July, 601,730.61 396,163.66 205,566.95 August, 602,304.73 376,452.03 225,852.70 September, 630,665.36 372,197.50 258,467.86 October, 680,311.81 410,604.17 269,707.64 —————————————— —————————————— —————————————— $16,088,498.86 $9,862,272.31 $6,226,225.75 STATIONS, LINES, AND EMPLOYEES OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY. The Western Union Telegraph Company alone has 3,331 Telegraph Offices, 50,760 Miles of Line, 97,416 Miles of Telegraphic Wire, 265 Submarine Cables, 6,389 Skilled persons in its employ. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS COMPARED. It has been shown that, several years before there is any record of regular public telegraph business in continental Europe, the system in the United States was in popular use. There can be no question that what restrained its use in Europe for so many years was governmental jealousy of its power, and not ignorance of its capacity. The subject was freely canvassed in the public prints, and was familiar to the learned men of all European nations. Even in England, whose government aided its introduction through private enterprise, the employment of the telegraph was hindered by a tariff so high as to shut it out from general use. Respecting this latter fact, so as to give in more marked contrast the early history of the telegraph on the two continents, a few details are given. The Electric Telegraph Company of England was incorporated in 1846, and seems to have made its first work in the connection of the railway stations, post-office, police, admiralty, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, &c. As late as 1851 only eighty stations in the provinces, including the chief cities and outposts, had been opened. Priority of service was secured to the government, and the Secretary of State was empowered, on extraordinary occasions, to take possession of all telegraph stations and hold them for a week, with power to continue so to do. The tariff of charges adopted was, for twenty words, including address and signature, one penny per mile for the first fifty miles; one half-penny for the second fifty; and one farthing for any distance beyond 100 miles. The lowest charge was 2_s._ 6_d._, sterling. This tariff existed as late as 1851. Compare these rates with those of the American lines at the same period. From London to York, a distance of about 230 miles, the charge was 9_s._, equal to $2.25 gold. From New York to Boston, a distance of 220 miles, the tariff for ten words, exclusive of address and signature, was twenty cents!