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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
51
In
December,
1842,
the
inventor
made
another
effort
to
obtain
the
help
of
Congress,
and
the
Committee
on
Commerce
again
recommended
an
appropriation
of
30,000
dollars
in
aid
of
the
telegraph.
Morse
had
come
to
be
regarded
as
a
tiresome
'crank'
by
some
of
the
Congressmen,
and
they
objected
that
if
the
magnetic
telegraph
were
endowed,
mesmerism
or
any
other
'ism'
might
have
a
claim
on
the
Treasury.
The
Bill
passed
the
House
by
a
slender
majority
of
six
votes,
given
orally,
some
of
the
representatives
fearing
that
their
support
of
the
measure
would
alienate
their
constituents.
Its
fate
in
the
Senate
was
even
more
dubious;
and
when
it
came
up
for
consideration
late
one
night
before
the
adjournment,
a
senator,
the
Hon.
Fernando
Wood,
went
to
Morse,
who
watched
in
the
gallery,
and
said,'There
is
no
use
in
your
staying
here.
The
Senate
is
not
in
sympathy
with
your
project.
I
advise
you
to
give
it
up,
return
home,
and
think
no
more
about
it.'
Morse
retired
to
his
rooms,
and
after
paying
his
bill
for
board,
including
his
breakfast
the
next
morning,
he
found
himself
with
only
thirty-seven
cents
and
a
half
in
the
world.
Kneeling
by
his
bed-side
he
opened
his
heart
to
God,
leaving
the
issue
in
His
hands,
and
then,
comforted
in
spirit,
fell
asleep.
While
eating
his
breakfast
next
morning,
Miss
Annie
G.
Ellsworth,
daughter
of
his
friend
the
Hon.
Henry
L.
Ellsworth,
Commissioner
of
Patents,
came
up
with
a
beaming
countenance,
and
holding
out
her
hand,
said--
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