Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-08-29

$S,s9 $fSG9S saaTtsF iS SS5
 lone hundred assumed as the price at the beginning of the time inquired intol
 We find that during the last quarter of the year 1889 the increased cost of living over and above what it was during the third quarter of that year-the quarter which was taken as the basis of the inves- tigation-was $27, ,75O,0O For the first quarter of the year 1890 the cost of living over and above what it was during the first quarter covered by the investigation was $45, ,OOO, GOO. For the second quarter of the year 1890 1t was $15, ,250, 900, and desire to call attention here to the fact that dur ing the second quarter of the year 1890, be- fore the passage of the Mckinley act, the cost of living fell considerably below what It was at the end of the first quarter. The third quarter, which closed Oct. 1, 1890, the very day on which the Mckinley act was approved, the increase was $12, 900 900; but during the next quarter, immediately following the passage of the act, the in- crease was $45, ,750, 900. The next quarter the cost of living was still going up, and the increase was $99, ,250, ,OOO; but the next, the cost having begun to decline somewhat from the point it had reached, it was $53,- 750, 900, making, in the aggregate, the in- creased cost of living to the people of the United States during the period covered by this investigation $2ss, 75oO00.
 MT. George-How long?
 MT. Carlisle-For twenty-four months, excluding September 1889, and the three which were taken as a basis. The in- creased cost of living to the people of the United States during the twenty-four months was $2S9, ,75O, ,O00; but during the last quarter covered by this investigation. taking the three months together, there was a slight decline of 15-100ths of per | cent. in the cost of living amounting to | B, ,750, 900, which have deducted from the gross sum, showing net increase in the cost of living of $285, 100000, the largest proportion of which, or S1S5, 900, 900, oc- | :urred after the passage of the Mckinley
 act, and a large part of the $1OO, O,000, 900 in
 crease which occurred before that time is directly attributable to the fact that the
 bill was pending in congress with almost
 absolute knowledge on the part of the peo-
 pie that it would pass and become a law. | Now. MT. President, how does this com
 pare with the statement made by the sen ator from Rhode Island, that there was
 such decline in the cost of living during l that period as to represent a saving of E325, ,OOO, 900 per annum to the people of the United States? Here is $2S5, GOO, GOO added to the cost of living during that period, which the people have paid; and, no mat ter what decline may have come at it's close, not one cent of it will ever be reim- bursed to those who were compelled to ex pend it for the necessaries of life. That money is gone from them-gone forever and even though prices may continue to decline without fluctuatiOn after the PX piration of the investigation, it does not
 follow that such decline or a greater one
 would not have taken place if the McKin- Hey act had never been passed. On the
 contrary, if the Mckinley act had never
 been passed there would have been a
 greater decline undoubtedly, and this
 enormous additional expenditure of $295,- )00, 900 would not have been eXtorted from she people. MT. Grosvenor, a gentleman
 whom this committee must indorse, be-
 cause it had him employed for some time
 70 assist in collecting prices, made an in-
 Vestigation covering the eighteen months
 just preceding the beginning of this in IVestigation, June 1, 1889, which showed
 that the prices of commodities in this
 country had declined 14 per cent. during
 that time.
 MT. George-During what year?
 MT. Carlisle - During the eighteen
 months next preceding the beginning of
 this investigation. Fortunately it so hap
 pened that our investigation began the
 very day that his investigation closed and,
 while his investigation showed that dur
 l Ing the eighteen months covered by it the
 prices of commodities declined in this country IA per cent, all the senator from Rhode Island can now show is that after : swenty-four months of unnecessarily high prices the cost of living on one day at the very end of the period had declined 441OOths
 of per cent.l
 Is it not perfectly clear, then, that the } proposition with which started out, that the Mckinley act had interfered with ane arrested this natural tendency toward { decline in the prices of commodities, was | correct, and that by its passage the people
 of the United States were deprived O = those benefits which the people of all othel l civilized countries in the world were re l llizing on account of modern improve nents and discoveries and the practica q application of them in their industrial anc T commercial pursuits?
 @ But, MT. President, we also investigated : he wholesale prices of the same article Q Aring the same period in several differen ;, cities and in various establishments i 5 each city, and my statement would not b complete without giving the result of tha
 investigation. That investigation show
 what Is the common observation of ever, - body, that wholesale prices respond mo1 1 promptly to disturbing causes than reta d prices. The reasons for this are obviou 2. In the first place the wholesale trade g located almost exclusively in the gres :, cities, and is in the hands of comparativ d ly a few men, while the retail trade is sea # tered all over the country and is in tf . hands of great many men.
 l. The wholesale dealers and the manufa }, turers of the goods they sell look forwal # bo coming events, keep themselves i y formed of movements in congress and els d where, and take advantage of them in a g vance, while the retail dealer, as a gener rule, gives less attention to disturbing i d huences, because he has his stock Oil han v- purchased at the old prices, and he co h tinues to sell it substantially at the o 70 prices until he lays in a new stock at u P new prices.
 lAn elaborate table on the fnctnatio