RAILWAY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



685 



exist of necessity in the country, and even be- 

 come centered in specific sections of the country 

 itself, according to soil, climate, and condition. 

 A year's supply of meat and bread can be 

 moved a thousand miles by railroad at the cost 

 of $1.25. It may be estimated that where there 

 were 17,392,099 persons engaged in all kinds 

 of gainful occupation in the census year, there 

 are now 20,000,000 thus employed, of whom 

 19,000,000 must do their work within the lim- 

 its of the country, distributed according to 

 the conditions of soil, climate, and other ele- 

 ments; while in respect to 1,000,000, a choice 

 might be exercised as to the place of the 

 work ; in other words, it is work that might 

 be done in this or in some other country, as 

 might be most advantageous. On the other 

 hand, out of the products of agriculture, valued 

 at the farms by Mr. Dodge at $3,726,331,422 

 (to which must be added, for transportation to 

 the place of wholesale distribution or export, 

 the sum of $200,000,000, making a total of 

 $3,926,331,422), the proportion exported was 

 valued at $685,961,091, or 17i per cent, of the 

 whole. If we apply this percentage to the 

 number of farmers and farm-laborers, we find 

 that, in the census year, there were 1,350,000 

 whose best market was outside the United 

 States. More than two thirds of this was food 

 that could not have been sold for export but 

 for the service of the railroad in moving it 

 to the seaboard at constantly decreasing rates. 



The following quantity of provisions, repre- 

 senting thirteen tons, were worth in gold the 

 sums of money set opposite the respective 

 dates, from 1869 to 1883 inclusive, during 

 which period (1884 not yet given) the average 

 charge on all merchandise moved over the 

 New York Central and Hudson River Railroad 

 was reduced in the manner shown in the sub- 

 sequent table : 



Prices in gold in the New York market of 20 bar- 

 rels flour, extra State ; 100 bushels wheat, Milwaukee 

 Club ; 100 bushels corn, Western mixed ; 100 bush- 

 els oats, 10 barrels mess-pork, 10 barrels mess-beef, 

 100 pounds lard, 100 pounds State dairy butter, 100 

 pounds medium washed clothing- wool, compared 

 with charge reduced to gold of moving the above- 

 named quantity, equal to 13 tons, 1,000 miles, at the 

 average rates charged by New York Central and Hud- 

 son River Railroad, 1869 to 1883 inclusive : 



The rates for 1884 are not yet given, but are 

 estimated at less than 1883, and perhaps as 

 low as in 1882. Although the average rates 

 on all merchandise are higher than the specific 

 rates upon grain and provisions, yet these are 

 the rates on the line that is worked at the 

 lowest rates; and those average rates, with- 

 out question, accord with the changes made on 

 other lines over which provisions are moved 

 to Chicago, Cincinnati, and other Western cen- 

 ters. They indicate, in the surest way, the 

 vast benefit that the farmers have gained from 

 the constant improvement of the railway serv- 

 ice by consolidation and by the reduction of 

 the charges to the lowest point consistent with 

 any effective service ; which point was reached 

 on the main through lines in 1879-'80, BO far 

 as Western traffic is concerned. 



Having thus considered the details of the 

 occupations of the people of this country, we 

 may now turn to the census classification, 

 which is of a broader and more general kind, 

 and, by applying this classification to sections, 

 we may deduce some valuable inferences with 

 respect to the future of the railway service. 



The census classification of the employment 

 of all persons engaged in every kind of gainful 

 occupation was as follows: 



Per cent. 



Agriculture 7,670,498= 44 



Professional and personal service 4,074,238 = 23 5 



Trade and transportation 1,810,256 = 10 5 



Manufacturing mechanical arts and min- 

 ing 8,887,112= 22 



Total 17,892,099= 100 



Classifying by sections, we get the following 

 results : 



Proportion of the persons in each 1,000 of all that 

 were occupied in any kind of gainful employment in 

 the census year. Total number, 17,392,099. I. Farm- 

 ers and farm-laborers. II. Professional and per- 

 sonal service. III. Trade and transportation. IV. 

 Manufacturing, mechanical, and mining. 



Referring to the previous table, in which the 

 freight and passengers are sorted substantially 

 on the same plan, we observe that the greatest 

 number of passengers are moved in New Eng- 

 land, where the manufacturing and mechanic 

 arts have been developed in the greatest meas- 

 ure. The greatest number of tons of freight 

 are moved on the railroads of the Middle 

 States, through which food is carried to the 

 East or for export, and from which fuel is dis- 

 tributed ; while the least quantity of merchan- 

 dise is moved over the Southern roads in the 

 States in which cotton, hemp, and tobacco are 

 the chief products of agriculture ; these prod- 

 ucts being of high value but of light weight, 

 and in States where the diversified occupa- 



