The assertion that the Telegraph facilities are better in those
countries where it is under governmental control than in those where it
is left to private enterprise is entirely erroneous, as the following
tables, compiled from official data, will show.
_Statistics of Telegraphs constructed and operated under Government
Control_.
┌───────────┬────────┬──────┬───────┬──────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
│ │ │Number│Number │ │ │Proportion │
│ NAME OF │ Number │ of │ of │Number of │ │of Offices │
│ COUNTRY. │ of │Miles │ Miles │ Messages │Population.│ to │
│ │Offices.│ of │ of │ Sent. │ │Population.│
│ │ │Line. │ Wire. │ │ │ │
├───────────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼──────────┼───────────┼───────────┤
│Austria │ 851│24,618│ 73,854│ 2,507,472│ 39,411,309│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 46,311│
│Belgium │ 356│ 2,187│ 6,146│ 1,128,005│ 4,984,451│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 14,000│
│Bavaria │ │ 2,115│ 4,945│ │ 4,541,556│ │
│Denmark │ 89│ │ 2,515│ 308,150│ 2,468,713│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 27,000│
│France │ 1,209│20,628│ 68,687│ 2,507,472│ 38,302,625│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 31,600│
│Italy │ 529│ 8,200│ 20,120│ 1,760,889│ 25,925,717│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 49,000│
│Norway │ 73│ │ │ 269,375│ 1,433,488│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 19,000│
│Prussia │ 538│18,386│ 55,149│ 1,964,003│ 17,739,913│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 33,000│
│Russia │ 308│12,013│ 22,214│ 838,653│ 68,224,832│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 221,000│
│Switzerland│ 252│ 1,858│ 3,717│ 668,916│ 2,510,494│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 10,000│
│Spain │ 142│ 8,871│ 17,743│ 533,376│ 16,302,625│ 1 to│
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ 109,000│
├───────────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼──────────┼───────────┼───────────┤
│ │ 4,347│98,876│275,090│12,486,311│ │ │
└───────────┴────────┴──────┴───────┴──────────┴───────────┴───────────┘
_Statistics of Telegraphs constructed and operated under Private
Control_.
┌───────────┬────────┬──────┬───────┬──────────┬───────────┬───────────┐
│ │ │Number│Number │ │ │Proportion │
│ NAME OF │ Number │ of │ of │Number of │ │of Offices │
│ COUNTRY. │ of │Miles │ Miles │ Messages │Population.│ to │
│ │Offices.│ of │ of │ Sent. │ │Population.│
│ │ │Line. │ Wire. │ │ │ │
├───────────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼──────────┼───────────┼───────────┤
│Great │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│Britain and│ 2,151│16,588│ 80,466│ 5,781,189│ 29,591,009│1 to 13,714│
│Ireland │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│Dominion of│ 382│ 6,747│ 8,935│ 573,219│ 3,976,224│1 to 10,400│
│Canada │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│United │ 4,126│62,782│125,564│12,386,952│ 31,148,047│1 to 7,549│
│States │ │ │ │ │ │ │
├───────────┼────────┼──────┼───────┼──────────┼───────────┼───────────┤
│ │ 6,659│86,117│214,965│18,741,360│ │ │
└───────────┴────────┴──────┴───────┴──────────┴───────────┴───────────┘
Thus it will be seen that Continental Europe, where the telegraphs are
under government control, furnishes but 4,347 offices for a population
of over 250,000,000, while Great Britain, the Dominion of Canada, and
the United States, where telegraphy has been left to the control of the
people, untrammelled by governmental interference, monopoly, or
restriction, furnish 6,659 offices for a population of 64,000,000! The
number of telegrams transmitted per annum in Continental Europe is only
12,486,311, while there were sent by the people of the three countries
where it has hitherto been free from government repression, 18,741,360.
The tariff of charges in Continental Europe averages eighty-one cents
per message, while in the three countries where the people manage the
business it averages but fifty-one cents.
Private enterprise alone laid the submarine cables through the Persian
Gulf and Mediterranean Sea, across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the
Vineyard Sound, the Strait of Florida, the English Channel, the North
Sea, and the German and Atlantic Oceans.