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

Fourth quarter. 1880. 100. . IOl SO 1915
First quarter lSl 49,. iol SJ i9.T '3
Third GHdu oSSar,er. Sa isi. 80. W q @.S @S
tono hundred assumed the price ~ the
beginning Of the time inquired into.l
We find that during the last quarter Of
the year 1889 the increased cost Of living
over and above what II was during the
third quarter Of that year-the quarter
which was taken ~ the basis Of the inves-
tigation--was s27, 10000 For the first
quarter Of the year 1890 the cost Of living
over and above what IL was during the
first quarter covered by the investigation
was as, ,OO0,OOO. For the second quarter of
the year 1890 IL was el5, ,23O, 600, and desire
To call attention here to the fact that dur
ing the second quarter Of the year 1890. H.
fore the passage Of the Mckinley act, the
cost OF living fell considerably below what
II was at the end Of the first quarter. Tho
third quarter. which closed Oct. I, 1890,
the very day on which the Mckinley act
was approved, tho increase was Sl2, 2,OoO,OOO
but during the next quarter, Immediately
following the passage Of the act, the in
crease was si5, 10000 The next quarter
the cost of living was still going up, and
the Increase was ESQ, 2j0, 900, but the next,
the cost having begun to decline somewhat
from the point IL had reached, It was s53,-
10000, making, In the aggregate, the In
creased cost of living To the people Of the
United States during the period covered
by this investigation SIS, 1000
Mr.. George-liow longt
Mr. Carlisle-For twenty-four months,
excluding September. 1899, and the three
which were taken as basis. The In
creased cost Of living to the people Of the
United States during the twenty-four
months was s2SS, 1000 but during the
last quarter covered by this investigation.
taking the three months together there
was slight decline OF l5-l00ths Of per
cent In the cost of living, amounting to
g., 750, 900, which have deducted from the
gross sum. showing net increase In the
cost Of living of s2S5, Co., 900, the largest
proportion Of which, or tlS5,0O0,O0, 90.
CURED after the passage Of the Mckinley
act, and large part Of the Sl00, 900, 600 in
crease which occurred before that time II
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 law.
Now. Mr.. President. how does this com.
pare with the statement made by the zen.
ator from Rhode Island, that there was
such decline in the cost OF living during
that period IA to represent a saving II
$685., ,0OO, 900 per aDnum TO the people of the
United Statesf Here IL S2S5. .00O, 600 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 REIN
bursed TO those who were compelled to ex
pend II for the necessartes of life. That
money IL gone from them-gone forever
and even though prices may continue 20
decline without fuctuation after the TX
piration of the Investigation, IL does not
follow that such decline or a greater one
would not have taken place II the McKin
ley act had never been passed. On the
contrary, IL the Mckinley act had never
been passed there would have been a
greater decline undoubtedly. and this
enormous additional expenditure Of s2S5,-
600, 600 would not have been extorted from
the people. Mr.. Grosvenor, a gentleman
whom this committee must indorse. be-
cause It had him employed for some time
to assist In collecting prices, made an in
vestigation covering the eighteen months
Just preceding the beginning of this in
vtsllBdJlOil, Junc iooS, WHICH huOWN
that the prices Of commodities In this
country had declined IL per cent during
that time.
Mr.. George-During what yeari
Mr. Carlisle - During the eighteen
months next preceding the beginning Of
this investigation. Fortunately IL 80 hap
pened that our investigation began the
very day that his investigation closed, and,
while his investigation showed that dur
ing the eighteen months covered by II the
prices Of commodities declined In this
country IA per cent. all the senator from
Rhode Island can now show Is that after
twenty-four months OF unnecessarily high
prices the cost Of living on one day at the
very end Of the period had declined A. 4-l0Otbs
Of per cent!
Il it not perfectly clear. then, that the
proposition with which started ont, that
tho Mckinley act had interfered with and
arsested this natural tendency toward a
scline In the prices Of commodities, was
,orrect, and that by It's passage the people
a the United States were deprived Of
those benefits which the people OF all other
civilized countries In the world were re-
alizing ON account of modern improve
ments and discoveries and the practical
application Of them In their industrial and
com mercial pursuitsf
But, Mr.. President, we also investigated
the Wholesale prices of the same articles
during the same period In several different
cities and In various establishments In
each city, and my statement would not he
complete without giving the result Of that
Investigation. That Investigation shows,
what u 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 first place the Wholesale trade IL
located almost exclusively I'm the great
cities. and is in the hands of comparative
u few men, while the retail trade Is scat
tered oil 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
D. 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
fiuences, because he has his stock on hand,
purchased at the old prices, and he con
tinues to sell IL substantially At the old
prices until he lays In new stock at the
new prices
IAN elaborate table on the fluctuations
of wholesale prices was here presented.
This table shows that during the fouI
months preceding Oct. I. 1850, wholesale
prices had never risen above the normal oi
t..s.l.t .s..i... .x.,s In anH th..