Ohio History Journal

JEPTHA H. WADE AND THE CLEVELAND AND CINCINNATI

TELEGRAPH COMPANY

by RUSSELL H. ANDERSON

Director, Western Reserve Historical Society

Jeptha H. Wade was the organizer, moving spirit, and princi-

pal owner of the Cleveland and Cincinnati Telegraph Company,

and the story of his activities in building and operating its line

leads into his career in the nation-wide telegraph field, especially

as a principal in the Western Union Telegraph Company. It was

with this Ohio line that Wade, capitalizing upon his earlier ex-

perience as an operator and builder of some of the western lines,

launched out as an organizer and entrepreneur, a career which

led to wealth and fame.

Wade, who had been born in Seneca County, New York, had

tried his hand at various jobs, including that of a portrait painter,

when in 1846, at the age of thirty-seven, he made his first contact

with the telegraph business. In the spring of that year he under-

took the job of building a telegraph line along the Michigan

Central Railroad for J. J. Speed, Jr., with whom he was to work

closely for many years. He built this line, operated the Jackson

office during the winter, and built the line eastward in 1847. He

opened the telegraph office at Milan, Ohio, and remained there

about a year as an operator. He had realized the possibilities of

the telegraph and had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the task

of learning as much as possible about the business, including the

mechanics of telegraphy. He was now ready to start out for him-

self.l

His first move was to buy the patent rights to the Morse tele-

graph system for the proposed line from Cleveland to Cincinnati,

via Columbus. Ezra Cornell, as an agent for F. O. J. Smith, who

was the owner of one-fourth of the Morse patent and agent for the

 

1 J. H. Wade to his grandson Homer, July 1, 1889. Copy in the Wade MSS.

Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Unless otherwise noted, manu-

script documentation will refer to this collection of some five hundred items recently

presented to the Western Reserve Historical Society by the Wade family.

80

• 1
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                        81

 

remainder in the Ohio area, had sold, on April 20, 1849, the rights

for this line to Martin B. Wood of Albion, Michigan, who con-

veyed it on the same day to J. J. Speed, Jr. On April 30 following,

J. H. Wade purchased this contract and proceeded to organize a

company and build a line.² Under this arrangement the patentees

were to receive $10 per mile of line and were in return to assign

the patent rights upon the payment of the full amount. When this

time arrived the patent rights were in a snarl and the assignment

was delayed.

It was agreed that the contract was to be null and void unless

the line was built by January 1, 1850, and that the line so con-

structed was to connect at Cleveland with the Erie and Michigan

Telegraph Company, dominated by Speed, and give all its eastern

business to that line. These provisions caused no difficulty, al-

though the time limit put Wade under necessity of prompt action.

He prepared articles of association and agreement as the basis

of forming a company and raising the necessary capital to supple-

ment his own resources. They provided for a capitalization of

$150 per mile with shares of $50 par value and three trustees, one

to be appointed by Wade and two by the stockholders. The line

was to be built by Wade to given specifications for $150 per mile

and the company was to be organized as soon as it was finished.

Wade was to convey the patent rights to the company at that time.3

Wade naturally sought capital along the route. At Medina he

sold 23 shares; at Wooster, 40 shares; at Ashland, 42 shares; at

Zanesville, 33 shares; at Mansfield, 40 shares; and at Mt. Vernon,

91 shares. Of these 269 shares, 112 were subscribed in lots of one

or two, and the largest block was 23 shares. His sales argument

may be reconstructed from testimony in a suit concerning one

stock subscription. He claimed to have the exclusive right to build

the line and to be well below current costs of construction. He

urged that his connections were good at Cincinnati for southern

and western business and at Cleveland for that with the East. He

 

2 Copy of contract, F. O. J. Smith (by his attorney, Ezra Cornell) and Martin

B. Wood, April 20, 1849; copy of assignment, M. B. Wood to J. J. Speed, Jr., April

20, 1849; copy of assignment, J. J. Speed, Jr., to J. H. Wade April 30, 1849; dep-

osition of Ezra Cornell in the case of Curtis v. Wade, Knox County, Ohio, Court of

Common Pleas, and a memorandum by the defendant.

3 Articles of association for the formation of the Cleveland and Cincinnati

Telegraph Company, 1849.

• 2
 

82      OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

claimed that the stock would be profitable, as evidenced by the

experience of other lines which made him sanguine that the stock

would yield from ten to fifteen percent. So well satisfied was he

that it would pay, that he was putting in his own fortune, and in

some instances he agreed to buy back the stock if the subscriber

became dissatisfied.⁴ It was said that many of the small investors

subscribed in order to secure an office for their town, but that the

larger investors were impressed by the opportunities for profit.

Besides the money secured along the line, Speed and Cornell even-

tually put in some $15,000 and Wade an indeterminate amount.⁵

Since the contract regarding the patent rights called for the

completion of the line by January 1, 1850, Wade was forced to

push the work as rapidly as the fund raising allowed. Poles, of

what was termed "local timber," were secured along the route,

wire was bought and shipped, and the work of erection went for-

ward. There were to be thirty poles to the mile and the one iron

wire was to be not less than number eleven. Some heavier wire was

used at the contractor's expense. So well did the work go that in

July 1849 the Mt. Vernon office of the line was opened.⁶ Rather

than parallel an existing short line, Wade chose to buy the Newark-

Hebron line of nine miles, with the condition that the Cleveland

and Cincinnati company would maintain an office at Hebron.⁷

On September 17 J. J. Speed, Jr., who controlled the Michigan

and Erie line through Cleveland to the east, agreed that if Wade's

subscribers would authorize a second wire from Cincinnati to

Cleveland "so as to write from Cincinnati to New York without

rewriting," Wade might have the use of Speed's latest improve-

ments including a new relay. On September 20 Wade and Speed

signed an agreement to the effect that Wade should obtain all the

Account of stock subscriptions, appended to manuscript articles of association,

1849; articles of agreement, J. H. Wade and George Browning, December 9, 1849;

depositions of J. C. Ramsey, Ezra Cornell. George Browning, H. P. Warden. and

Charles C. Lee in the case of Curtis v. Wade. Cornell bore out the claim of low

construction costs by testifying that the cost of the Cleveland and Cincinnati line

had been from one-half to three-fourths that of other lines with which he had been

connected; that the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville line had cost the stock-

holders $300 per mile; and that the Buffalo-Milwaukee line had cost $250. He added

that at the time the Cleveland and Cincinnati line was built no telegraph line was

paying less than seven percent, several were yielding ten to twelve percent, and one

in which Cornell had stock had earned more than twenty percent. As evidence

of his regard for western lines he testified that he had invested $50,000 in them.

See also articles of agreement, J. H. Wade and Newell Fleming, April 15, 1851.

Depositions of Anthony P. Pritchard and E. S. S. Rouse, Curtis v. Wade;

articles of agreement, J. J. Speed, Jr., and J. H. Wade, March 8, 1851.

Deposition of Anthony P. Pritchard, loc. cit.

7 Sales agreement, Hebron, Ohio, September 15, 1849.

• 3
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                         83

funds he could to build the line and assign to Speed three-fourths

of any profits of construction.⁸ Whether this was in return for the

use of Speed's improvements and the extra convenience of a

through wire to New York or for other considerations is not clear.

Wade had continued construction, apparently in the firm be-

lief that he had the complete right to use Morse's invention on the

line. But on September 20, the day of his agreement with Speed,

he wrote to Amos Kendall, agent for the patentees other than Smith,

stating that he then understood that he did not have patent rights

south of the O'Rielly line, without Kendall's consent. Inasmuch as

he had agreed to pay Smith for rights over the whole line, he asked

Kendall's permission to use the system between Columbus and

Cincinnati. The O'Rielly line was that of the telegraph line from

Pittsburgh through Cincinnati, via Zanesville and Columbus, for

which rights had been granted under date of June 13, 1845. This

contract was not exclusive, but permissive lines might not join

towns connected by O'Rielly lines. The crux of the matter lay in

the arrangement with F. O. J. Smith relative to his rights to dis-

pose of patent rights in the Ohio area, and this was to remain in

dispute for some time to come.⁹

Thereupon followed an exchange of correspondence between

the two men. Kendall's reply was at the same time reassuring and

yet disturbing. He evinced a friendly spirit and said he did not

wish to obstruct Wade's enterprise but to make it safe for him to

proceed. At the same time he stressed his claim that Wade's pur-

chase of patent rights covering that portion of the line from Co-

lumbus to Cincinnati was void without his concurrence and asked

for more information regarding the transaction. He contended that

no one else was privileged to sell rights for any portion of the line.

Then in keeping with the maze of contradictions which seemed to

be omnipresent he continued, "If, however, the sale north of Co.

lumbus has been made in accordance with existing arrangements

among the Patentees I am bound to make the needful conveyances

when the payments are completed and as to the line south of Co-

8 J. J. Speed, Jr., to J. H. Wade, September 17, 1849; articles of agreement,

J. J. Speed, Jr., and J. H. Wade, September 20, 1849.

9 J. H. Wade to Amos Kendall, September 20, 1849; the O'Rielly contract in

Deduction of Henry O'Rielly's Title to the Use of Morse's Patents in Certain Regions

and in Robert L. Thompson, Wiring a Continent, a History of the Telegraph Industry

in the United States, 1832-1866 (Princeton, 1947), Appendix 3.

• 4
 

84     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

lumbus I shall ratify any reasonable terms which may have been

agreed on not inconsistent with other arrangements and not in-

compatible with the interests I represent." When he did not receive

a prompt reply to this letter, which was misdirected, Kendall wrote

again warning him to desist until the matter was settled and

threatening to advertise against Wade's claims and company.10

Wade attempted to satisfy Kendall, explaining that he had

made his contract through Ezra Cornell, attorney for Smith; that

the price agreed upon was $10 per mile to be paid pro rata as the

money was collected; that he had paid Smith $300 and expected to

send $600 or $800 in a few days; and that no one else was inter-

ested in the purchase of the patent rights. He related that he had

taken subscriptions north of Columbus but not south and that he

was furnishing the balance of the money. (It is not clear what

financial interest Cornell and Speed had in the line at the moment.)

Speed had informed him that he must ask Kendall's consent, and

Cornell had confirmed this (although the latter had apparently

not thought it necessary to make the matter clear at the time the

original contract was made). He explained that had he known in

advance of the arrangements among the patentees it would have

suited him quite as well to have run the line through Springfield

and Dayton and that, to avoid conflict, he would build it there

even yet. The only places between Columbus and Cincinnati where

he would like to open offices were Washington and Wilmington,

both small towns. He put to Kendall the proposition of whether

he should pay him the $10 per mile, pass through these towns

without opening offices, or change the line to pass through Dayton

and Springfield and thus keep on territory which he understood

Smith had the right to sell.11

This reply satisfied Kendall regarding Wade's intentions of

fair dealing, but he countered with conditions and with comments

which reflected the ill feeling then so common among the men in

the telegraph field. He was willing to accept the payments for

patent rights south of Columbus, but he warned that this line was

not to interfere with the lines from Baltimore and Washington to

the West, in handling eastern business. He asserted that Smith

 

10 Amos Kendall to J. H. Wade, September 25, November 30, 1849.

11 J. H. Wade to Amos Kendall, November 30, 1849.

• 5
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                       85

 

and his associates had made the New York and Erie a main line

in violation of contract, and he voiced a strong suspicion that

Cornell had held out the through business to New York as an in-

ducement for undertaking the Cleveland and Cincinnati line. He

further contended that Smith could not sell patent rights even north

of Columbus without his concurrence and claimed that the rights

were the same regardless of whether Wade crossed the O'Rielly

line.¹² It was a confusing picture from Wade's point of view.

In the meantime the latter had used his own resources and

those of those whom he had induced to join him and was nearing

completion of construction. He read into Kendall's letter permis-

sion to cross the O'Rielly line and sought to assure him that all

was well regarding Cornell and Speed. He revealed that previous

to his acquisition of the patent right, two agents had been over the

route and had reported that money for the construction could not

be raised there. Being aware of this situation and yet having faith

in the venture, he had proposed to Cornell and Speed that if they

would give him business from their line and handle his to New

York he would undertake to build the line, with the proviso that

they would assist with the construction if he ran into difficulty.

He explained that unless he could raise money south of Columbus

he would be compelled to fall back upon them for funds. This

still did not satisfy Kendall, who declined to sanction the contract

on the ground that Smith had no right to make it, and thus the

matter was left for further contention after the line was completed.¹3

As it neared completion the prospects apparently seemed good

to the subscribers, who on October 29, 1849, authorized a second

wire as provided in the articles of association. This was to be

built complete at a cost of $100 per mile. No debt was to be

incurred by the company, the subscribers' liability was not to be

increased, and Wade was to take stock in the company to pay for

the cost of the second wire.14 Although the dispute with Kendall

had not been settled, Wade was pushing construction to the south.

12Amos Kendall to J. H. Wade, December 4, 1849. Kendall's relations with

Speed and Cornell are indicated in his letter of December 11, 1849, asking what

interest these men had in the line which enabled them to advertise it as one of

"Cornell and Speed's Telegraph Lines."

13 J. H. Wade to Amos Kendall, December 17, 1849; Kendall to Wade, De-

cember 22, 1849.

14 Authorization of second wire on Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Tele-

graph Line, October 29, 1849.

• 6
 

86     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

On October 18 some eight tons of wire were shipped to Portsmouth

for Wade and he was asked for shipping instructions for a ship-

ment of over nine tons which went forward to Cincinnati in

November.¹⁵

The entire line was in operation by January 1, 1850, as con-

tracted, and arrangements were made for the formation of the

company at Cleveland on June 20 following. The spirit of expan-

sion was already being felt, and on April 20 Wade, on behalf of

the Cleveland and Cincinnati Telegraph Company, had bought the

stock in the line from Zanesville to Mt. Vernon at seventy-five

cents on the dollar and made this a part of the system.¹⁶

But even before the company was formally organized Wade

ran into trouble. Correspondence among the early telegraph men

indicates a great lack of information about insulation and varying

opinions of the best methods to be used on a telegraph line. Instead

of the now familiar glass, Wade was led to adopt a sulphur cap

insulator which soon proved defective. A correspondent in Detroit

wrote as early as March 1850, that he had been surprised to hear

of the "pull back" which Wade's line had suffered since its com-

pletion, due, as he understood, to faulty insulation. He continued,

"As you say, when tried on a large scale, theories are of little

practical benefit. I have always had my doubts of the insulating

property of sulphur but those who 'know' say it is as good as

glass." Wade, at his own expense, replaced these defective sulphur

insulators with glass, as other builders were doing.¹⁷

The organization of the company was completed on June 20,

1850, at which time the line was in complete operation. It was

reported that there were outstanding 969 shares with a par value

of $48,450 (i. e., $150 per mile for the 323 miles of the line). Of

the 943 shares voted at the election, J. J. Speed, Jr., represented

200 shares (his and Cornell's) and Wade 296 (for self and proxy).

Officers elected were J. H. Wade, president and treasurer, George

Browning, secretary, and J. J. Speed, Jr., C. Delano, J. P. Regnor,

A. Wade, A. P. Pritchard, A. J. Smith, J. W. Russell, and K. Porter,

directors.

15 Joshua Bodley & Co., Wheeling, to J. H. Wade, October 18, November 2, 1849.

l6 Deposition, Charles C. Lee, Curtis v. Wade; copy of agreement with N. H.

Seymour, April 20. 1850.

17 J. Haviland to J. H. Wade, March 20, 1850; deposition, Charles C. Lee,

loc. cit.

• 7
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                          87

The trustees reported that Wade had not made conveyance of

patent rights as provided, due to a controversy among the patentees

as to who had the right to make the assignment. They presented a

bond signed by J. H. Wade and J. J. Speed, Jr., guaranteeing the

company against loss from the delay. The second wire had not

been installed due to Wade's misfortune in adopting poor insulators,

but it was reported that a large part of the wire had been pur-

chased and it was expected that it would be in operation soon. A

committee was appointed to examine the books and accounts of

the contractor. At a meeting on December 10 they reported lack

of time for a satisfactory examination. At an adjourned meeting

on December 12 it was reported "that although the receipts had

considerably exceeded the expenses for the past six months, yet

the conditions of the finances would not justify a dividend to the

stockholders of the company at the January meeting." Another

committee appointed at this time reported at the Mt. Vernon meet-

ing on January 7, 1851, that they could not test the legitimacy of

the expenses beyond the statement and the examination of the

contractor, J. H. Wade, but, relying upon these they found the

accounts in good order. The examination of the report of the super-

intendent, Wade, showed "a remarkable agreement in amount there

being only some 15 cents variation," which was easily explained

and allowed. The committee recommended that both accounts be

closed to that date and that the amount of $168.04 be carried

forward.¹⁸

On December 10, 1850, Wade had made a proposition to the

directors that he build a second line from Cleveland to Cincinnati

along the railroad lines at a cost of $150 per mile for one wire,

instruments, and other expenses. He proposed that when the line

was completed he should be paid in stock which would be consoli-

dated with that of the company, making it the owner of both lines

and increasing the stock by the amount of the cost of the second

line. "The acceptance of this proposition is to release me from

 

18The minutes of the organization meeting, others in 1850, and that of January

7, 1851, were never published, and we use the deposition of Charles C. Lee, who,

as secretary of the company at the time of the suit of Curtis v. Wade, read into the

record the data from the manuscript minutes of these meetings. The company was in-

corporated by an act of the general assembly of Ohio on January 16, 1851. See also

Proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland and Cincinnati Telegraph

Company, July 1851. On September 15, 1857, Jeptha Wade granted to the com-

pany the patent rights in question, but the document of conveyance makes no mention

of specific conveyance from the patentees to him. Patent deed from J. H. Wade.

• 8
 

88     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

any obligation to put another wire on your present line," Wade

wrote. This proposal was accepted by the board of directors at

that time and by the stockholders at Mt. Vernon on July 23, 1851.

In his superintendent's report on that occasion Wade explained the

lack of money on hand (less than $1,000 for eighteen months'

operation with a capitalization of $48,500) as being due in part

to the difficulty with the insulators. These had been replaced at

his expense, but the resulting poor service in the meantime had cut

revenues. He assured the stockholders that "the line is well organ-

ized, working well and enjoying as good a reputation as any of

its length." He explained that they had done little except local

business; that "the advantages we have anticipated for doing

through business, has thus far been realized only to a very limited

extent, a part of which may be attributed to the want of our new

line, but mostly to the unfinished condition and imperfect working

of the lines with which we connect." The Cincinnati-St. Louis line

was yet unfinished and the other lines had made the same mistake

about insulators. The extra wire from Cleveland to New York

had not worked, and his company got little eastern business from

Columbus and Cincinnati. He made no mention of the competition

of "Kendall's" lines and the difficulty over the rights to participate

in eastern business. He claimed that the operation so far had borne

out his estimates that the local business would pay all expenses and

keep the line in repair, leaving through business to yield their

profit. Perhaps the necessity of suitable working arrangements for

through business may have turned his mind already to the idea of

consolidation. He had begun the expansion within his own territory

by leasing the Zanesville, Wheeling, and Cleveland line for four

years and starting repairs and reorganization there.19

When Wade made his report to the stockholders at the annual

meeting on July 28, 1852, the form of things to come was even

more clearly indicated. He reminded the stockholders that the

capitalization was fixed at a rate sufficient to build with only the

common timber of the country and contended that had allowance

been made for using cedar or locust posts and for outfitting the

offices from capital rather than from current income they could

have "made handsome dividends from the start."

 

19 Ibid.

• 9
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                           89

 

The accumulated balance had grown to $2,687.90 (for two and

a half years' operation), but the capital stock was now $89,100 due

to the consolidation of the stock covering the line built along the

railroad. He reported that he had built a line along the railroad

from Mansfield to Sandusky to prevent a rival line from being

established. He recommended that this line be consolidated with

that of the company, but the stockholders took no action.

During the preceding year a rival line had been built between

Cleveland and Cincinnati which had increased the company's ex-

penses and decreased its revenues as compared with what had been

anticipated under monopoly conditions. Wade considered the com-

pany's position more favorable than that of its rival, having lower

capitalization and better contributing towns, but looked forward

to a consolidation of the lines to their mutual advantage. Negotia-

tions had been instituted with other companies, but no arrange-

ments had been made.

Wade made this the occasion to urge upon his company the

desirability of general consolidation of lines.

In view of the importance of a general consolidation, and thereby re-

ducing our expenses, increasing business, and stopping the rivalry that is now

eating up nearly all our profits, and running many of the lines in debt, I

would recommed that the Stockholders invest the Directors with authority to

confer with other Companies and make such consolidations and business ar-

rangements, as they may think for the best interest of this Company.

Among the men engaged in the Telegraph business, whose opinions I

have been able to get, there seems to be but one mind, as to the propriety of

consolidating the lines. All are of the opinion, that it is the only way to

make the lines generally profitable. Experience proves, that as we are now

working, a few of the lines, that have a strong hold upon the local business,

and have such connections, as to give them a large share of reliable through

business, will pay, with the present local organizations, and notwithstanding

the competition; but a majority of them will barely pay expenses, and a few

of them cannot be sustained at all.... The rapid increase of business has

caused the extension of lines over a vast territory, and the circumstances

controlling their organizations, have rendered them local in their operation,

and disjointed in action-some working under one system, some under an-

other, and some comparatively without a system....

If all the prominent lines were consolidated in one Company, it would

add much to the reliability of the system, and consequently to the amount of

business to be done .... Business being better done, with less delay, fewer

mistakes, and at less than half the expense, it would soon double, even quad-

• 10
 

90      OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

ruple in amount. The public would be better served, stockholders better paid,

and the Telegraph made to answer in every respect more perfectly the

purpose for which it was designed.

A few of the lines are paying better profits than ours [it had yet de-

dared no dividends] while a large majority of them are not doing as well;

and as the time is evidently approaching, when something will be done to

put the lines generally in a better position for making money, I would

recommend that our principal effort be to keep our lines in the most perfect

order, preserve our reputation, and hold ourselves in readiness for any negotia-

tions as may be for the good of our Company....

As we are evidently on the eve of a revolution in the business, that

must materially benefit those Companies that are taken into the consolidation

or favorable terms, and leave others in a worse position than they now are,

it seems to me to be very important that we take the course that shall put us

in the best possible position to negotiate with the other lines.

The recommendation was approved and the stage set for the

consolidations which were to come.²⁰

In accordance with Wade's recommendations the company pro-

ceeded to put its lines in order, passing up dividends to use the

money for reconstruction and generally preparing for the consoli-

dation which was in ferment on all side. O'Rielly was still main-

taining his claims to control patent rights north and west of the

Ohio River, but in 1853 he replied favorably to Wade's suggestion

that he consider consolidation "about which we have talked so

long." Continuing, O'Rielly wrote:

The sooner the day for a meeting can be fixed for this important purpose

the better. It is the most business any of us will probably have to do in this

life. ... A movement so important needs us all to be present-that we may

have the wisdom and cordial concurrence of all. It is the most important

business agreement I expect to make in life & I want to feel that we all

think and feel alike in carrying out the great project. ... I tried in 1848

to bring together the Morse, House & Bain interests in the same regions....

How bitterly they now all regret not having done what I tried to bring about

then.

He asked Wade to arrange with Speed and Cornell for a meeting.²1

At the meeting of the stockholders at Cleveland in January

1853 it was unanimously approved that "the Board of Directors

be, and are hereby authorized, empowered and requested, if they

shall deem it expedient, and for the permanent interest of the com-

20 Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Cleveland

and Cincinnati Telegraph Company, June 28, 1852.

21 Advertisement in Daily State Sentinel (Indianapolis), December 4, 1852; Henry

O'Rielly to J. H. Wade, May 13, 1853.

• 11
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                           91

 

pany to do so, to unite with any and all other Telegraph companies,

in working their lines, by that which shall be equivalent to a con-

solidation of the stocks of the several companies so uniting-by

amalgamating franchises, lines, and assetts [sic]-by leasing and

renting-by contract, or in any other way, for short or long time,

as the said Directors may deem best."²²

Kendall, representing the patentees other than Smith, was con-

tacted. He wrote to Wade that June 13, 1853, was agreeable for a

meeting with Speed, Cornell, and Wade in New York, adding, "I

heartily concur with you in the hope that we may accomplish

something for the common good." In November he was certain

that more lines had been built in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois than

could be maintained with profit to their owners. He continued:

Most of them, however, will probably be kept up for the convenience of

the towns supplied by them, even though it may be to some extent a losing

business. But it is no part of our duty, and certainly not our policy, to apply

the proceeds of productive lines to keep up the unproductive lines for the

convenience of the public. Our object is to obtain from the public some

remuneration for the property, materials and time which we dedicate to its

service. . . . The Cleveland & Cincinnati Line may be maintained as it is

unless there are unproductive stations on the Old Line which can be avoided

by transferring the wire to the Railroad. It is even a subject worthy of con-

sideration whether portions of that line cannot be shortened or dispensed

with advantageously ... to the company. ... I see no objection to consoli-

dating the Pittsburg and St. Louis with the Cleveland and Cincinnati Line

under one company and with one stock.23

It may be of interest, in considering the stockholders' desires

for consolidation, to cite the profits reported from the beginning to

the end of 1853. No dividends had been declared and it is difficult

if not impossible to determine how much of what had been spent in

improving the line might have been disbursed as dividends. At a

meeting in January 1854 it was reported that there were on hand

cash and other assets totaling about $5,600. This represented the

returns, other than an improved physical system, for a period of

four years on a capitalization which had ranged from      $48,450 to

$89,100. It is little wonder that the prospect of improving their

investment through consolidation held attractions for them.

 

22 Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Cleveland

and Cincinnati Telegraph Company, 1853.

23 Amos Kendall to J. H. Wade, June 2, November 14, 1853.

• 12
 

92      OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

The company continued its policy of rebuilding, rearranging,

and improving its lines. It followed the trend which had become

pronounced of placing telegraph lines along railroads. For ex-

ample, instead of replacing the poles (only four years old) along

a portion of the line from Columbus to Cincinnati, Wade made an

arrangement whereby the line was moved from a mud road to the

Cincinnati, Wilmington and Zanesville Railroad from Morrow to

Zanesville, for which the railroad company was to pay $6,500. He

recommended another such move

if a suitable contract can be made with the Central of Ohio Railroad

Company and in anticipation of that I have done no more on that portion

than was necessary to keep the line in working order through the season....

From Wooster to Seville, there being no probability of a chance to get it on

a railroad, I have had that portion of the line permanently rebuilt. From

Seville to Cleveland I have done no more than is necessary to keep the line in

working order, hoping to be able to make an arrangement and get it removed

to the Railroad, at their expense, when that road is completed.... My policy

has been to rebuild permanently as fast as the state of our funds would

permit, such portions as could not be got advantageously on to Railroads.

But where there was a probability of getting on to Railroads, to expend no

more money than was absolutely necessary to keep the line at work, as the

posts, whether they be good or poor, would mostly be abandoned when the

line is removed.

He urged strongly the importance of putting the line on the

railroads and of rebuilding the other lines with good timber-since

they had learned what was best-and of removing the bark from

the poles. He regretted the lack of "more dividends" (there had

been none), but as the largest stockholder he was not discouraged.

He thought it might "soon become a good paying stock." It was at

this time that Wade retired from the presidency of the company.

He continued as superintendent at the same salary he had previously

received for both offices, $800 per year.²⁴

The consolidation plans had not developed in the way which

had been hoped, but progress was being made. On April 29, 1854,

Wade and Speed made an elaborate agreement with the New York

and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, which was to

emerge as the leader in the consolidation in the West. In part they

agreed to transfer to this company all their stock in the Cleveland

 

24 Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Cleveland

and Cincinnati Telegraph Company, 1854.

• 13
 

JEPTHA H. WADE                                93

and Cincinnati Telegraph Company, "being about $22,500: whole

capital $89,100." This stock to the amount of 429 shares at $50

each, or $21,450 was transferred on May 20. Further the New York

and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company agreed to

lease the line of the Cleveland and Cincinnati Telegraph Company

for $4,500 annually. This lease, for five years, was signed on June

5 of that year and the control of the operation was transferred,

never to be returned, since the lease was renewed on June 1, 1859,

for one year and thereafter until one party gave six months notice

in writing.²⁵

25 This agreement is quoted in full by Thompson, Wiring a Continent, Appendix

12, pp. 493-495; receipt of Isaac R. Elwood, May 20, 1854; extension of lease, May

1859, signed by Anson Stager, president, Cleveland and Cincinnati Telegraph Co.,

and Hiram  Sibley, president, Western Union Telegraph Co. The wide interests of

Wade in the telegraph field may be seen in the fact that on December 21, 1857, he

signed a statement as director, treasurer, and superintendent of the Cleveland and Cin-

cinnati Telegraph Co.; director and general agent, Western Union Telegraph Co.; presi-

dent and superintendent, Ohio Telegraph Co.; president and superintendent, Cincinnati

and St. Louis Telegraph Co.; director, Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Co.; director and

executive officer, Pennsylvania Telegraph Co.; director, Scioto Telegraph Co.; legal rep-

resentative, Lake Erie Telegraph Co.; and as lessee of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and

Louisville Telegraph Co., and the Ohio and Mississippi Telegraph Co. Document re

the American and the Atlantic Telegraph companies.

• 14