EARLY HISTORY OF THE TELEGRAPH. 683 
[In view of the fact that no railroad can now be run safely without the aid of 
the telegraph, the cautious care with which the right to remove it if it should 
become a nuisance was reserved, strikes one at this day as nearly ludicrous.] 
A short pause ensued, and the assent of the company was about to be as- 
sumed, when one of the older directors, famed for the vigilance with which he 
watched even the most trivial measure, begged to be heard. 
He admitted that the rights and interests of the work were all carefully 
guarded by the terms of the resolution, and that the company was not called 
upon to lay out any of its means for the promotion of the scheme. But notwith- 
standing all this, he did not feel, as a conscientious man, that he could, without 
further examination, give his vote for the resolution. He knew that this idea 
of Mr. Morse, however plausible it might appear to theorists and dreamers, and 
so-called men of science, was regarded by all practical people as destined, like 
many other similar projects, to certain failure, and must consequently result in 
loss and possibly ruin to Mr. Morse. For one, he felt conscientiously scrupu- 
lous in giving a vote which would aid or tempt a visionary enthusiast to ruin 
himself. 
Fortunately, the views of this cautious, practical man did not prevail. A 
few words from the mover of the resolution, Mr. Nicholas, who still lives to 
behold the wonders he helped to create, and from Mr. Kennedy, without whose 
aid the appropriation would not have passed the House of Representatives, re- 
lieved the other directors from all fear of contributing to Mr. Morse's ruin, and 
the resolution was adopted. Of the President and thirty directors who took 
part in this transaction, only three, Samuel W. Smith, John Spear Nicholas, 
and the writer survive. Under it Morse at once entered upon that test of his 
invention whose fruits are now enjoyed by the people of all the continents. 
It was not, however, until the spring of 1844 that he had his line and its 
appointments in such a condition as to allow the transmission of messages between 
the two cities, and it was in May of that year that the incident occurred which 
has chiefly led to the writing of this paper. 
MR. latrobe's recollections. 
My. Dear Mr. Poe : — Agreeably to my promise, this morning I put on 
paper my recollection of the introduction of the magnetic telegraph between Bal- 
timore and Washington. I was counsel of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com- 
pany at the time, and calling on Mr. Louis McLane, the President, on some pro- 
fessional matter, was asked in the course of conversation whether I knew any- 
thing about an electric telegraph which the inventor, who had obtained an appro- 
priation from Congress, wanted to lay down on the Washington branch of the 
road. He said he expected Mr. Morse, the inventor, to call on him, when he 
would introduce me to him, and would be glad if I took an opportunity to go 
over the subject with him and afterward let him, Mr. McLane, know what I 
thought about it. While we were yet speaking, Mr. Morse made his appearance, 
