The story of the Sun, New York, 1833-1918 / by Frank M. O'Brien.

146

THE STORY OF "THE SUN"

intelligence between Washington and Baltimore commenced... At half past 11 A.M., the question being
asked, what was the news at Washington, the answer
was almost instantaneously returned: "Van Buren
stock is rising." This is indeed the annihilation of
space.
It is hardly necessary to say that the convention referred to was the Democratic national convention at
Baltimore, that Van Buren's stock, high early in the
proceedings, fell again, and that James K. Polk was the
nominee.
But as New York was not fortunate enough to have
the first commercial telegraph-line, the Sun had to rely
on its own efforts for speedy news from the convention.
It ran special trains from Baltimore, "beating the
United States mail train and locomotive an hour or
two."
The Sun soon afterward expressed annoyance at a
report that it was itself a part of a monopoly which was
to control the telegraph, and that it had bought a telegraph-line from New York to Springfield, Massachusetts. It insisted that there should be no monopoly,
and that the use of the telegraph must be open to all.
There was no suggestion that Morse intended to control his invention improperly, but the Sun was not quite
satisfied with the government's lassitude. Morse had
offered his rights to the government for one hundred
thousand dollars, and Congress had sneered.
It was not until 1846 that the telegraph was extended
to New York, and in the meantime the New York papers used such other means as they could for the collection of news. Besides trains, ships, horses, and the
fleet foot of the reporter, there were pigeons. Beach
went in for pigeons extensively. When the Sun moved
from 156 Nassau Street, in the summer of 1842, it took