66 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WAGES

as the Federal Electric Railway Commission, for the purpose
 of investigating conditions and recommending a constructive
 program for the physical and financial rehabilitation
 of the street railway industry.
The employees of the industry, as represented by the
Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway
Employees, made a detailed submission to the Commission
during the course of its public hearings, conceding that
the financial and physical disabilities of the induscry should
be remedied, but also claiming, as a condition of its rehabilitation,
 that there should be proper guaranties to the labor
employed. They advanced the “productive efficiency” and
“living wage” arguments as to wages, asserting that the
employees by their cooperation had reduced operating
costs and should have a greater participation in net revenue
 gains, one form of which should consist in the assurance
 of a wage sufficient to provide for a “minimum standard
 of health and comfort” for employees and their
families.

The final report of the Commission recognized this
demand for a “living wage” guaranty, and unanimously
reported in its favor.! While this declaration as to the
“living wage” had no immediate, practical bearing on wage
adjustments, its ultimate significance as a sanction for the
living-wage principle was very great. Especially was this
true because of the character of the personnel of the Commission.
 In addition to appointees from the industry
itself, it included representatives of the United States
Treasury, Department of Commerce, Department of
Labor, National Association of Railway and Utility Commissioners,
 American Cities League of Mayors, and the
Investment Bankers Association.
1 Report of the Federal Electric Railway Commission, Washington, Government
 Printing Office, 1920.