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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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-
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.
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.
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.
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.