expense which,imperfect as they are, is justified, in the view of the Government, by the great political advantages which they produce. Telegraphs with them are a Government monopoly, and used only for Government purposes. They are in harmony with the genius of those Governments. The people have no advantage from them, except indirectly as the Government is benefitted. Were our mails used solely for the purpose of the Government, and private individuals forbidden to correspond by them, they would furnish a good illustration of the operation of the common European telegraphic systems.
The electro magnetic telegraph, I would fain think, is more in consonance with the political institutions under which we live, and is fitted, like the mail system, to diffuse its benefits alike to the Government and to the people at large.
As a source ofrevenue, then, to the Government, few, I believe, have seriously computed the great profits to be derived from such a system of telegraphs as I propose; and yet there are sure data already obtained by which they can be demonstrated.
The first fact is, that every minute of the 24 hours is available to send intelligence.
The second fact is, that 12 signs, at least, can be sent in a minute, instantaneously, as any one may have proof by actual demonstration of the fact on the instrument now operating in the capitol.[15]
There can be no doubt that the cases, where such speedy transmission of intelligence from one distant city to another is desirable, are so numerous, that when once the line is made for such transmission, it will be in constant use, and a demand made for a greater number of lines.
The paramount convenience, to commercial agents and others, of thus corresponding at a distance, will authorizea rate of postage proportionate to the distance, on the principle of rating postage by the mails.
To illustrate the operation of the telegraph in increasing the revenue, let us suppose that but 18 hours of the 24 are efficiently used for the actual purposes of revenue; that 6 hours are allowed for repetitions and other purposes, which is a large allowance. This would give, upon a single circuit, 12,960 signs per day, upon which a rate of postage is to be charged. Intelligence of great extent may be comprised in a few signs. Suppose the following commercial communication is to be transmitted from New York to New Orleans:
Yrs., Dec. 21, rec. Buy 25 bales c., at 9, and 300 pork, at 8.
Here are 36 signs, which take three minutes in the transmission from New York to New Orleans, and which informs the New York merchant’s correspondent at New Orleans of the receipt of a certain document, andgives him orders to purchase 25 bales of cotton at 9 cents per pound, and 300 barrels of pork at 8 cents per pound. Thus may be completed, in three minutes, a transaction in business which now would take at least four or five weeks to accomplish.
Suppose that one cent per sign be charged for the first 100 miles, increasing the charge at the rate of half a cent each additional 100 miles, the postage of the above communication would be $2.88 for a distance of 1,500 miles. It would be sent 100 miles for 36 cents. Would any merchant grudge so small a sum for sending such an amount of information in so short a time to such a distance? If time is money, and to save time is to save money, surely such an immense saving of time is the saving of an immense sum of money. A telegraphic line of a single circuit only, from New York to New Orleans, would realize, then, to the Government,daily, in the correspondence between those two cities alone, overone thousand dollarsgross receipts, or over $300,000 per annum.
But it is a well-established fact, that, as facilities of intercourse increase between different parts of the country, the greater is that intercourse. Thousands travel, in this day of rail roads and steamboats, who never thought of leaving their homes before. Establish, then, the means of instantaneous communication between the most distant places, and the telegraphic line of a single circuit will very soon be insufficient to supply the demands of the public—they will require more.
Two circuits will of coursedouble the facilities, and double the revenue; but it is an important fact, that the expense of afterwards establishing a second, or any number of circuits, does not proceed on thedoublingprinciple. If a channel for conveying a single circuit be made, in the first instance, of sufficient capacity to contain many more circuits, which can easily be done, additional circuits can be laid as fast as they are called for, at but little more than the cost of the prepared wire. The recent discovery of Professor Fisher and myself, shows that a single wire may be made the common conductor for at least six circuits. How many more we have not yet ascertained. So that, to add another circuit is but to add another wire. Fifty dollars per mile under these circumstances, would therefore add the means of doubling the facilities and the revenue.
Between New York and Philadelphia, for example, the whole cost of laying such an additional circuit would be but $5,000, which would be more than defrayed bytwo months’receipts only from the telegraphs between those two cities.
There are two modes of establishing the line of conductors.
The first and cheapest is doubtless that of erecting spars about 30 feet in height and 350 feet apart, extending the conductors along thetops of the spars. This method has some obvious disadvantages. The expense would be from $350 to 400 per mile.
The second method is that of enclosing the conductors in leaden tubes, and laying them in the earth. I have made the following estimate of the cost of this method:
As experience alone can determine the best mode of securing the conductors, I should wish the means and opportunity of trying various modes, to such an extent as will demonstrate the best.
Before closing my letter, sir, I ought to give you the proofs I possess that the American telegraph has thepriority in the time of its invention.
The two European telegraphs in practical operation are Professor Steinheil’s of Munich, and Professor Wheatstone’s of London. The former is adopted by the Bavarian Government; the latter is established about 200 miles in England, under the direction of a company in London. In a highly interesting paper on the subject of telegraphs, translated and inserted in the London Annals of Electricity, March and April, 1839, Professor Steinheil gives a brief sketch of all the various projects of electric telegraphs, from the time of Franklin’s electrical experiments to the present day. Until the birth of the science of electro magnetism, generated by the important discovery of Oersted, in 1820, ofthe action of electric currents upon the magnetic needle, the electric telegraph was but a philosophic toy, complicated and practically useless. Let it be here noticed, that, after this discovery of Oersted, thedeflection of the needlebecame the principle upon which the savants of Europe based all their attempts to construct an electric telegraph. The celebrated Ampère, in the same year of Oersted’s discovery, suggested a plan of telegraphs, to consist of a magnetic needle, and a circuit for each letter of the alphabet and the numerals—making it necessary to have some 60 or 70 wires between the two termini of the telegraphic line.
This suggestion of Ampère is doubtless the parent of all the attempts in Europe, both abortive and successful, for constructing an electric telegraph.
Under this head may be arranged the Baron Schilling’s at St. Petersburg, consisting of 36 magnetic needles, and upwards of 60 metallic conductors, and invented, it seems, at the same date with my electro magnetic telegraph, in the autumn of 1832. Under the same head comes that of professors Gauss and Weber, of Göttingen, in 1833, who simplified the plan by using but a single needle and a single circuit. Professor Wheatstone’s of London, invented in 1837, comes under the same category; he employs five needles and six conductors. Professor Steinheil’s, also invented in 1837, employs two needles and two conductors.
But there was another discovery, in the infancy of the science of electro magnetism, by Ampère and Arago, immediately consequent on that of Oersted, namely: theelectro magnet, which none of the savants of Europe who have planned electric telegraphs ever thought of applying, until within two years past, for the purpose of signals. My telegraph is essentially based on this latter discovery.
Supposing my telegraph to be based on the same principle with the European electric telegraphs, which it is not, mine, having been invented in 1832, would still have the precedence, by some months at least, of Gauss and Weber’s, to whom Steinheil gives the credit of being the first to simplify and make practicable the electric telegraph. But when it is considered that all the European telegraphs make use of the deflection of the needle to accomplish their results, and that none use theattractive power of the electro magnet to write in legible characters, I think I can claim, without injustice to others, to be the first inventor of theelectro magnet telegraph.
In 1839, I visited London, on my return from France, and through the polite solicitations of the Earl of Lincoln, showed and explained its operation at his house, on the 19th of March, 1839, to a large company which he had expressly invited for the purpose, composed of Lords of the Admiralty, members of the Royal Society, and members of both Houses of Parliament.
Professor Wheatstone has announced that he has recently (in 1840)also invented and patented anelectro magnetic telegraph, differing altogether from his invention of 1837, which he calls hismagnetic needle telegraph. His is, therefore, the first European electro magnetic telegraph, and was invented, as is perceived, eight years subsequent to mine, and one year after my telegraphwas exhibited in the public manner described at the Earl of Lincoln’s residence in London.
I am the more minute in adducing this evidence of priority of invention to you, sir, since I have frequently been charged by Europeans, in my own country, with merely imitating long known European inventions. It is, therefore due to my own country, as well as to myself, that in this matter the facts should be known.
Professor Steinheil’s telegraph is the only European telegraph that professes towritethe intelligence. He records, however, by the delicate touch of the needle in its deflections, with what practical effect I am unable to say; but I should think that it was too delicate and uncertain, especially as compared with the strong and efficient power which may be produced in any degree by the electro magnet.
I have devoted many years of my life to this invention, sustained in many disappointments by the belief that it is destined eventually to confer immense benefits upon my country and the world.
I am persuaded that whatever facilitates intercourse between the different portions of the human family will have the effect, under guidance of sound moral principles, to promote the best interests of man. I ask of Congress the means of demonstrating its efficiency.
I remain, sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant,
SAM. F. B. MORSE.
Hon.Charles G. Ferris,
Member of the House of Representatives from the city of New York and one of the Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the subject of the expediency of adopting a system of electro magnetic telegraphs for the United States.
No. 14.Communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting the Report of Professor Morse, announcing the completion of the Electro Magnetic Telegraph between the cities of Washington and Baltimore. June 6, 1844. Referred to the Committee on Commerce.Treasury Department,June 4, 1844.Sir: I have the honour respectfully to transmit herewith, for information of the House of Representatives,a report, dated the 3d instant, from Professor Sam. F. B. Morse, announcing the completion of the electro magnetic telegraph between Washington and the city of Baltimore, as authorized by the “Act to test the practicability of establishing a system of electro magnetic telegraphs by the United States,” approved the 3d of March, 1843.I beg leave to state, that the perfect practicability of the system has been fully and satisfactorily established by the work already completed.The subject is respectfully submitted to the consideration of Congress for such further directions in the matter as may be deemed expedient.I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,McCLINTOCK YOUNG,Secretary of the Treasury ad interim.Hon.John W. Jones,Speaker of the House of Representatives.
No. 14.
Communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting the Report of Professor Morse, announcing the completion of the Electro Magnetic Telegraph between the cities of Washington and Baltimore. June 6, 1844. Referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Treasury Department,June 4, 1844.
Sir: I have the honour respectfully to transmit herewith, for information of the House of Representatives,a report, dated the 3d instant, from Professor Sam. F. B. Morse, announcing the completion of the electro magnetic telegraph between Washington and the city of Baltimore, as authorized by the “Act to test the practicability of establishing a system of electro magnetic telegraphs by the United States,” approved the 3d of March, 1843.
I beg leave to state, that the perfect practicability of the system has been fully and satisfactorily established by the work already completed.
The subject is respectfully submitted to the consideration of Congress for such further directions in the matter as may be deemed expedient.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
McCLINTOCK YOUNG,Secretary of the Treasury ad interim.
Hon.John W. Jones,Speaker of the House of Representatives.
No. 15.Letter from Professor Morse to Hon. McClintock Young.Washington,June 3, 1844.Sir: I have the honour to report that the experimental essay authorized by the act of Congress on March 3d, 1843, appropriating $30,000 for “testing” my “system of electro magnetic telegraphs, and of such length, and between such points, as shall test itspracticabilityandutility,” has been made between Washington and Baltimore—a distance of forty miles—connecting the capitol in the former city, with the rail road depot in Pratt street, in the latter city.On the first point proposed to be settled by the experiment—to wit, itspracticability—it is scarcely necessary to say (since the public demonstration which has been given of its efficacy, for some days past, during the session of the different conventions in the city of Baltimore) that it is fully proved.Items of intelligence of all kinds have been transmitted back and forth, from the simple sending of names, to the more lengthened details of the proceedings of Congress and the conventions. One fact will, perhaps, be sufficient to illustrate the efficiency and speed with which intelligence can be communicated by the telegraph.In the proceedings of the democratic convention at Baltimore for the nomination of a candidate for President of the United States at the next election, the result of the votes in the nomination of the Hon. J. K. Polk was conveyed from the convention to the telegraphic terminus in Baltimore, transmitted to Washington, announced to the hundredsassembled in front of the terminus at the Capitol, and to both Houses of Congress; the reception of the news at Washington was then transmitted to Baltimore, sent to the convention and circulated among its members—all before the nomination of the successful candidate wasofficially announcedby the presiding officer of the convention.In regard to theutilityof the telegraph, time alone can determine and develop the whole capacity for good of so perfect a system. In the few days of its infancy, it has already casually shown its usefulness in the relief, in various ways, of the anxieties of thousands; and, when such a sure means of relief is available to the public at large, the amount of its usefulness becomes incalculable.An instance or two will best illustrate this quality of the telegraph:A family in Washington was thrown into great distress by a rumor that one of its members had met with a violent death in Baltimore the evening before. Several hours must have elapsed ere their state of suspense could be relieved by the ordinary means of conveyance. A note was despatched to the telegraph rooms at the Capitol, requesting to have inquiry made at Baltimore. The messenger had occasion to wait butten minutes, when the proper inquiry was made at Baltimore, and the answer returned that the rumor was without foundation. Thus was a worthy family relieved immediately from a state of distressing suspense.An inquiry from a person in Baltimore holding the check of a gentleman in Washington, upon the Bank of Washington, was sent by telegraph, to ascertain if the gentleman in question had funds in that bank. A messenger was instantly despatched from the Capitol, who returned in a few minutes with an affirmative answer, which was returned to Baltimore instantly; thus establishing a confidence in a money arrangement, which might have affected unfavorably (for many hours at least) the business transactions of a man in good credit.Other cases might be given; but these are deemed sufficient to illustrate the point of utility, and to suggest to those who will reflect upon them, thousands of cases in the public business, in commercial operations, and in private and social transactions, which establish beyond a doubt the immense advantages of such a speedy mode of conveying intelligence.In the construction of thisfirst line of conductors, it was necessary that experiments should be made to ascertain the best mode of establishing them. The plan I first suggested in my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1837, (see theHouse report, No. 6, April 6, 1838,) of placing my conductors upon posts thirty feet high, and some three hundred feet apart, is, after experiment, proved to be the most eligible. The objection, so strongly urged in the outset, that, bybeing exposed above ground, the conductors were in danger from evil disposed persons, had such weight with me, in the absence of experience on the subject, as early to turn my whole attention to the practicability of placing my conductors in tubes beneath the earth, as the best means of safety. The adoption of this latter mode, for some thirteen miles in England, by the projectors of the English telegraph, confirmed me in the belief that this would be best. I was thus led to contract for lead pipe sufficient to contain my conductors through the whole route. Experience, however, has shown that this mode is attended with disadvantages far outweighing any advantages from its fancied security beneath the ground. If apparently more secure, an injury once sustained is much more difficult of access, and of repair; while upon posts, if injury is sustained, it is at once seen, and can be repaired, ordinarily almost without cost. But the great advantage of the mode on posts over that beneath the ground, is the cheapness of its construction. This will be manifest from the following comparative estimate of the two modes in England and in America:Cost of English Telegraph.In pipe,£287 6s., or $1,275 per mile.On posts,£149 5s., or $662 per mile.Cost of American Telegraph, as estimated in House Report, No. 17,27th Congress, 3d session.In pipe, $583 per mile.On posts, from $350 to $400 per mile.These comparisons also show how much less is the cost of the American telegraph, even at the highest estimate.But these estimates of the cost of construction, largely exceed the actual cost, under the improved modes recently suggested by experiment, and now adopted; and the cost of the line between Baltimore and Washington, already constructed, involves numerous expenditures of an experimental character, which will not be incident to an extension of the line onward to New York, if that shall be deemed desirable.Of the appropriation made, there will remain in the treasury, after the settlement of outstanding accounts, about $3,500, which may be needed for contingent liabilities, and for sustaining the line already constructed, until provision by law shall be made for such an organization of a telegraphic department or bureau as shall enable the telegraph at least to support itself, if not to become a profitable source of revenue to the Government.I will conclude by saying, that I feel grateful for the generousconfidence which Congress has thus far extended toward me and my enterprise; and I will cheerfully afford any further and more detailed information on the subject of the telegraph, when desired, and will be prepared to make and execute any desirable arrangements for the extension of it that Congress shall require.With great respect, your obedient servant,SAM. F. B. MORSE,Superintendent of Electro Magnetic Telegraph.To the Hon.McClintock Young,Secretary of the Treasury ad interim.
No. 15.Letter from Professor Morse to Hon. McClintock Young.
Washington,June 3, 1844.
Sir: I have the honour to report that the experimental essay authorized by the act of Congress on March 3d, 1843, appropriating $30,000 for “testing” my “system of electro magnetic telegraphs, and of such length, and between such points, as shall test itspracticabilityandutility,” has been made between Washington and Baltimore—a distance of forty miles—connecting the capitol in the former city, with the rail road depot in Pratt street, in the latter city.
On the first point proposed to be settled by the experiment—to wit, itspracticability—it is scarcely necessary to say (since the public demonstration which has been given of its efficacy, for some days past, during the session of the different conventions in the city of Baltimore) that it is fully proved.
Items of intelligence of all kinds have been transmitted back and forth, from the simple sending of names, to the more lengthened details of the proceedings of Congress and the conventions. One fact will, perhaps, be sufficient to illustrate the efficiency and speed with which intelligence can be communicated by the telegraph.
In the proceedings of the democratic convention at Baltimore for the nomination of a candidate for President of the United States at the next election, the result of the votes in the nomination of the Hon. J. K. Polk was conveyed from the convention to the telegraphic terminus in Baltimore, transmitted to Washington, announced to the hundredsassembled in front of the terminus at the Capitol, and to both Houses of Congress; the reception of the news at Washington was then transmitted to Baltimore, sent to the convention and circulated among its members—all before the nomination of the successful candidate wasofficially announcedby the presiding officer of the convention.
In regard to theutilityof the telegraph, time alone can determine and develop the whole capacity for good of so perfect a system. In the few days of its infancy, it has already casually shown its usefulness in the relief, in various ways, of the anxieties of thousands; and, when such a sure means of relief is available to the public at large, the amount of its usefulness becomes incalculable.
An instance or two will best illustrate this quality of the telegraph:
A family in Washington was thrown into great distress by a rumor that one of its members had met with a violent death in Baltimore the evening before. Several hours must have elapsed ere their state of suspense could be relieved by the ordinary means of conveyance. A note was despatched to the telegraph rooms at the Capitol, requesting to have inquiry made at Baltimore. The messenger had occasion to wait butten minutes, when the proper inquiry was made at Baltimore, and the answer returned that the rumor was without foundation. Thus was a worthy family relieved immediately from a state of distressing suspense.
An inquiry from a person in Baltimore holding the check of a gentleman in Washington, upon the Bank of Washington, was sent by telegraph, to ascertain if the gentleman in question had funds in that bank. A messenger was instantly despatched from the Capitol, who returned in a few minutes with an affirmative answer, which was returned to Baltimore instantly; thus establishing a confidence in a money arrangement, which might have affected unfavorably (for many hours at least) the business transactions of a man in good credit.
Other cases might be given; but these are deemed sufficient to illustrate the point of utility, and to suggest to those who will reflect upon them, thousands of cases in the public business, in commercial operations, and in private and social transactions, which establish beyond a doubt the immense advantages of such a speedy mode of conveying intelligence.
In the construction of thisfirst line of conductors, it was necessary that experiments should be made to ascertain the best mode of establishing them. The plan I first suggested in my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1837, (see theHouse report, No. 6, April 6, 1838,) of placing my conductors upon posts thirty feet high, and some three hundred feet apart, is, after experiment, proved to be the most eligible. The objection, so strongly urged in the outset, that, bybeing exposed above ground, the conductors were in danger from evil disposed persons, had such weight with me, in the absence of experience on the subject, as early to turn my whole attention to the practicability of placing my conductors in tubes beneath the earth, as the best means of safety. The adoption of this latter mode, for some thirteen miles in England, by the projectors of the English telegraph, confirmed me in the belief that this would be best. I was thus led to contract for lead pipe sufficient to contain my conductors through the whole route. Experience, however, has shown that this mode is attended with disadvantages far outweighing any advantages from its fancied security beneath the ground. If apparently more secure, an injury once sustained is much more difficult of access, and of repair; while upon posts, if injury is sustained, it is at once seen, and can be repaired, ordinarily almost without cost. But the great advantage of the mode on posts over that beneath the ground, is the cheapness of its construction. This will be manifest from the following comparative estimate of the two modes in England and in America:
Cost of English Telegraph.
In pipe,£287 6s., or $1,275 per mile.
On posts,£149 5s., or $662 per mile.
Cost of American Telegraph, as estimated in House Report, No. 17,27th Congress, 3d session.
In pipe, $583 per mile.
On posts, from $350 to $400 per mile.
These comparisons also show how much less is the cost of the American telegraph, even at the highest estimate.
But these estimates of the cost of construction, largely exceed the actual cost, under the improved modes recently suggested by experiment, and now adopted; and the cost of the line between Baltimore and Washington, already constructed, involves numerous expenditures of an experimental character, which will not be incident to an extension of the line onward to New York, if that shall be deemed desirable.
Of the appropriation made, there will remain in the treasury, after the settlement of outstanding accounts, about $3,500, which may be needed for contingent liabilities, and for sustaining the line already constructed, until provision by law shall be made for such an organization of a telegraphic department or bureau as shall enable the telegraph at least to support itself, if not to become a profitable source of revenue to the Government.
I will conclude by saying, that I feel grateful for the generousconfidence which Congress has thus far extended toward me and my enterprise; and I will cheerfully afford any further and more detailed information on the subject of the telegraph, when desired, and will be prepared to make and execute any desirable arrangements for the extension of it that Congress shall require.
With great respect, your obedient servant,
SAM. F. B. MORSE,Superintendent of Electro Magnetic Telegraph.
To the Hon.McClintock Young,Secretary of the Treasury ad interim.
No. 16.Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a letter from Professor Morse, relative to the Magnetic Telegraph, Dec’r 23, 1844.Treasury Department,December 17, 1844.Sir: In compliance with the request made in your letter of this date, in behalf of the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives, for information from this department upon the subject of “Morse’s telegraph,” I have the honour respectfully to transmit herewith a communication from Professor Morse, dated the 12th instant, containing specific information in regard to that work.I have the honour to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,GEO. M. BIBB,Secretary of the Treasury.Hon.Isaac E. Holmes,Chairman of Committee on Commerce,House of Representatives.
No. 16.
Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a letter from Professor Morse, relative to the Magnetic Telegraph, Dec’r 23, 1844.
Treasury Department,December 17, 1844.
Sir: In compliance with the request made in your letter of this date, in behalf of the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives, for information from this department upon the subject of “Morse’s telegraph,” I have the honour respectfully to transmit herewith a communication from Professor Morse, dated the 12th instant, containing specific information in regard to that work.
I have the honour to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
GEO. M. BIBB,Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon.Isaac E. Holmes,Chairman of Committee on Commerce,House of Representatives.
No. 17.Letter from Prof. Morse to the Hon. G. M. Bibb.Washington,December 12, 1844.Sir: I have the honour respectfully to submit some facts in relation to the electro magnetic telegraph, bearing upon the bill now before Congress, reported from the Committee on Commerce of the House, for the extension of the telegraphic line from Baltimore to New York.By a reference to documents in the records of the government, it will appear, that the subject of establishing a system of telegraphs for the use of the United States has been, occasionally, for many years, before Congress; but nothing effective was ever done in relation to the matter, until the Hon. Levi Woodbury, while Secretary of the Treasury, by addressing circular letters to various individuals in the United States, (among which was one to me,) drew forth from me a general description of the advantages of a system of electro magnetic telegraphs which I had invented in 1832, on my passage from France to the United States. For my answer to this circular letter,see No. 2, taken from House report, No. 753, 25th Congress, second session; and I refer to it now, to show that the assertions respecting the practicability and utility of my system have been fully and satisfactorily sustained by the result of the experimental essay, authorized by the government, establishing the line between Washington and Baltimore.That which seemed to many chimerical at the time, is now completely realized. The most sceptical are convinced; and the daily and hourly operations of the telegraph in transmitting information of any kind are so publicly known, and the public feeling in regard to it so universally expressed, that I need here only give a few instances of its action, further to illustrate its character.The facts in relation to the transmission of the proceedings of the democratic convention of Baltimore, in May last are well known, and are alluded to in my report to the department, June 3d, 1844,No. 15. Since the adjournment of Congress in June last, and during the summer and the autumn, the telegraph has been in constant readiness for operation, and there has been time to test many points in relation to it, which needed experience to settle.For more now thaneight months, the conductors for the telegraph, carried on elevated posts for 40 miles, have remained undisturbed from the wantonness or evil disposition of any one. Not a single instance of the kind has occurred. In several instances, indeed, the communication has been interrupted by accidents, but then only for a very brief period. One of these was by the great fire in Pratt street, Baltimore, which destroyed one of the posts, and consequently, temporarily stopped the communication; but in two or three hours the damage was repaired, and the first notice of the accident and all the particulars were transmitted to Washington by the telegraph itself.Another instance of interruption was occasioned by the falling of a tree, which accidently fell across the wires, and at the same time across the rail road track, stopping the cars for a short time, and the telegraphic communication for two hours.Excepting the time excluded by these, and two or three other similar accidental interruptions, and which, during seven months of itseffective existence between the two cities, does not altogether amount to more than 24 hours, the telegraph has been either in operation, or prepared for operation, at any hour of the day or night, irrespective of the state of the weather.It has transmitted intelligence of great importance. During the troubles in Philadelphia the last summer, sealed despatches were sent by express from the Mayor of Philadelphia to the President of the United States. On the arrival of the express at Baltimore, the purport of the despatches transpired; and while the express train was in preparation for Washington, the intelligence was sent to Washington by telegraph, accompanied by an order from the president of the rail road company to prevent the Washington burden train from leaving until the express should arrive. The order was given and complied with. The express had a clear track, and the President and the Cabinet (being in council) had notice both of the fact that an express was on its way with important despatches to them, and also of the nature of those despatches, so that, when the express arrived, the answer was in readiness for the messenger.In October, a deserter from the U.S. ship Pennsylvania, lying at Norfolk, who had defrauded also the purser of the ship of some $600 or $700, was supposed to have gone to Baltimore. The purser called at the telegraph office in Washington, stated his case, and wished to give notice in Baltimore, at the same time offering a reward for the apprehension of the culprit. The name and description of the offender’s person, with the offer of the reward, were sent to Baltimore, and in ten minutes the warrant was in the hands of the officers of justice for his arrest; and in half an hour from the time that the purser profferred his request at Washington, it was announced from Baltimore by the telegraph, “The deserter is arrested; he is in jail; what shall be done with him?”To show the variety of the operations of the telegraph, a game of draughts, and several games of chess, have been played between the cities of Baltimore and Washington, with the same ease as if the players were seated at the same table. To illustrate the independence of the telegraph of the weather, and time of day, I would state that, during the severe storm of the 5th December, when the night was intensely dark, the rain descending in torrents, and the wind blowing a gale, it seemed more than ordinarily mysterious to see a company around a table, in a warm retired chamber, on such a night, in Washington, playing a game of chess with another company similarly situated in Baltimore: the darkness, the rain, and the wind, being no impediment to instantaneous communication.In regard to the quantity of intelligence which may be sent in a given time, it is perfectly safe to say that thirty characters can be transmitted in a minute by a single instrument; and as these charactersare conventional signs, they may mean eithernumbers,letters,words, orsentences. As an illustration of this point, I will state that nearly a whole column (more than seven-eighths) in the Baltimore Patriot was transmitted in thirty minutes—faster than the reporter in Baltimore could transcribe.This fact bears upon the ability of producing a revenue from the telegraph; and I would suggest the propriety of permission being granted by Congress to the department, to adjust a tariff of charges on intelligence sent by telegraph, at such a rate of postage as shall at least return to the treasury the interest of the capital expended in the first construction, and after maintenance of the telegraph.In aid of this view of the subject, I beg to refer to my letter to the chairman of the Committee on Commerce,December 6, 1842, No. 13.Since that was written, experience has shown that that calculation is far below the real results. Instead oftwelve signsin a minute, upon which that computation was based, we must substitutethirty—a column of a newspaper having been transmitted to Baltimore even at the rate ofthirty-fivesigns in a minute. It is, therefore, safe to set down the rate at 30 signs per minute; and it is safe to double the annual receipts, making the gross amount $600,000 per annum.In the absence of experience, the expense necessary to construct and to maintain a system of electro magnetic telegraphs, was thought to be so great as to present a formidable, if not an insurmountable obstacle to its adoption. But the experiment already made for 40 miles, has shown that the electro magnetic telegraph is far from being expensive, either in its first construction, or after maintenance, especially when its vast superiority over the old system is taken into consideration.To make this more clear, I give an abstract both of the expenses and capacities of the ordinary visual telegraphs in some of the European countries.In England, the semaphore telegraph, established between London and Portsmouth, a distance of 72 miles, is maintained by the British government at an average expense of£3,405, or $15,118 per annum. From a return [vol. 30, 1843, accounts and papers of House of Commons] of the number of days during which the telegraph wasnot available, on account of the weather, during a period of three years, it appears that there were, in that time, 323 days in which it was useless, or nearlyone year out of three! But by a return made to the admiralty of the number of hours in the day appointed for working the telegraph, it appears that the hours appointed for the year are—from 1st October to 28th February, from 10 o’clock, a. m., to 3 p. m.; 5 hours. From 1st March to 30th September, from 10 a. m., to 5 p. m.; 7 hours.Average number of hours per day, in the most favourable weather, 6 hours!Deducting 1 year from the 3, for unavailable days, the average time per day for the 3 years would be but 4 hours. So that, for the use of their telegraph for 72 miles, and for only 4 hours in the day, the British government expend $15,118 per annum.The French system of telegraphs is more extensive and perfect than that of any other nation. It consists, at present, of five great lines, extending from the capital to the extreme cities of the kingdom, to wit:The Calais line, from Paris to Calais,152milesThe Strasbourg line, from Paris to Strasbourg,255“The Brest line, from Paris to Brest,325“The Toulon line, from Paris to Toulon,317“The Bayonne line, from Paris to Bayonne,425“1,474miles.Making a total of 1,474 miles of telegraphic intercourse. These telegraphs are maintained by the French government at an annual expense of over 1,000,000 of francs, or $202,000.The whole extent, then, of the French lines of telegraph is 1,474 miles, with 519 stations; and (if the estimate for six stations, at an average cost of 4,400 francs, is a criterion for the rest) erected at a cost of at least $880 each—making a total of $456,720.The electro magnetic telegraph, at the rate proposed in the bill, to wit, $461 per mile, (and which, it should be remembered, will construct notoneline, only, butsix,) could be constructed the same distance for $619,514—not one-third more than the cost of the French telegraphs. Even supposing each line to be only as efficient as the French telegraph, still there would be six times the facilities, for not one-third more cost. But when it is considered that the French telegraph, like the English, is unavailable the greater part of the time, the advantages in favour of the magnetic telegraph become more obvious.An important difference between the two systems is, that the foreign telegraphs are all a burden upon the treasury of their respective countries; while the magnetic telegraph proposes, and is alone capable of sustaining itself and of producing a revenue.Another difference in the two systems is, that the stations in the foreign telegraphs must be within sight of each other: a fact which bears essentially on the cost of maintenance. The French telegraph requires for the distance of 1,474 miles, no less than 519 stations—averagingone for about every three miles. The number ofstations of the magnetic telegraph, on the contrary, is optional. The two stations (one only at Baltimore, and one at Washington) show that they may be at least 40 miles apart; and there is no reason to doubt, from experiments I have made, that 100 miles, or even 500 miles, would give the same results. In the maintenance, therefore, of stations, the magnetic telegraph would require but 15 stations, (assuming that 100 miles is theutmost limitof transmission between two stations which is not probable;) while the French requires 519 for the same distance.When to this are added the facts that the magnetic telegraph is atall times available, atevery hour of the day or night, irrespective of weather; that, in comparison with the visual telegraphs, it communicatesmore than a hundred-foldthe quantity of intelligence in the same time; that it is originally constructed at aless cost, (all things considered;) that it ismaintained for less; and that it is capable, by a rate of charges for transmitting intelligence, not only of defraying all its expenses, but, if desired, of producing a revenue, I may be permitted to hope that when these great advantages are fully understood, my system will receive that attention from the government which its intrinsic public importance demands.I have as yet said nothing on the telegraph as a mighty aid to national defence. Its importance in this respect is so obvious, that I need not dilate. The importance generally to the government and to the country, of aperfecttelegraphic system, can scarcely be estimated by the short distance already established between Baltimore and Washington. But when all that transpires of public interest at New Orleans, at St. Louis, at Pittsburgh, at Cincinnati, at Buffalo, at Utica, at Albany, at Portland, at Portsmouth, at Boston, at New York, at Philadelphia, at Baltimore, at Washington, at Norfolk, at Richmond, at Charleston, at Savannah, and at all desired intermediate points, shall besimultaneouslyknown in each and all these places together—when all the agents of the government, in every part of the country, are in instantaneous communication with head-quarters—when the several departments can at once learn the actual existing condition of their remotest agencies, and transmit at the moment their necessary orders to meet any exigency—then will some estimates be formed both of the powers and advantages of the magnetic telegraph.Should the government be now disposed to possess the right of the proprietors, by giving them a fair consideration, I shall be ready to treat with them on the terms of transfer.For myself, I should prefer that the government should possess the invention, although the pecuniary interests of the proprietors induce them to lean towards arrangements with private companies.In closing this report, I would take the opportunity of favorablymentioning to the department the efficient attention to the duties of their respective stations given by my assistants, Alfred Vail and H. J. Rogers, esqrs.—the former directing the correspondence at the Washington terminus, and the latter at the Baltimore terminus.Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,SAM. F. B. MORSE,Superintendent of Electro Magnetic Telegraphsfor the United States.To the Hon.Geo. M. Bibb,Secretary of the Treasury.
No. 17.Letter from Prof. Morse to the Hon. G. M. Bibb.
Washington,December 12, 1844.
Sir: I have the honour respectfully to submit some facts in relation to the electro magnetic telegraph, bearing upon the bill now before Congress, reported from the Committee on Commerce of the House, for the extension of the telegraphic line from Baltimore to New York.
By a reference to documents in the records of the government, it will appear, that the subject of establishing a system of telegraphs for the use of the United States has been, occasionally, for many years, before Congress; but nothing effective was ever done in relation to the matter, until the Hon. Levi Woodbury, while Secretary of the Treasury, by addressing circular letters to various individuals in the United States, (among which was one to me,) drew forth from me a general description of the advantages of a system of electro magnetic telegraphs which I had invented in 1832, on my passage from France to the United States. For my answer to this circular letter,see No. 2, taken from House report, No. 753, 25th Congress, second session; and I refer to it now, to show that the assertions respecting the practicability and utility of my system have been fully and satisfactorily sustained by the result of the experimental essay, authorized by the government, establishing the line between Washington and Baltimore.
That which seemed to many chimerical at the time, is now completely realized. The most sceptical are convinced; and the daily and hourly operations of the telegraph in transmitting information of any kind are so publicly known, and the public feeling in regard to it so universally expressed, that I need here only give a few instances of its action, further to illustrate its character.
The facts in relation to the transmission of the proceedings of the democratic convention of Baltimore, in May last are well known, and are alluded to in my report to the department, June 3d, 1844,No. 15. Since the adjournment of Congress in June last, and during the summer and the autumn, the telegraph has been in constant readiness for operation, and there has been time to test many points in relation to it, which needed experience to settle.
For more now thaneight months, the conductors for the telegraph, carried on elevated posts for 40 miles, have remained undisturbed from the wantonness or evil disposition of any one. Not a single instance of the kind has occurred. In several instances, indeed, the communication has been interrupted by accidents, but then only for a very brief period. One of these was by the great fire in Pratt street, Baltimore, which destroyed one of the posts, and consequently, temporarily stopped the communication; but in two or three hours the damage was repaired, and the first notice of the accident and all the particulars were transmitted to Washington by the telegraph itself.
Another instance of interruption was occasioned by the falling of a tree, which accidently fell across the wires, and at the same time across the rail road track, stopping the cars for a short time, and the telegraphic communication for two hours.
Excepting the time excluded by these, and two or three other similar accidental interruptions, and which, during seven months of itseffective existence between the two cities, does not altogether amount to more than 24 hours, the telegraph has been either in operation, or prepared for operation, at any hour of the day or night, irrespective of the state of the weather.
It has transmitted intelligence of great importance. During the troubles in Philadelphia the last summer, sealed despatches were sent by express from the Mayor of Philadelphia to the President of the United States. On the arrival of the express at Baltimore, the purport of the despatches transpired; and while the express train was in preparation for Washington, the intelligence was sent to Washington by telegraph, accompanied by an order from the president of the rail road company to prevent the Washington burden train from leaving until the express should arrive. The order was given and complied with. The express had a clear track, and the President and the Cabinet (being in council) had notice both of the fact that an express was on its way with important despatches to them, and also of the nature of those despatches, so that, when the express arrived, the answer was in readiness for the messenger.
In October, a deserter from the U.S. ship Pennsylvania, lying at Norfolk, who had defrauded also the purser of the ship of some $600 or $700, was supposed to have gone to Baltimore. The purser called at the telegraph office in Washington, stated his case, and wished to give notice in Baltimore, at the same time offering a reward for the apprehension of the culprit. The name and description of the offender’s person, with the offer of the reward, were sent to Baltimore, and in ten minutes the warrant was in the hands of the officers of justice for his arrest; and in half an hour from the time that the purser profferred his request at Washington, it was announced from Baltimore by the telegraph, “The deserter is arrested; he is in jail; what shall be done with him?”
To show the variety of the operations of the telegraph, a game of draughts, and several games of chess, have been played between the cities of Baltimore and Washington, with the same ease as if the players were seated at the same table. To illustrate the independence of the telegraph of the weather, and time of day, I would state that, during the severe storm of the 5th December, when the night was intensely dark, the rain descending in torrents, and the wind blowing a gale, it seemed more than ordinarily mysterious to see a company around a table, in a warm retired chamber, on such a night, in Washington, playing a game of chess with another company similarly situated in Baltimore: the darkness, the rain, and the wind, being no impediment to instantaneous communication.
In regard to the quantity of intelligence which may be sent in a given time, it is perfectly safe to say that thirty characters can be transmitted in a minute by a single instrument; and as these charactersare conventional signs, they may mean eithernumbers,letters,words, orsentences. As an illustration of this point, I will state that nearly a whole column (more than seven-eighths) in the Baltimore Patriot was transmitted in thirty minutes—faster than the reporter in Baltimore could transcribe.
This fact bears upon the ability of producing a revenue from the telegraph; and I would suggest the propriety of permission being granted by Congress to the department, to adjust a tariff of charges on intelligence sent by telegraph, at such a rate of postage as shall at least return to the treasury the interest of the capital expended in the first construction, and after maintenance of the telegraph.
In aid of this view of the subject, I beg to refer to my letter to the chairman of the Committee on Commerce,December 6, 1842, No. 13.
Since that was written, experience has shown that that calculation is far below the real results. Instead oftwelve signsin a minute, upon which that computation was based, we must substitutethirty—a column of a newspaper having been transmitted to Baltimore even at the rate ofthirty-fivesigns in a minute. It is, therefore, safe to set down the rate at 30 signs per minute; and it is safe to double the annual receipts, making the gross amount $600,000 per annum.
In the absence of experience, the expense necessary to construct and to maintain a system of electro magnetic telegraphs, was thought to be so great as to present a formidable, if not an insurmountable obstacle to its adoption. But the experiment already made for 40 miles, has shown that the electro magnetic telegraph is far from being expensive, either in its first construction, or after maintenance, especially when its vast superiority over the old system is taken into consideration.
To make this more clear, I give an abstract both of the expenses and capacities of the ordinary visual telegraphs in some of the European countries.
In England, the semaphore telegraph, established between London and Portsmouth, a distance of 72 miles, is maintained by the British government at an average expense of£3,405, or $15,118 per annum. From a return [vol. 30, 1843, accounts and papers of House of Commons] of the number of days during which the telegraph wasnot available, on account of the weather, during a period of three years, it appears that there were, in that time, 323 days in which it was useless, or nearlyone year out of three! But by a return made to the admiralty of the number of hours in the day appointed for working the telegraph, it appears that the hours appointed for the year are—from 1st October to 28th February, from 10 o’clock, a. m., to 3 p. m.; 5 hours. From 1st March to 30th September, from 10 a. m., to 5 p. m.; 7 hours.
Average number of hours per day, in the most favourable weather, 6 hours!
Deducting 1 year from the 3, for unavailable days, the average time per day for the 3 years would be but 4 hours. So that, for the use of their telegraph for 72 miles, and for only 4 hours in the day, the British government expend $15,118 per annum.
The French system of telegraphs is more extensive and perfect than that of any other nation. It consists, at present, of five great lines, extending from the capital to the extreme cities of the kingdom, to wit:
Making a total of 1,474 miles of telegraphic intercourse. These telegraphs are maintained by the French government at an annual expense of over 1,000,000 of francs, or $202,000.
The whole extent, then, of the French lines of telegraph is 1,474 miles, with 519 stations; and (if the estimate for six stations, at an average cost of 4,400 francs, is a criterion for the rest) erected at a cost of at least $880 each—making a total of $456,720.
The electro magnetic telegraph, at the rate proposed in the bill, to wit, $461 per mile, (and which, it should be remembered, will construct notoneline, only, butsix,) could be constructed the same distance for $619,514—not one-third more than the cost of the French telegraphs. Even supposing each line to be only as efficient as the French telegraph, still there would be six times the facilities, for not one-third more cost. But when it is considered that the French telegraph, like the English, is unavailable the greater part of the time, the advantages in favour of the magnetic telegraph become more obvious.
An important difference between the two systems is, that the foreign telegraphs are all a burden upon the treasury of their respective countries; while the magnetic telegraph proposes, and is alone capable of sustaining itself and of producing a revenue.
Another difference in the two systems is, that the stations in the foreign telegraphs must be within sight of each other: a fact which bears essentially on the cost of maintenance. The French telegraph requires for the distance of 1,474 miles, no less than 519 stations—averagingone for about every three miles. The number ofstations of the magnetic telegraph, on the contrary, is optional. The two stations (one only at Baltimore, and one at Washington) show that they may be at least 40 miles apart; and there is no reason to doubt, from experiments I have made, that 100 miles, or even 500 miles, would give the same results. In the maintenance, therefore, of stations, the magnetic telegraph would require but 15 stations, (assuming that 100 miles is theutmost limitof transmission between two stations which is not probable;) while the French requires 519 for the same distance.
When to this are added the facts that the magnetic telegraph is atall times available, atevery hour of the day or night, irrespective of weather; that, in comparison with the visual telegraphs, it communicatesmore than a hundred-foldthe quantity of intelligence in the same time; that it is originally constructed at aless cost, (all things considered;) that it ismaintained for less; and that it is capable, by a rate of charges for transmitting intelligence, not only of defraying all its expenses, but, if desired, of producing a revenue, I may be permitted to hope that when these great advantages are fully understood, my system will receive that attention from the government which its intrinsic public importance demands.
I have as yet said nothing on the telegraph as a mighty aid to national defence. Its importance in this respect is so obvious, that I need not dilate. The importance generally to the government and to the country, of aperfecttelegraphic system, can scarcely be estimated by the short distance already established between Baltimore and Washington. But when all that transpires of public interest at New Orleans, at St. Louis, at Pittsburgh, at Cincinnati, at Buffalo, at Utica, at Albany, at Portland, at Portsmouth, at Boston, at New York, at Philadelphia, at Baltimore, at Washington, at Norfolk, at Richmond, at Charleston, at Savannah, and at all desired intermediate points, shall besimultaneouslyknown in each and all these places together—when all the agents of the government, in every part of the country, are in instantaneous communication with head-quarters—when the several departments can at once learn the actual existing condition of their remotest agencies, and transmit at the moment their necessary orders to meet any exigency—then will some estimates be formed both of the powers and advantages of the magnetic telegraph.
Should the government be now disposed to possess the right of the proprietors, by giving them a fair consideration, I shall be ready to treat with them on the terms of transfer.
For myself, I should prefer that the government should possess the invention, although the pecuniary interests of the proprietors induce them to lean towards arrangements with private companies.
In closing this report, I would take the opportunity of favorablymentioning to the department the efficient attention to the duties of their respective stations given by my assistants, Alfred Vail and H. J. Rogers, esqrs.—the former directing the correspondence at the Washington terminus, and the latter at the Baltimore terminus.
Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,
SAM. F. B. MORSE,Superintendent of Electro Magnetic Telegraphsfor the United States.
To the Hon.Geo. M. Bibb,Secretary of the Treasury.