Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-10-13

| c'sfes and In various establishments in
each city, and my statement would not be
| complete without giving the result of that
| investigation That investigation shows
>hao Is the common observation OF every
BODY, that Wholesale prices respond more
promptly to disturbing causes than retail
prices. The reasons for this are obvious.
| In the vs. place the wholesale trade is
iocated almost exclusively in the great
| cities, and is in the hands of comparative
| ~ few men, while the retail trade is scat
tered all over the country and is in the
hands OF great many men.
The wholesale dealers and the manufac-
| turers of the goods they sell look forward
TO coming events, keep themselves in
formed OF movements in congress and else
where, and take advantage of them in ad-
vance, while the retail dealer, as a general
rule, gives less attention to disturbing in
duences, because he has his stock on hand,
purchased ut the old prices, and he con-
tinues to sell it substantially at the old
prices unit! he lays in new stock at the
| new prices.
Ian elaborate table on the fluctuations
of wholesale prices was here presented.l
This table shows that during the four
| months preceding Oct. l, 1882 wholesale
prices had never risen above the normal or
initial point, except in August, and then
they We're only 22-100ths of l per cent.
than the initial price, and they never
receded TO that point again until August,
1881, period of nearly two years, and then
they were only 7-l00ths of l per cent. be-
low it.
The group of ''cloths and clothing" Sc
!ectcd by the committee for the purpose of
investigating wholesale prices contains
sixty-two articles in general use among
the people, and on the LIST of December,
1882 when the Fifty-frst congress assem-
Dled, the prices of only five of them had
advanced since the beginning of the pc
Rod. The prices of thirteen of them had
fallen, and forty-five of them had neither
advanced nor declined. The tariff act
passed the house of representatives on the
21st day of May, 1890, and by the 1st of
June following the prices of sixteen Of the
articles embraced in this group had in
creased, and any one who will examine the
report of the committee will see that from
the lst dav of August. 1890 the articles
embraced in this important group, taking
them all together, never fell to their origi-
nal or initial price until Sept. l. 1891, the
last day of the investigation, and then
they were only 2-100ths of per cent. lower
Increase in Wholesale Prices.
Now, Mr.. President, by the use of this
table, which is n part of the unanimous
report of the committee, and assuming as
before that the annual expenditure for
monthly expenditure 1888, 1873 1873, we can
ascertain without difficulty the effect
which the increase in wholesale prices
would have had upon the people of the
United States if the whole quantity of
commodities consumed during the period
covered by the investigation had been
sold by the wholesale dealers during that
time. That the whole quantity consumed
was not actually sold at wholesale during
that time is shown by the fact that the ac,-
gregate increase in retail prices or in the
cost of living did not equal the aggregate
increase in wholesale prices
On the LIST day of October, 1885, upon the
basis just stated, which is less than the
total expenditure for consumption the in
crease over the initial price was $3.50, 600;
on the lst day of November, 1889, it was
g., $50, $685. and on the 1st day of December
1899, it was $12, SIS, 333 Congress met on
the first Monday in December, the commit
tee on ways and means was appointed, and
it was soon well known to the country sub
stantially what its policy would be in ref
erence 10 tariff legislation, and on the 1st
day of january, 1890, the increase of whole
sale prices over the prices prevailing at the
beginning of the investigation was S1S-
10000. The next month it was $50 400 900,
and then there was a slight decline from
that figure until Sept. l, 1890, when the in
crease was S24 900, 900. The Mckinley bill
date the increase of wholesale prices con-
tinued TO grow larger month by month I'M
til on The LIST day of April, 1891, it was sS5,-
1865 But l will not detain the senate
by further statement of these increases
in detail, but will insert the following
table. which will show that the total gross
increase from Oct. l, 1889, TO July l. 1891
amounted to the sum Of S445. GIS, SS5. but
during the months of July and August
1891. there were small decreases amount
ing to S3,l0S,3 1888, which, being deducted,
leaves a net increase of So, $40, 552
INCREASE IN WHOLESALE PR CES FROM
OCT. l, 1889, 10 july l, 1891
Oct