It was in harmony with the spirit of the age,
and it was not long before every town of any considerable importance
regarded telegraphic facilities as an indispensable necessity. The small
cost soon induced the construction of rival lines, regardless of the
rights of the patentees, and within a very few years unwise competition
began to bring many lines to a condition of bankruptcy. The weaker
concerns soon passed through the sheriff's hands and found purchasers
only at an extreme sacrifice, at the bidding of the more provident and
conservative proprietors of competing lines. Instead of inducing a more
prudent course, these disastrous results only served to feed the spirit
of rivalry, and general insolvency seemed to threaten the permanent
prosperity of the telegraph business, in consequence of the wild and
reckless competition which appeared to be inherent in its nature.
This extremely unsatisfactory condition of telegraph rivalry drifted on
from bad to worse until 1854, when, from dire necessity of
self-preservation, a few of the more prudent and far-sighted proprietors
of telegraph property were induced to combine their interests with some
of their competitors and thus avoid the ruinous policy which had been so
rapidly exhausting their vitality.
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