34

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WAGES

(1) There has been a marked increase in their labors
and responsibilities.
(2) The Productive Efficiency of Engineers and Firemen,
 or, in other words, the volume of traffic handled
per Engineer and Fireman, has been greatly increased.
The Engineers and Firemen employed by these representative
 Western Railroads, on a very conservative basis
of calculation, which grants every advantage to the
Railroads, for each $1,000 paid, hauled a volume of combined
 freight and passenger traffic from 40 to 50 per
cent. greater in 1913 than in 1890. On individual Railroads
 the gains made in Productive Efficiency in many
cases were even more remarkable than those mentioned
above.

(3) This increased productivity has been attended by
a decrease in costs to the railroads, in terms of wage
payments to Engineers and Firemen for each unit of
trafic handled, or, in other words, it has cost the Railroads
 less in outlay to Engineers and Firemen to transport
 ton miles and passenger miles. During this same
period, 1890-1913, the outlay in terms of Engineers and
Firemen for each 1,000 ton miles handled by these
twenty-four representative Western Railroads declined
from 65.2 cents to 32.1 cents, or in other words, each
1,000 ton miles handled cost 33.1 cents less in wages to
Engineers and Firemen in 1913 than in 1890.
(4) There is no doubt, and it has been freely acknowledged
 and repeatedly stated, that the growth of the large
revenue gains discussed in the preceding section have
been in part due to additional capital investment in
Western Railroads, which should receive a liberal return
for its use and the risk involved. A complete analysis
of the increased operating efficiency of Western Railroads,
 therefore, brings up the question as to whether
the revenue gains, which have resulted from the additional
 capital investments, managerial ability, and the