July 4, 1849. Ezra Cornell to Alonzo B. Cornell: "?Ithaca has a plank road from Hotel to Inlet, one mile, great for Tompkins Company ? a dozen has been planed ? but have all evaporated in a few set speaches at public meetings ? but our Ithaca plank road makes a fine track for the 4th of Julyers to try their nags on." Also Ezra Cornell's experiments with line connections. Topics: Telegraph business correspondence: Connecticut & Vermont line, proposed lines, stock subscriptions, materials and supplies, new western lines; Ithaca & Auburn Telegraph Company. Personal names: Cornell, Alonzo B.; Tillotson, D.T.; Bristol, John S.; Faxton, Theodore; McGowan, S.W.; Speed, J.J.; Hotchkiss, S.W.; Beebe, Jeremiah S. Geography: Ithaca, N.Y.; Detroit