The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-01-24
THE COST OF LIVING.
Present Prices Compared With Those OF
Eighty or Ninety Years Ago.

crease the emoluments of Government
officers, on the ground that it costs two
or three times as much to live now as it
did when these offices were created, it
may be well to recall sundry statistics
given by Senator George, of MISSISSIPPI
pi, in recent speech. Having re-
peatedly found his objections to the
modern increase of official salaries met
by the broad assertion that it costs three
times as much to live now as it did
when the Government was founded, he
determined to be no longer put down by
this statement, without finding out ex-
actly how far it was true. He delved
among the books of the Congressional
library, and the conclusion he reached
was that sin all the substantials of life. all
the necessaries and the comforts of life,
the prices were higher during Washing
tons and the elder Adams administra-
ton than they are now. / allude es-
pecially to provisions, things consumed
by men. OF course, we all know as to
clothing that the improvement in labor
saving machinery, the invention of the
sewing machine, have greatly reduced
the prices of those necessary articles.
As to fuel, have looked into that, and
the price of coal is now less than it was
during the administration of Washing
ton"
Rents, of course, are enormously
greater now in the large cities than
they were in the beginning of the cent
ury; but, while this fact must be kept
in mind for those places, Mr.. George
insists that even rents sin the rural dis
tricts in the non-manufacturing and
non-commercial States are as low now
as they ever were before in the South ="
Here are some of the statistical compar-
isons of Senator George:
Beef per barrel was worth in 1875
$13, in 1897 it was worth $l4, in 1884 it
was worth $3.50, and the average price
of beef for the forty years com
mencing in 1895 and ending in 1884
was Sl0.95 per barrel. In the last ten
years the price of beef has not been less
than $10.25 per barrel.
Take the article of corn, a very nee
essary article. In 1895, 1896 and 1897
it was worth 81 per bushel and over.
That was the lowest price. The aver
age price for forty years from 1894 to
1884 was 864 cents per bushel. In the
last ten years it has never been as high
as this average, except in 1882, when
there was a drouth and corn was excep-
tionally high.
Take the article of coffee. In 1895,
1896 and 1897 it was worth respective
ly, 81, % and &c cents per pound, and
the average price for the forty years up
to 1884 was % cents. For the last ten
years it has not been up to that average
Take the article of sugar. In 1895
it was worth IA cents per pound. 1t
went as high as II cents in 1916, and
never got as low as 10 cents till 1920.
Now the price is from 6 to 8 cents. So
there has been fall in the price of
sugar"
Mr.. George at that point noted that
it was shown a year ago in Congress
that sugar was leading item of ex-
pense in boarding house for factory
operatives. He then added these fig
ureS:
Take pork, sir In 1895 it was S18
per barrel; in 1901 it was $26. In 1903
it fell to $15, and was never as low as
$l5 again until 1920, and then it was
S14.50. The average price for the forty
years from 1875 to 1884 was Sl6.99 per
barrel. 1t is less than that now.
Take flour, very essential article
of support. The average price of a
barrel of flour from 1895 to 1884 was
1881. In 1895 it was SIP, in 1896 it
was SIG, in 1901 it was $13, in 1917 it
was SAB, the average being, as have
stated, 1851. 1t is now, and has been
for long time, much lower than that.
Take wheat. My statistics of wheat
do not 90 beyond the year 1906. can
not find them beyond that time. In
that year the average price of wheat
was S1.35; in 1907, 1908 and 1909 twas
$1.25 per bushel; in 1910, it was $3.50
per bushel; in 1911 it was $1.75 per
bushel, whereas the price to-day in
! Chicago is about SO cents. Since that
time wheat has fallen lower, but the
fluctuations through speculation do not
affect the general comparison.
Take rice, another article of con-
sumption. In 1895 it was worth cents
per pound; in 1895 it was worth 8 cents
per pound, and the average for the
fortyyears from 1895 to 1884 was $4.61
per hundred, 4.61 cents per pound and
this was caused by the low price from
1920 down. Before that time it was
higher. The average for the last ten
years would be but very little more"
These figures may in some particulars
be attacked and there are other con-
siderations that should be taken into
account. 1t is no doubt true that the
number of things classed as necessaries
and comforts, OF, in other words, the
number of things deemed ordinary
requisites for a given condition or call
ing in life, has been multiplied of late
years. Doubtless food is not relatively
SO great an item of the total expense in
many families as it was in former gen.
erations. Nevertheless, Mr.. George s
Investigations are interesting, and per
haps may lead to some caution here
after in accepting assertions hitherto so
little challenged as to have almost be-
come axioms. Philadelphia Record.