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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
93
"It
remained
to
engage
the
consent
and
the
activity
of
the
Governments
of
Great
Britain
and
the
United
States.
That
was
all
that
remained.
Such
consent
and
activity
on
the
part
of
some
one
great
nation
of
Europe
was
all
that
remained
needful
for
Columbus
when
he
stood
ready
to
bring
a
new
continent
forward
as
a
theatre
of
the
world's
civilization.
But
in
each
case
that
effort
was
the
most
difficult
of
all.
Cyrus
W.
Field,
by
assiduity
and
patience,
first
secured
consent
and
conditional
engagement
on
the
part
of
Great
Britain,
and
then,
less
than
two
years
ago,
he
repaired
to
Washington.
The
President
and
Secretary
of
State
individually
favored
his
proposition;
but
the
jealousies
of
parties
and
sections
in
Congress
forbade
them
to
lend
it
their
official
sanction
and
patronage.
He
appealed
to
me.
I
drew
the
necessary
bill.
With
the
generous
aid
of
others,
Northern
Representatives,
and
the
indispensable
aid
of
the
late
Thomas
J.
Rusk,
a
Senator
from
Texas,
that
bill,
after
a
severe
contest
and
long
delay,
was
carried
through
the
Senate
of
the
United
States
by
the
majority,
if
I
remember
rightly,
of
one
vote,
and
escaped
defeat
in
the
House
of
Representatives
with
equal
difficulty.
I
have
said
the
aid
of
Mr.
Rusk
was
indispensable.
If
any
one
has
wondered
why
I,
an
extreme
Northern
man,
loved
and
lamented
Thomas
J.
Rusk,
an
equally
extreme
Southern
man,
he
has
here
an
explanation.
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