That all these disappointments, added to the necessity for making money in some way for his bare subsistence, should have weighed on the inventor's spirits, is hardly to be wondered at; the wonder is rather that he did not sink under his manifold trials. Far from this, however, he only touches on his needs in the following letter to Alfred Vail, written on November 14, 1839:—
"As to the Telegraph, I have been compelled from necessity to apply myself to those duties which yield immediate pecuniary relief. I feel the pressure as well as others, and, having several pupils at the University, I must attend to them. Nevertheless, I shall hold myself ready in case of need to go to Washington during the next session with it. The one I was constructing is completed except the rotary batteries and the pen-and-ink apparatus, which I shall soon find time to add if required.
"Mr. Smith expects me in Portland, but I have not the means to visit him. The telegraph of Wheatstone is going ahead in England, even with all its complications; so, I presume, is the one of Steinheil in Bavaria. Whether ours is to be adopted depends on the Government or on a company, and the times are not favorable for the formation of a company. Perhaps it is the part of wisdom to let the matter rest and watch for an opportunity when times look better, and which I hope will be soon."
He gives freer vent to his disappointment in a letter to Mr. Smith, of
November 20, 1839:—
"I feel the want of that sum which Congress ought to have appropriated two years ago to enable me to compete with my European rivals. Wheatstone and Steinheil have money for their projects; the former by a company, and the latter by the King of Bavaria. Is there any national feeling with us on the subject? I will not say there is not until after the next session of Congress. But, if there is any cause for national exultation in being not merely first in the invention as to time, but best too, as decided by a foreign tribunal, ought the inventor to be suffered to work with his hands tied? Is it honorable to the nation to boast of its inventors, to contend for the credit of their inventions as national property, and not lift a finger to assist them to perfect that of which they boast?
"But I will not complain for myself. I can bear it, because I made up my mind from the very first for this issue, the common fate of all inventors. But I do not feel so agreeable in seeing those who have interested themselves in it, especially yourself, suffer also. Perhaps I look too much on the unfavorable side. I often thus look, not to discourage others or myself, but to check those too sanguine expectations which, with me, would rise to an inordinate height unless thus reined in and disciplined.
"Shall you not be in New York soon? I wish much to see you and to concoct plans for future operations. I am at present much straitened in means, or I should yet endeavor to see you in Portland; but I must yield to necessity and hope another season to be in different and more prosperous circumstances."
Thus the inventor, who had hoped so much from the energy and business acumen of his own countrymen, found that the conditions at home differed not much from those which he had found so exasperating abroad. Praise in plenty for the beauty and simplicity of his invention, but no money, either public or private, to enable him to put it to a practical test. His associates had left him to battle alone for his interests and theirs. F.O.J. Smith was in Portland, Maine, attending to his own affairs; Professor Gale was in the South filling a professorship; and Alfred Vail was in Philadelphia. No one of them, as far as I can ascertain, was doing anything to help in this critical period of the enterprise which was to benefit them all.
When credit is to be awarded to those who have accomplished something great, many factors must be taken into consideration. Not only must the aspirant for undying fame in the field of invention, for instance, have discovered something new, which, when properly applied, will benefit mankind, but he must prove its practical value to a world constitutionally skeptical, and he must persevere through trials and discouragements of every kind, with a sublime faith in the ultimate success of his efforts, until the fight be won. Otherwise, if he retires beaten from the field of battle, another will snatch up his sword and hew his way to victory.
It must never be forgotten that Morse won his place in the Hall of Fame, not only because of his invention of the simplest and best method of conveying intelligence by electricity, but because he, alone and unaided, carried forward the enterprise when, but for him, it would have been allowed to fail. With no thought of disparaging the others, who can hardly be blamed for their loss of faith, and who were of great assistance to him later on when the battle was nearly won, I feel that it is only just to lay emphasis on this factor in the claim of Morse to greatness.