Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-10-23
RAILwAYEsM.
Interesting Facts and Figures
for the curious.

From the Philadelphia PreSs.l
There Is a new and startling PROPOSE
ton in England with respect to railway
travelling. Thirty years ago, when Row
land Hill was sgitating for q Penny
Postage, the average charge for convey
ing single letter then being twenty
two cents, he was very much ridiculed
by some wiseacrss for what they entitled
his " extreme folly" But he carried his
point. In 1s4I, the first complete year
of the cheap postage system, the net
revenue was $500, ,7S9; it had increased
to 81. .173, ,72s in the year 1854, and reached
e., III, Us in 1867. The new proposition,
apparently as /" foolish as Rowland
Hill's was once considered, is to have 8
uniform chesp railway fare; to convey
person for six cents in the third class,
twelve cents in the second, and one
shilling British in the first, Irrespective
OF DISTANCE, and it is contended that this
reduced scale would pay. Perhaps it
might-in England. It would scarcely
answer In this country, where railway
journey OF 1900 miles is regarded as
scarcely mors fatiguing than a trip Of $50
in England But there is room for q
great reduction In railroad fares in this
country, particularly while the spsed OF
our railroad travelling is SO very much
slower than the average in England.
There are some Interesting statistics OF
rsilwsyism in the new edition Of DR..
Samuel SmiIes' biography Of George and
Robert Stephenson, jhsE published by
Harper & Brothers, New York. The
elder Stephenson undoubtedly was the
first man who made railroad travel aud
conveyance plain and practical. As the
father of railwayism, his name will be
remembered with those Of Watt, who
invented the steam engine; Of Morse,
who constructed the first public tele-
graph; Of Franklin and Faraday, who
elected the powers OF electricity. Rob-
ert Stephenson, the son, was his fathers
best assistant, and has particular personal
claims 10 distinction, oa account OF bis
having conceived and constructed the
Britannia tubular bridge over the Strait
OF Aeuai; in Wales. and its fellows across
the Nile, In Lower Hgypt, and across the
st. Lawrence near Montreal, in Canada.
looking back less than forty years, for
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
was not opened until September, 1880. il
is surprising how greatly railwayism has
extended throughout the world, DR.,
Smiles, himself Secretary Of the London
and Southwestern Railway Company for
many years, states that there are now
50, ,0Ge miles Of railway in Europe. There
are $500 miies Of double railway ia
Great Britain, at 8 cost of Eve hundred
millions sterling. France has now 1924
miles at work; Germany, (including
Austria), 1882 miles; Spain, 3i6i |
miles Sweden, 100 miles; Bsigium,
1913 miles, Ewit&erland, 795 miles
6l7 miles; Russia, $500 |
miiesi Italy, 1852 miles, while |
new lines are being constructed in |
Hungary, Turkey, and other countries.
There are now in India 1887 miles of |
railway at work, and above 1000 more |
1ader construction. In Canada more
than 22D0 miles are in active operation, /
Several railroads have been made in /
Australia, and others are In course of |
formation. Even the Cape of Good |
Hope, DR.. Smiles says, has several miles