Internal Communications.

The growth of the railway system of the United States dates from 1827, when the first line was opened for traffic at Quincy, Massachusetts. According to Poor's Railway Manual, the extent of railways in operation in 1830 was 23 miles; it rose to 2,818 miles in 1840; to 9,021 miles in 1850; to 30,626 miles in 1860; to 52,922 miles in 1870; to 93,262 miles in 1880; to 166,703 miles in 1890; 184,591 in 1897; in 1898, 186,810; in 1899, 190,818; in 1900, 194,334; in 1901, 198,764; in 1902, 203, 132; in 1903, 207,977.

The mileage of railways in 1902 (198,768 in all), not including double track, sidings, or spurs, is divided among the several groups of States as follows:-New England States, 7,597 miles; Middle Atlantic, 22,615 miles; Central Northern, 42,286 miles; South Atlantic, 22,872 miles; Gulf and Mississippi Valley, 16,980 miles; South-Western, 41,285 miles; NorthWestern, 33,277 miles; Pacific, 16,220 miles. The ordinary gauge is

4 ft. 8 in.

The total capital invested in railways (stock, funded and unfunded debt) in 1903 was 13,525,623,300 dollars. For 1903 the gross earnings were 1,908,857,826 dollars, and the net earnings, 592,508,512 dollars.

In 1902 the length of street and elevated railways was 26,429 miles, of which 25,789 miles were worked by electricity, and 640 by other means.

The telegraphs of the United States are largely in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company, which had, in 1904, 199,350 miles of line, 1,155,405 miles of wire, and 23,458 offices; the number of messages sent in 1904 was 67,909,973, not including messages sent over leased wires or under railroad contracts; the receipts, 29, 249, 390 dollars; expenses, 21,361,915 dollars; and profits, 7,887,475 dollars. The following table shows the development of the system of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company from 1885 to 1902 :—

Including minor companies, there were altogether over 243,000 miles of telegraph line open for public use in 1902. On January 1, 1904, there were 2,983, 189 miles of telephone wire belonging to the American Telephone Company and operating companies associated with it, with 798,901 circuits, 2,131 branch offices, and 1,609 exchanges. There were 3,779,517 telephone instruments in the hands of licensees paying rent to the company.

The postal business of the United States for six fiscal years was as follows:

There are (1904) 71,131 offices. The total expenditure of the department during the year 1903-1904 was 152,362, 116 dollars; total receipts, 143,582,624 dollars; excess of expenditure 4,560, 645 dollars.

1 This number includes 319,614 orders, amounting to 4,673,884 96 dollars, payable in Canada, Cuba, Newfoundland and the Philippine Islands. Such orders are drawn on domestic money order forms.

2 This number does not include orders drawn on domestic forms for payment in Canada, Cuba, Newfoundland and the Philippine Islands.

Money and Credit.

The monetary system is monometallic, and has been so since 1873, gold being the standard. Prior to that it was theoretically bimetallic, though silver was the actual standard until 1834, and gold since.

The Act of February 28, 1878, commonly known as the Bland-Allison Act, required the purchase by the Secretary of the Treasury of silver bullion at the market price of silver of not less than 2,000,000 dollars or more than 4,000,000 dollars worth per month, the same to be coined as fast as so purchased into silver dollars. 378,166,793 silver dollars were coined under the Bland-Allison Act. The Act of July 14, 1890, known as the Sherman Act, required the purchase of 4,500,000 ounces of fine silver monthly, which was paid for in Treasury notes issued as the silver was purchased. The total amount of silver purchased under this Act from August 13, 1890, to November 1, 1893, date of repeal of the purchasing clause, was 168,674,682 fine ounces, costing 155,931,002 dollars, the coinage value of which was 218,084,438 in silver dollars. From the bullion purchased under the Act of July 14, 1890, there were coined to December 31, 1901, 149,710,163 silver dollars. Under the Act of March 3, 1891, for re-coinage of trade dollars, 5,078,472 silver dollars were coined, making a total of 532,955,428 standard silver dollars coined from March 1, 1878, to December 31, 1901.

The following metallic and paper money was in the United States on December 1, 1904 :

The coinage of the United States mints in six calendar years was as follows, in dollars :

In the fiscal year 1903-04 the coinage was: gold, 208,618,642 dollars; silver, 17,820,881; minor, 1,762, 628; total, 228, 202,151.

The note issue of each of the national banks is by law more than covered by United States interest-bearing bonds deposited with the Treasurer of the United States. The amount of the bonds thus deposited was, in December, 1904, 431,075,840 dollars. The aggregate resources and liabilities of the national banks, 5,477 in number, November 10, 1904, were :

The following statement regarding other banks refers to the year 1903-1904 :

Money, Weights, and Measures.

The dollar of 100 cents is of the par value of 49·32d., or 4·8665 dollars to the pound sterling.

The monetary unit, in accordance with the monetary law of March 14, 1900, is the gold dollar of 25 8 grains (or 1.6718 gramme) 900 fine. The Government undertakes to maintain parity between gold and silver coin, and

a fund of 150,000,000 dollars in gold has been established for the repayment of United States notes and Treasury notes in gold at sight.

Gold coins in common use are 20, 10 and 5-dollar pieces called double eagles, and half-eagles. The eagle weighs 258 grains or 16 71818 grammes 900 fine, and therefore contains 232-2 grains or 15 0464 grammes of fine gold. The silver dollar weighs 412.5 grains or 26.730 grammes 900 fine, and therefore contains 371 25 grains or 24 057 grammes of fine silver. Subsidiary silver coins contain 347 22 grains of fine silver per dollar.

British weights and measures are usually employed, but the old Winchester gallon and bushel are used instead of the new or imperial standards. They are:

Instead of the British cwt. a Cental, of 100 pounds, is used; the short ton contains 2.000 lbs. ; the long ton, 2,240 lbs.

Diplomatic Representatives.

1. OF THE UNITED STATES IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Ambassador.-Hon. Whitelaw Reid.

First Secretary. --John Ridgely Carter.

Second Secretary.-C. W. Wadsworth.
Third Secretary.-Lewis Elstein.

Naval Attaché.-Captain Charles H. Stockton.
Military Attaché.-Major John H. Beacon.

Consul-General (London).-R. J. Wynne.

There are Consular representatives in Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Cork, Dublin, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Falmouth, Glasgow, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Swansea, Tunstall, &c.

OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.

Ambassador.-Right Hon. Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, G. C. M.G., K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E. Appointed October, 1903.

Councillor.-W. B. Townley.

Consul-General at New York.-Sir P. Sanderson, K. C. M. G.

There are Consular representatives at Baltimore, Boston, Charleston (V.C.), Chicago, Galveston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco (C.G.), Savannah, St. Louis (V.C.), Mobile (V.C.), Astoria (V.C.), Port Townshend (V.C.), Seattle (V.C.), Tacoma (V. C.), Portland (Maine) (V.C.), Newport News (V.C.), Norfolk (V.C.).