Thomson's discovery of the electrical deflection of the cathode ray

Question

This is from Wikipedia:

In May–June 1897, Thomson investigated whether or not the rays could be deflected by an electric field.[4] Previous experimenters had failed to observe this, but Thomson believed their experiments were flawed because their tubes contained too much gas.

It is surprising to know that initially people failed to deflect the cathode ray. The mass of the electron is so small. It should be easily deflected by an electric field. The initial velocity of the electrons is not so high, right?

Answer 1

From CambridgePhysics.org :

The gas in Hertz's tube had become ionised by the electric field produced by the plates. The positive ions moved towards the negative plate and the negative ions towards the positive plate. The net charge on the plates was therefore reduced and so the strength of the electric field was reduced. The remaining electric field deflected the cathode rays very little or not at all.

This explanation accounts for Hertz's failure to observe any deflection.

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From the same source :

The nature of the cathode rays was controversial. Although Thomson thought the rays must be particles, many Europeans thought they were an 'etherial disturbance', like light. In Germany Hertz had observed the rays passing through thin sheets of gold. It seemed impossible that particles could pass through solid matter.