32 SCIENCE REMAKING THE WORLD 



wise have been put into spur-line railroads, electric 

 railways or else, which is more probable, there would 

 have been much less in the way of transportation facili- 

 ties available and consequently less wealth created. The 

 creation of rail lines covering the network of highways 

 over which motor cars travel, would probably be pro- 

 hibitive in cost. 



A saving in the wages of farm workers has been an- 

 other source of income for automobile investment. 

 There has been a drift of farm population to the cities 

 without as yet a noticeable diminution of the volume 

 of farm products. The decrease in labour has been 

 taken care of by farm machinery, including motor 

 transportation, which has tremendously increased the 

 amount of time at the individual farmer's disposal as 

 compared with the horse-and-buggy days. 



Another source of possible saving is in city rents by 

 removal to the suburbs and country, which would leave 

 the difference in rent available for motor transportation. 

 But city rents have not perceptibly fallen and there is 

 also the extension of city deliveries into the vicinity to 

 balance this economy. 



Besides the question of money expenditure there is 

 the question of time expenditure, equally important 

 and equally unanswerable. Leaving out of considera- 

 tion the commercial use of motor cars there is an enor- 

 mous amount of time spent in pleasure riding, in taking 

 care of the machine and talking about it and in sitting 

 around waiting for a new tire to be put on. How was 

 this time spent formerly or how would it be spent now 

 if there were no automobiles ? Here we are not both- 



