_Statistics of the Telegraph in Europe and America for the year 1866, from
official reports._
┌───────────┬─────────┬──────┬───────┬────────────┬──────────────┬───────────┐
│ │ │Miles │ Miles │Total Number│ │Proportion │
│COUNTRIES. │Number of│ of │ of │of Messages │Population.[1]│of Offices │
│ │Stations.│Line. │ Wire. │Transmitted.│ │ to │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │Population.│
├───────────┼─────────┼──────┼───────┼────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤
│Austria │ 856│24,618│ 73,854│ 2,507,472│ 39,411,309│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 46,311│
│Belgium │ 356│ 2,187│ 6,146│ 1,128,005│ 4,530,228│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 12,416│
│Bavaria │ │ 2,115│ 4,945│ │ │ │
│Denmark │ 89│ │ 2,515│ 308,150│ 1,684,004│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 18,921│
│France │ 1,209│20,628│ 68,687│ 2,842,554│ 38,302,625│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 31,681│
│Great │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Britain │ 2,151│16,588│ 80,466│ 5,781,189│ 29,591,009│ 1 to│
│ and │ │ │ │ │ │ 13,750│
│ Ireland │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│Italy │ 529│ 8,200│ 20,120│ 1,760,889│ 24,550,845│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 49,000│
│Norway │ 73│ │ │ 269,375│ 1,433,488│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 19,773│
│Prussia │ 538│18,386│ 55,149│ 1,964,003│ 17,739,913│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 32,955│
│Russia │ 308│12,013│ 22,214│ 838,653│ 68,224,832│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 221,508│
│Switzerland│ 252│ 1,858│ 3,715│ 668,916│ 2,534,240│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 10,000│
│Spain │ 142│ 8,871│ 17,743│ 533,376│ 16,302,625│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 100,000│
│United │ 4,126│62,782│125,564│ 12,904,770│ 31,148,047│ 1 to│
│ States │ │ │ │ │ │ 7,549│
│Dominion of│ 382│ 6,747│ 8,935│ 573,219│ 3,976,224│ 1 to│
│ Canada │ │ │ │ │ │ 10,400│
└───────────┴─────────┴──────┴───────┴────────────┴──────────────┴───────────┘
Footnote 1:
From the Annual Cyclopædia. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1868.
In large sections of the United States the proportion is much greater.
Thus, the Pacific States embrace an area of 600,000 square miles;
Belgium, 11,000. The former provide an office to every 2,500 of their
population; the latter, one to every 12,416. Thus, the Pacific States
sustain five times as many offices in proportion to population as
Belgium, to say nothing of the great disparity in the condition of
service by the vast range of wild territory occupied by the one, and the
fine roads and cultivated area of the other.
In view of the facts shown in the preceding table, how can it be said
that in America the telegraph is less practically provided to the people
than in any other civilized country on the globe?