In 1876 ,the most important communications technology was the telegraph. A wealthy company called western union was in control of this technology. The president of the company , william orton, was offered the patent for an invention called the telephone for $100000 . Orton sent a response to the 29 year old inventor of the telephone , alexander graham bell. It said , "after careful consideration of your invention... While it is a very interesting novelty , we have come to the conclusion that it has no commercial possibilities... What use could this company make of an electrical toy? "Bell kept the patent and created his own telephone company, which became the largest in the u.s. The patent bell had offered western union eventually became the most valuable patent in history. Orton could have made one of the best deals in business history. Instead,he may have made the worst business mistake in history.