Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-08-24

result we now have the senator from Rhode
Island and all the other friends Of the pro
tectfve system who have recently spoken
npon the subject oonfessing THAI high
prices are pot beneficial To the people and
that the original and avowed purpose oI
the act was wrong; la other words. they
now contend that the ACT has been sue
cess solely because 10 failed 70 accomplish
what it was intended To accomplish.
Aidrioh's Paise Cancellations
My purpose here today Is TO show that
the tariff act OF 1870 did. In fact, interfere
with this natural tendency toward do
cline In the prices Of commodities aud u
rise In the rates Of wages, that it did, iu
fact, make IL harder aud more expensive
for the masses of the people VI the United
States 20 live.
Tho senator here read an extract from
the speech Of Senator Aldrich. who claimed
that prices had 10 far declined and wages
No far advanced ~ to make a total gain 10
the people Of sS25 900. 90 per year ~ a NJ.
suit Of the Mckinley bill and Continued:
Mr.. President, admit that on a single
day after the passage OF the Mckinley bill.
and during the period covered by the In
vestigation. the retail prices Of the 2l5 mr.
ticles selected by the committee, taking
them altogether and giving to each ono
the same Importance, 6s-lOhhs Of ] one
per cent. lower than they were at the be-
ginning u the period, and that on the
same day, which WAS the last day included
In the investigation. the cost II living In
the United States. giving TO each article
if- relative Importance as an element In
expenditures for consumption, had de-
creased A-iOOths of ! per cent from the
rate prevailing at the beginning of the fn-
westigation-that II, the cost II living, In
cluding rent, which was not Investigated
by the committee NJ ALL had been reduced
Ai00ths of per oeDt. below what 1t was
during the first three months Of tho In
vostigat!on- But that single lay has been
separated by the senatdS from Rhode
Island from all the other days embraced
In the twenty-eigbt months, and taken as
the basis of all the tables presented and
statements made by him. as IL II was a
fair representative of the whole period.
The investigation began on tho lst day
Of June, 1889, and continued month by
month In seventy different cities IN the
United States until the lst day OF Septem-
ber, 1891, embracing a period OF twenty
eight months The prices Of these 2l5 ar
tscles for the first three months at these
seventy different places and at quite a
number Of establishments In each place
were taken as the basis Of the investigar
tion-that II TO say, the average prices
which prevailed during the months Of
June, July and August, 1889. on all tho
articles were taken IA the unit Of price,
each unit or index Of price being repre-
sented by 100, and as the prices subse-
quently rose or fell tho fact was noted, and
the percentage Of rise or fall WAS recorded
IN the tables. Now ! submit TO the senate
and the country that no just or valuable
conclusion for any purpose whatever can
be drawn from calculations based upon
prices which prevailed on one single day
during those twenty eight months, that
day being, IA have s,id, the last one on
which an investigation was made
The Cost Of Living Incressed.
tSenator Carlisle here referred To q
statement Of Senator Aldrich that In the
same time the cost OF living had increased
In England. He declared thai the com
mittee had made no such inquiry; that no
suoh results could lie drawn from any
facts before tho committee, and that other
statements Ia Senator Aldrich's speech
were not In evidence before tine committee.
aud continuedl:
Mr.. President. propose to show. or at
least endeavor TO show, that the prices of
commodities h the United States, whether
considered by wholesale or by retail. were
enormously Increased by the passage Of
the Mckinley act and che agitation which
preceded IL, and that the cost of living In
the United States, giving to each one Of
these articles It's proper degree Of impor-
In ~ nd p Ia i,,,.
was increased during the period covered
by this investigation more than s@s5 COO.
600, and that over elS5, ,0O0, 900 Of that In
crease occurred after the passage of the act
Of 1890
venture to make tho statement which
think nobody can refute, that a very
large proportion VI the increase in prices
Of manufactured articles and In the cost OF
living which occurred before the passage
OF that act was on account Of the fact that
10 was pending In congress with an almost
absolute knowledge on the part Of the pro
ducers Of protected articles everywhere
that IL would be passed and become law.
! propose TO show. In the second place,
that the rates Of wages In fifteen substan-
TALLY unprotected industries In this coun-
try, selected by the committee, were in
creased during the period covered by the
investigation. and that during the same
period the rates of wages In fifteen pro
tected Industries In the United States, also
selecJed by the committee. fell. and that
the fall was greater after the passage Of
the Mckinley bill than IL was during the
whole period preceding it's passage
Unless the elb articles thus selected by
the committee are fairly representative OF
the total quantity OF articles consumed by
the people, our investigation Is worth but
little, 10 far ~ It attempts to ascertain the
cost Of living II would of course be
valuable To show the course Of prices on
those 2ab articles; but l repeat, unless they
fairly represent all the articles which enter
into consumption, the Investigation Is Of
but little value 30 far IA IL attempts 10
state the effect Of increase In prices upon
tho cost Of living.
(Thc senator here presented elaborated
tables showing trick In the committees
method OF proving q decline In prices; IL
took prices at date IN 1854, when they had
risen IN anticipation Of the Mckinley bill,
and NJ another ia 1891, when they were at
the lowest lie added:
To 40 no farther back to find the infiu.
enco Of the Mckinley act upon the retail
prices VI commodities, we find that from
aud including Oct 1. 1890, until June /,
1891, the prices increased as follows: On
Oct. l. 1880, the increase was tl .B33, 1888 over
the prices on Sept. !; on Nov. l. 1890, the
Increase was t3,4l6, go Oh Dec l. n, ,5O0,-
6O0; ON Jan. 1. 1901, II was tl0Gs3, ,333, on
Fob. |, 1881, IL WA ell, ,O63, ,83S, on March 1,
sQOd ~ x.,aa A. 0Ssa MA 90, mil 4 4, ,,,..