=======+========+========+=========+========== |Miles of|Miles of|Number of|Number of | line | wire | offices | messages -------+--------+--------+---------+---------- 1860 | 73 | 335 | 52 | 74,582 1861 | 92 | 378 | 78 | 114,022 1862 | 103 | 401 | 84 | 243,849 1863 | 107 | 430 | 81 | 247,606 1864 | 115 | 454 | 80 | 308,032 1865 | 123 | 470 | 83 | 316,272 1866 | 150 | 495 | 80 | 214,496 1867 | 150 | 495 | 81 | 239,583 1868 | 163 | | 82 | =======+========+========+=========+========== CHAPTER III THE ALLEGED BREAK-DOWN OF _LAISSEZ-FAIRE_ Early history of telegraphy in Great Britain. The adequacy of private enterprise. Mr. Scudamore's loose use of statistics. Mr. Scudamore's test of adequacy of facilities. Telegraphic charges and growth of traffic in Great Britain. The alleged wastefulness of competition. The telegraph companies' proposal. Upon the foregoing evidence, taken from the experience of the State telegraphs of Belgium, Switzerland, and France, and from the experience of the telegraph companies of the United Kingdom, Mr. Scudamore reached the conclusion that in telegraphy, in the United Kingdom, private enterprise had broken down. He stated his conclusion in these words: "It is clearly shown, I think, ... that the cardinal distinction between the telegraph system of the United Kingdom and the systems of Belgium and Switzerland is this: that the latter have been framed and maintained solely with a view to the accommodation of the public, whilst the former has been devised and maintained mainly with a view to the interests of shareholders, and only indirectly for the benefit of the public." These words were intended to convey, and they did convey, the meaning that the policy of _laissez-faire_ had broken down. That policy rests on the assumption that in the long run, and upon the whole, the public interest is conserved and promoted by the activities of the individual citizens who are seeking to promote their personal fortunes--by the activities of "the mere speculator and dividend seeker"--to employ the phrase that came into common use in 1866 to 1869, and ever since, has been made to do yeoman service. Let us test by the evidence--of which a large part is to be found tucked away in the appendices to Mr. Scudamore's reports--this conclusion that in telegraphy, in the United Kingdom, private enterprise had broken down, and the policy of _laissez-faire_ had been discredited.