tTbe Electric fcetesrapb. 07 



line of telegraph from Washington to Balti- 

 more should be indited by her; to which she 

 replied : * Remember, now, I shall hold you to 

 your word.' About a year from that time the 

 line was completed, and, everything being pre- 

 pared, I apprised my young friend of the fact. 

 A note from her inclosed this dispatch : ' What 

 hath God wrought ? ' These were the first 

 words that passed on the first completed line 

 in America." 



The first telegraph-line in America was put 

 into operation in the spring of 1844 at the be- 

 ginning of Folk's administration. I remem- 

 ber as a boy having the two cities, Baltimore 

 and Washington, pointed out to me on the 

 map, and how the story of the telegraph im- 

 pressed me. Congress appropriated $30,000 

 for the construction of the line, and $8000 to 

 keep it running the first year. It was placed 

 under the control of the postmaster-general, 

 and the line was thrown open to the public. 

 The tariff was fixed at one cent for every four 

 words. It was open for business on April 1, 

 1844, and for the first few days the revenue 

 was exceedingly small. On the morning of tho 

 first day a gentleman came in and wanted to 

 "see it work." Tin- operator tol.l him that he 

 would be- glad to show it at the regular tariff 

 of one cent for four words. Tho gentleman 

 grew angry and said that lie was influential 

 with the administration, and that if he did not 



