EZRA CORNELL -1864-1874 311 



But before long he became convinced that this was not 

 the best way. Having studied all the books on electricity 

 that he could find in the Congressional Library, he had 

 satisfied himself that it would be far better and cheaper 

 to string the wires through the open air between poles. 

 This idea the men controlling the scheme for a time re- 

 sisted. Some of them regarded such interference in a 

 scientific matter by one whom they considered a plain 

 working-man as altogether too presuming. But one day 

 Professor Morse came out to decide the matter. Finding 

 Mr. Cornell at his machine, the professor explained the 

 difficulties in the case, especially the danger of shaking the 

 confidence of Congress, and so losing the necessary ap- 

 propriation, should any change in plan be adopted, and 

 then asked him if he could see any way out of the difficulty. 

 Mr. Cornell answered that he could, whereupon Professor 

 Morse expressed a wish that it might be taken. At this 

 Mr. Cornell gave the word to his men, started up the 

 long line of horses dragging the ponderous machine, 

 guided it with his own hands into a boulder lying near, 

 and thus deranged the whole machinery. 



As a natural result it was announced by various jour- 

 nals at the national capital that the machinery for laying 

 the wires had been broken by the carelessness of an em- 

 ployee, but that it would doubtless soon be repaired and 

 the work resumed. Thanks to this stratagem, the neces- 

 sary time was gained without shaking the confidence of 

 Congress, and Mr. Cornell at once began stringing the 

 wires upon poles: the insulation was found far better 

 than in the underground system, and there was no more 

 trouble. 



The confidence of the promoters of the enterprise being 

 thus gained, Mr. Cornell was employed to do their work 

 in all parts of the country ; and his sturdy honesty, energy, 

 and persistence justified their confidence and laid the foun- 

 dations of his fortune. 



Very striking were the accounts of his troubles and 

 trials during the prosecution of this telegraphic work 



