"the cords that hung John Tawell."
All of this enabled Thomas Home to print up a new edition of his poster. Now the telegraph was described as "an Exhibition
admitted by its numerous visitors to be the most interesting and attractive of any in this great Metropolis. In the list of
visitors are the illustrious names of several of Crowned Heads of Europe, and nearly the whole of the Nobility of England."
Home had evidently devised new ways to demonstrate the speed of the telegraph and made the most of its crime-fighting capabilities:
"Questions proposed by visitors will be asked by means of this apparatus and answers thereto will instantaneously be returned
by a person 20 miles off, who will also, at their request, ring a bell or fire a cannon, in an incredibly short space of time,
after the signal for his so doing so has been given. By its powerful agency murderers have been apprehended, thieves detected,
and lastly, which is of no little importance, the timely assistance of medical aid has been procured in cases which otherwise
would have proved fatal. The great national importance of this wonderful invention is so well known that any further allusion
here to its merits would be quite superfluous." Once again, the telegraph's potential use as a means of sending useful messages
between Slough and London was buried in the small print at the bottom of the poster.
I N THE UNITED STATES, Morse and his associates faced similar apathy. Even though the use of the experimental Washington-Baltimore
telegraph was free, members of the public were quite content just to come and see it, and watch chess games played between
the leading players of each town over the wires. But the telegraph wasn't regarded as being useful in day-today life. "They
would not say a word or stir and didn't care whether they understood or not, only they wanted to say they had seen it," Vail
complained to Morse.
Before long, religious leaders in Baltimore expressed their doubts about the new technology, which was too much like black
magic for their liking, prompting Henry J. Rogers, the Raltimore operator, to warn Vail that "if we continue we will be injured
more than helped." Aware of the importance of keeping public opinion on their side, they decided to call a halt to the frivolous
chess games and restrict use of the line to congressional business.
In June 1844, Morse went back to Congress to press for the extension of the line from Baltimore to New York. He presented
to the House several examples of the benefits of the telegraph. A family in Washington, for instance, had heard a rumor that
one of their relatives in Baltimore had died, and asked Morse to find out if it was true. Within ten minutes they had their
answer: The rumor was false. Another example concerned a Baltimore merchant who telegraphed the Bank of Washington to verify
the creditworthiness of a man who had written him a check. But Congress still adjourned for the summer without making a decision.
In December, Morse appealed to the House again, pointing out that the telegraph would be much more useful with more stations,
and advocating the wiring up of the country's major cities.
Again, he gave examples of the benefits of the Washington-Baltimore line; in a case similar to that of John Tawell, police
in Baltimore had been able to arrest a criminal as he stepped from an arriving train, after his description was telegraphed
to them by the police in Washington. By this stage, the proceedings of Congress were being transmitted for inclusion in the
Baltimore papers, and one or two farsighted businessmen were starting to use the line. But again, nothing happened.
Morse, disheartened by the government's lack of interest, turned to private enterprise. He teamed up with Amos Kendall, a
former politician and journalist, whom he appointed as his agent. Kendall proposed the construction of lines along major commercial
routes radiating out from New
All of this enabled Thomas Home to print up a new edition of his poster. Now the telegraph was described as "an Exhibition
admitted by its numerous visitors to be the most interesting and attractive of any in this great Metropolis. In the list of
visitors are the illustrious names of several of Crowned Heads of Europe, and nearly the whole of the Nobility of England."
Home had evidently devised new ways to demonstrate the speed of the telegraph and made the most of its crime-fighting capabilities:
"Questions proposed by visitors will be asked by means of this apparatus and answers thereto will instantaneously be returned
by a person 20 miles off, who will also, at their request, ring a bell or fire a cannon, in an incredibly short space of time,
after the signal for his so doing so has been given. By its powerful agency murderers have been apprehended, thieves detected,
and lastly, which is of no little importance, the timely assistance of medical aid has been procured in cases which otherwise
would have proved fatal. The great national importance of this wonderful invention is so well known that any further allusion
here to its merits would be quite superfluous." Once again, the telegraph's potential use as a means of sending useful messages
between Slough and London was buried in the small print at the bottom of the poster.
I N THE UNITED STATES, Morse and his associates faced similar apathy. Even though the use of the experimental Washington-Baltimore
telegraph was free, members of the public were quite content just to come and see it, and watch chess games played between
the leading players of each town over the wires. But the telegraph wasn't regarded as being useful in day-today life. "They
would not say a word or stir and didn't care whether they understood or not, only they wanted to say they had seen it," Vail
complained to Morse.
Before long, religious leaders in Baltimore expressed their doubts about the new technology, which was too much like black
magic for their liking, prompting Henry J. Rogers, the Raltimore operator, to warn Vail that "if we continue we will be injured
more than helped." Aware of the importance of keeping public opinion on their side, they decided to call a halt to the frivolous
chess games and restrict use of the line to congressional business.
In June 1844, Morse went back to Congress to press for the extension of the line from Baltimore to New York. He presented
to the House several examples of the benefits of the telegraph. A family in Washington, for instance, had heard a rumor that
one of their relatives in Baltimore had died, and asked Morse to find out if it was true. Within ten minutes they had their
answer: The rumor was false. Another example concerned a Baltimore merchant who telegraphed the Bank of Washington to verify
the creditworthiness of a man who had written him a check. But Congress still adjourned for the summer without making a decision.
In December, Morse appealed to the House again, pointing out that the telegraph would be much more useful with more stations,
and advocating the wiring up of the country's major cities.
Again, he gave examples of the benefits of the Washington-Baltimore line; in a case similar to that of John Tawell, police
in Baltimore had been able to arrest a criminal as he stepped from an arriving train, after his description was telegraphed
to them by the police in Washington. By this stage, the proceedings of Congress were being transmitted for inclusion in the
Baltimore papers, and one or two farsighted businessmen were starting to use the line. But again, nothing happened.
Morse, disheartened by the government's lack of interest, turned to private enterprise. He teamed up with Amos Kendall, a
former politician and journalist, whom he appointed as his agent. Kendall proposed the construction of lines along major commercial
routes radiating out from New
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