The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-10-27
each quarter over what 1t was at the be-
ginning Of the period:

J j 10
Last quarter, 1885,. no. 20 lOi IL co. 90
First quarter, 1900. 10. % l1i 20 100 Il
Second quarter, $780,. l0O.b9 lD bl 30 70
Third quarter, lbgO. ....I 0.p0 l0 IS %. &
Fourth quarter, 1880. lD.t3 l0l 80 a9.6
First quarter, 1891 ..... lnl q l0l 81 100 81
Second quarter, isSi. i 100 % la. Is % 81
Third quarter, is0i. ....I % 90 SOS SOS
lone hundred assumed as the price at 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 1t WIS during the
third quarter Of that year-the quarter
which was taken rs the basis Of the inves-
tigation-was S27,750,O0O. 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 Sl5, 900, 600. For the second quarter Of
the year 1890 II WINS Sl5, go 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
II was at the end Of the first quarter. The
third quarter, which closed Oct. I, 1890,
the very day On which the Mckinley act
was approved, the increase was Sl2, 900 900;
but during the next quarter, Immediately
following the passage Of the act, the In
crease was SIS75O,O00 The next quarter
the cost Of living was still going up, and
the increase was $50 10000; but the next,
the cost having begun to decline somewhat
from the point It had reached, 1t was $751;
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, $4,000.
Mr.. George--H How longr
Mr.. CRrliSlp-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 StatCS during the twenty -four
months was f.2SS, 80 900; but during the
last quarter covered by this investigation,
taking the three months together, there
was a slight decline Of t5.lO1ths Of / per
cent in the cost Of living, amounting to
q, 75O, 600, which have deducted from the
gross sum, showing nee increase In the
cost Of living Of S2S5, 000, 600, the largest
proportion Of which, or $4,000, 900, &C.
Cured after the passage Of the Mckinley
act, and large part Of the slOOOOO, 600 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 IL would pass and become a law.
Now. NJ. President, how does this com.
pare with the statement made by the .,en.
ator from Rhode Island, that there was
such decline in the cost Of living during
that period as to represent n saving Il
SS25, O00, 900 per Hnnum TO the people Of the
United StAtc;S Here is S2S5, 900, goo added
to the cost Of living during thRt period.
which the people have paid; and, no mat
ter what decline may have come at its
close, not one cent Of it will ever be rcim-
bursed TO those who were compelled to ex
pend II for the necessar!cG Of life Tnat
money IL rome from thcm-Gone forever To-
and even thou h prices mny continue 10
decline without fuctuation after the *.
piration Of the investigation, it does not
follow that such decline or greater one
would not have taken place ii the MclIin
ley act Lad never been passed. On the
contrary, II the Mckinley act had never
been passed there would have been a
greater decline undoubtedly, and this
enormous additional expenditure Of $685.
100000 would not have been extorted from
the people. Mr.. Grosvcnor, a gentleman
whom this committee must indOrse, be-
cause It had him employed for some time
to assist in collecting prices, made an in
yestigAtiOn covering the eighteen months
just preceding tho beginning Of this in
vestigation, june |, 1889, which showed
that the prices Of commodities In this
country had declined Il per cent during
that time.
Mr.. George what yearR
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 1t the
prices Of commodities declined in this
country u 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 ut the
very end Of the period had declined r. iOOths
Of per cent.
Is II not perfectly clear, then, that the
proposition with which started out, that
the Mckinley act had interfered with and
arrested this natural tendency toward a
decline In the prices Of commodities, was
correct, and that by its passage the people
Of the United States were deprived Of
those benefits which the people Of all other
civilized countries in the world were re-
aliEing on account Of modern improve
ments and discoveries and the practical
application Of them in their industrial and
commercial pursuitsP
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 DO
complete without giving the result Of that
Investigation. That investigation shows,
what is the common observation Of every
body, that wholesale prices respond more
promptly TO disturbing causes than retail
prices. The reasons for this arc obvious.
In the first place the Wholesale trade is
located almost exclusively In the great
cities, and IL in the hands Of comparative
~ a few men, while the retail trade Il scat
tered all over the country and Is in the
hands OF q great many men.
The Wholesale dealers and the mRnufac-
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
Auences, because he has his stock on hand,
purchased at the old prices, and he con-
tinues to sell It substantially at the old
prices until he lays in new stock at the
new nricps