Fortunately we are not left to generalities here, however plain and certain these may be. One of the 13 railroads specified above, the Illinois Central, made a remarkable exhibit in its own annual Report of 1887, showing the cost of its locomotive service for each year of the thirty years preceding. This cost per mile run had fallen from 26.52 cents in 1857 to 13.93 cents in 1886. This reduction had been effected wholly on the _Capital_ side of the account, by inventions and improvements of all sorts in the _machinery_ of locomotion; while the wages of the engineers and firemen had risen in the period from 4.51 cents to 5.52 cents per mile run. The cost of the labor had risen both relatively and absolutely while the cost of the capital had declined both absolutely and relatively. In 1857 the engineers and firemen had received as wages 17% of the entire cost of the locomotive service, but in 1886 they had received 39% of that total cost. The table is as follows:-- I. C. R. R. CO. PERFORMANCE OF LOCOMOTIVES. RELATION OF WAGES TO TOTAL COST PER MILE RUN. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Cost of wages | Total cost|| | Cost of wages |Total cost Years.| of engineers | per ||Years.| of engineers | per |and firemen per | mile run. || | and firemen per |mile run. | mile run. | || | mile run. | ------+----------------+-----------++------+-----------------+---------- | Cents. | Cents. || | Cents. | Cents. 1857 |Gold. { 4.51 | 26.22 || 1872 |Currency. { 5.77 | 21.76 1858 | { 3.97 | 19.81 || 1873 | { 5.84 | 21.10 1859 | { 3.81 | 20.78 || 1874 | { 6.02 | 19.57 1860 | { 3.96 | 20.17 || 1875 | { 6.03 | 19.57 1861 | { 3.84 | 18.92 || 1876 | { 5.79 | 18.81 1862 |Currency.{ 3.85 | 17.42 || 1877 | { 5.54 | 17.21 1863 | { 3.93 | 22.28 || 1878 | { 5.46 | 15.29 1864 | { 5.56 | 33.52 || 1879 |Gold. { 5.41 | 14.15 1865 | { 5.65 | 37.44 || 1880 | { 5.41 | 14.95 1866 | { 5.78 | 32.67 || 1881 | { 5.54 | 16.58 1867 | { 6.18 | 29.62 || 1882 | { 5.09 | 15.82 1868 | { 6.11 | 27.57 || 1883 | { 5.35 | 15.57 1869 | { 5.88 | 25.49 || 1884 | { 5.28 | 14.45 1870 | { 5.95 | 25.15 || 1885 | { 5.49 | 15.02 1871 | { 5.72 | 21.50 || 1886 | { 5.52 | 13.93 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1857 the engineers and firemen received 17-201/1000 per cent. of total cost. In 1865 the engineers and firemen received 15-91/1000 per cent. of total cost.