Page:Walter Renton Ingalls - Wealth and Income of the American People (1924).pdf/52

30 car-loadings and crowd the passenger cars. In order to do the railroad work, but slightly increased, a vastly greater number of men was required.

It is important to bear in mind that during the period 1913-20 the population of the United States, and consequently the number of workers, was steadily increasing. In 1917-19 many men were withdrawn from production but on the other hand many of the habitually idle and many women were induced into regular work. The total production of commodities per ton and the average of tons per person of the total population are given in the following table:

Year Production, tons Population Tons per head 1913 1,118,363,284 97,278,000 11.49 1914 1,058,711,808 99,194,000 10.67 1915 1,098,749,047 100,428,000 10.94 1916 1,169,835,317 101,722,000 11.50 1917 1,229,842,640 103,059,000 11.93 1918 1,215,200,281 104,182,000 11.66 1919 1,096,346,124 104,847,000 10.45 1920 1,236,891,839 106,000,000 11.67

It ought not to be attempted to come to any refined conclusions from the above data, for there are numerous disturbing factors involved. Thus, among others, the volume of agricultural products varies considerably from year to year, according to climatic conditions, and is the result of the efforts of a substantially uniform number of workers, who have a good deal of elasticity in their ability to handle more tons per man than ever are they called upon to do. In the main, however,