The long distances of the United States necessitate a large freight
traffic but act as a hindrance to travel. It is a generally accepted
but erroneous supposition that Americans travel more than any other
people. A comparison of the passenger traffic in the United States
with that in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France reveals some
surprising facts. The figures are for 1896. The number of passengers
carried one mile per mile of road upon the railroads of the United
States was 71,705, in France the number was 273,315, in Germany
315,399, and in the United Kingdom 440,000. The average distance which
the Briton travels per year by rail is 244 miles; for the American the
distance is 209 miles, for the Frenchman 176 miles, and for the German
165 miles. The Englishman takes 24.4 trips per year on an average, the
German 11.3, the Frenchman 9.6, and the American 8.2. Americans travel
extensively, but it is evident from the foregoing comparisons that the
possibility of developing the passenger service in this country has by
no means reached its limit.