The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-27

zsrif question is to become, by common
consent, the leading issue in the approach
Ing presidential campaign. In his speech
Of June %, the senator from Missouri (Mr.
Vest) makes this unequivocal statement:
81 am prepared to show that the McKin-
icy act has had the effect of increasing
prices upon the necessaries of life to the
people of this country, and that the state
ment in his resolution referring to the
senator from Maine] that an era of cheap
ness in the necessaries of life is being
brought to the people of the United States
is absolutely and Internationally false"
One of the principal purposes Of the tariff
inquiry ordered by the senate resolution of
March 8, 1891, was to ascertain whether
this claim of the opponents of protection
was justified. An investigation much
more extensive and thorough than ever
before attempted was instituted. The
committee determined to ascertain the
prices paid for all articles of general con-
sumption at retail in every part of the
United States on the first of each month
from June, 1889, to September, 1891, a
period of seventeen months prior to the
passage of the act of 1890 and eleven
months subsequent. The quotations were
places at which quotations were obtained
were selected with the view of covering the
entire country geographically, and in
cluded typical commercial, manufacturing
and agricultural communities. The prices
were secured by the trained experts of the
department of labor with the greatest care.
The list of 215 articles was carefully Sc
lected by the unanimous action of the COM
mittee, with view of covering every pos
sible expenditure of family in the average
condition of life-that is, with an income
of $500 to 81 900 per annum.
The results of this comprehensive and
exhaustive inquiry are contained in the
report recently made by the finance COM
mittee. This report covers $500 printed
pages and contains more than 1900, 900 diff
ferent quotations.
This investigation clearly establishes the
fact that decline instead of an advance
has taken place in the prices of the neces-
saries of life and the resulting cost of liv-
ing since the adoption of the act of 1890.
The articles were divided into the follow
ing groups:
First-Food.
Second-Cloths and clothing.
Third-Fuel and lighting.
Fourth-Housefurnish goods
Fifth-Drugs and chemicals.
Sixth-Metals and implements.
Seventh-Lumber and building mate
rails.
The percentage of decline in the various
groups embraced in the schedule is shown
by the following table, prices for June,
July and August, 1889, being taken as a
basis for comparison and represented by
the number 100, changes being shown by
percentages of that number:
Food. 1OO.53
Cloths and clothing. ..................".. 99.65
Fuel and lighting OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. $3.50
Metals and implements. 97.49
Lumber and building materials. ......... 1928
Drugs and chemicals. .................... 9o.96
Houseturnishing goods. 1888
Miscellaneous. 1C0.5z
Average. Observation-Disclosures. 1913
The finance committee also Investigated
for the same period the course of whole
sale prices at the great distributing cen
tiers. While this investigation disclosed
greater fluctuations in price of the articles
selected, the general result was the same
the fall in wholesale prices running sub
stantially parallel with that Of retail prices.
1t will be observed that the greater per-
centages of decline are in the groups of
manufactured articles, where it was
claimed the greatest advance had taken
place.
In addition to the inquiry stated above
the committee caused retail prices of the
different articles included in these lists to
be taken on May 1, 1892, at three of the
points at which the original inquiry was
made-namely, Fall River, Mass, Chicago
and Dubuque Ia. The result of this latter
inquiry shows that still further decline
in prices and in the cost of living had
taken place between Sept. l, 1891, and May
1, 1892, clearly establishing a continuance
of the tendency to lower prices and lower
cost Of living.
1t is shown as net result of the investi-
CATION that prices and the cost of living,
based on the expenditures of family in
ordinary circumstances, had declined "a
per cent in May, 1892, as compared with
the period prior to the adoption OF the
tariff act of 1890.
1t is difficult to see how the results OF
this thoroughly exhaustive inquiry couid
be surprise to any one, unless he should
be professional tariff reforaer. The de-
cline in the cost of living was, as shown,
3.4. The ADVANCE in wages, as shown oy
the same report, was rs of per cent. This
makes an average advance in the purchas-