678 



RAILWAY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



way is permanent, and it is almost the only 

 permanent result of human labor. The only 

 work that remains of the Roman Empire, ex- 

 cept ruined buildings, is the Roman road that 

 opened the way to the conquest of nations, and 

 may even now serve the peaceful ends of com- 

 merce. 



We may date the process of completing the 

 through lines of railway of this country, both 

 North and South, as well as East and West, since 

 the end of the civil war. The consolidation of 

 Eastern and Western lines was begun by the 

 late Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1869, when the 

 New York Central and Hudson River line was 

 united under one control with the Lake Shore 

 and Michigan Southern, making a through line 

 from New York to Chicago under one admin- 

 istration. Our progress in railway construc- 

 tion since 1864 may be comprehended most 

 fully by the use of graphical tables. 



It will be observed that this progress in con- 

 struction has been affected by what may be 

 called great waves, culminating at two dates, 

 to wit, in 1871 and in 1882, which years were 

 followed by periods of great commercial de- 

 pression. These waves may be shown more 

 effectively if the construction be shown sepa- 

 rately. 



The construction of a railroad represents in 

 greater measure than almost any other form of 

 capital a given and measurable amount of direct 

 human or manual labor, coupled with but a 

 moderate application of labor-saving machin- 

 ery or capital. It represents more than almost 

 anything else a conversion of human labor, but 



Miles R.B. 



1865 

 1866 

 1867 

 1868 

 1869 

 1870 

 1871 

 1872 

 1873 

 1874 

 1875 

 1876 

 1877 

 1878 

 1879 

 1880 

 1881 

 1882 

 1883 

 1884 



1,177 

 1,7101 



2,979 

 4,615 

 6,070 

 7,379 

 5,878 

 4,107 

 2,105 

 1,713 

 2,712 

 2,281 

 3,687 

 4,721 

 7,174 

 9,789 

 11,591 

 6,618 

 4,000 



little assisted by capital in- labor-saving ma- 

 chinery, into one of the most effective forms 

 of fixed capital. It is the work of the digger 

 and the d elver, of the navvy, the track-layer, 

 and the woodman that cuts the ties, as well as 

 of the iron and coal miner, the smelter, and 

 the operative in the rolling-mill, supplemented 

 by the work of a relatively small number of 

 mechanics in building stations and equipment. 

 We can only reduce the construction of a rail- 

 way to terms of so many men's labor for a givea 

 period in a very broad and general way, but 

 even in this manner we may make an approxi- 

 mate estimate of the force employed one year 

 on each mile. If we assume that, without pay- 

 ing any regard to the nominal amount of se- 

 curity issued, each average mile of railway 

 construction has cost $25,000 in gold, this sum 

 represents, or might be converted into, the 

 work of 50 men for one year at $500 each, or 

 of 62 men at $400 each. A fairly approximate 

 measure of the number employed would be 

 midway, or 56 men. If the average pay is less, 

 the number of men will be greater per mile per 

 year. At this high ratio of wages, the force 

 employed in the construction of railways has 

 varied in the proportions set against the mile- 

 age-table in the following diagram. I use in- 

 tentionally, in this case, a high average rate of 

 earnings and probably a low money cost per 

 mile, in order not to exaggerate the number of 

 men employed. Making use of these approxi- 

 mate data, the railroad construction of twenty 

 years may be represented by the following dia- 

 gram: 



Men Employed. 

 65,912 

 .96,096 

 137,144 

 160,824 

 258,440 



BgD< 339.920 



^ran^n 413,224 



329,168 

 229,992 

 117,880 

 95,928 

 151,872 

 127,736 

 150,472 

 264,376 



MOMM 401,744 



^^M^nn^n 48,184 

 HM^ 649,090 

 370,608 

 224,000 





The relative gain in comparison with population is as follows : 

 1865, Jan. 1. 



1885, Jan. 1. 



34,000,000^ 



34.000 miles. 

 (Substantially 1 mile to 1000 people.) 

 BHEHBBHRBBORHBB9BBHBBB 58,000,000 Estimated. 



(Substantially 1 mile to 450 people.) 



miles. 

 1125,000 





