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"The telegraph," said the old gentleman, glancing his eye toward its wire, alongside the rail-track, "it is an excellent thing;—that is, of course, if the speculators in cotton and politics don't get possession of it."—Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, 1851
The Telegraph's Reach
Wherever people could apply the telegraph, they did—and it profoundly changed everything it was applied to. Now, the public could consult timely weather reports and forecasts. Governments could coordinate moving armies and supplies over great distances. The tempo of commerce and manufacturing speeded up. New feats of large-scale logistics became feasible. Work became both easier and harder. Old competitive advantages vanished, as new ones based on use and control of telegraphic networks emerged. |
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