210 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WAGES 
of goods to the consumer have not risen as much as wages 
have risen. And fourth, general prosperity during the last 
three years has been greater and more widely diffused than at 
any previous period in our history. . . . The result is that 
the purchasing power of the average wage—the “real wage,” 
as it is called—has increased about one-third since 1914. 
Before that date the wage-earner was not getting his share 
of the increase in production—he was right about that. Now 
he is getting a much larger share than he formerly received. 
Why the change? There are many reasons. One is found in 
our new policy of restricting immigration, which has checked 
the inflow of new and for the most part ignorant workers; 
another is .the higher average mechanical intelligence of 
wage-earners, which makes them more valuable; another is 
the greater accumulation of capital available for industrial 
purposes, with which is closely connected our greatly im- 
proved methods of handling credit; and one of the important 
reasons, undoubtedly, is the general feeling among employers 
that a relatively high wage-scale pays. . . . Irregular employ- 
ment means thousands of temporarily nonproductive con- 
sumers. Likewise, it means nonproductive machinery, fac- 
tories, capital, railway cars and locomotives. It means that 
thousands of persons are no longer turning their work into 
circulating dollars, that wealth is being dissipated instead of 
being increased. 
Stability and regularity of industry mean more to the effi- 
ciency of production and therefore more to the rapid accumu- 
lation of wealth than any other one thing. And it is in this 
direction that the greatest strides have been made in the last 
half dozen years. Toward this the Federal Reserve Bank 
system has contributed much by supplying credit when needed 
and keeping the money market on an even keel. Better man- 
agement and more cooperation among employers, especially 
in various kinds of trade associations, have contributed much. 
A broader-minded attitude on the part of members of trade 
unions, and better leadership in the unions, have contributed 
much.