y been in correspondence
with the inventor, and Morse had explained to him at length his belief
that the Government should own the telegraph and control and operate
it for the public good. He believed that the Government should be
sufficiently interested to provide funds for an experimental line a
hundred miles long. In return he was willing to promise the Government
the first rights to purchase the invention at a reasonable price.
Later he changed his request to a line of fifty miles, and estimated
the cost of erection at $26,000.

Smith aided in educating the other members of his committee, and one
day in February of 1838 he secured the attendance of the entire body
at a test of the telegraph over ten miles of wire. The demonstration
convinced them, and many were their expressions of wonder and
amazement. One member remarked, "Time and space are now annihilated."
As a result the committee reported a bill appropriating $30,000 for
the erection of an experimental line between Washington and Baltimore.
Smith's report was most enthusiastic in his praise of the invention.
In fact, the Congressman became so much interested that he sought a
share in the enterprise, and, securing it, resigned from Congress that
he might devote his efforts to securing the passage of the bill and to
acting as legal adviser. At this time the enterprise was divided into
sixteen shares: Morse held nine; Smith, four; Alfred Vail, two; and
Professor Gale, one. We see that Morse was a good enough business man
to retain the control.

Wheatstone and others were developing their telegraphs in Europe, and
Morse felt that it was high time to endeavor to secure foreign patents
on his invention. Accompanied by Smith, he sailed for England in May,
taking with him a new instrument provided by Vail. Arriving in London,
they made application for a patent. They were opposed by Wheatstone
and his associates, and could not secure even a hearing from the
patent authorities. Morse strenuously insisted that his telegraph was
radically different from Wheatstone's, laying especial emphasis on the
fact that his recording instrument printed the message in permanent
form, while Wheatstone's did not. Morse always placed great emphasis
on the recording features of his apparatus, yet these features were
destined to be discarded in America when his telegraph at last came
into use.

With no recourse open to him but an appeal to Parliament, a long and
expensive proceeding w