Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-09-14


States to live.
1.-THE senator here read an extract from
the speech Of Senator Aldrich, who claimed
that prices had so far declined and wages
SO far advanced as to make a total gain to
the people of S3o5, ,0O0, 900 per year as re-
suit of the Mckinley bill and continued:
Mr.. President, admit that on single
day after the passage Of the Mckinley bill,
and during the period covered by the in
vestigation, the retail prices of the 2l5 ar
ticles selected by the committee, taking
them altogether and giving to each one
the same Importance, 64-100ths of l one
per cent. lower than they were at the be-
ginning of the period, and that on the
same day, which was the last day included
in the invcsti cation. the cost of living in
the United States. giving to each article
its relative Importance as an element in
expenditures for consumption, had &c
creased 44-100ths of l per cent. from the
rate prevailing Mt the beginning of the in
gatiOn-that is, the cost of living in
cluding rent which was not investig gated
by the committee at all, had been reduced
44-10Oths of per cent. below what it was
during the first three months of the in
vestigation. But that single day has been
separated by the senator from Rhode
Island from all the other days embraced
in the twenty-cight months, and taken as
the basis of all the tables presented and
statements made by him, as if it was Il
fair representative Of the whole period
The investigation began on the 1st day
of June, 1885, and continued month by
month in seventy different cities in the
United States until the 1st day of Septem-
Der, 1891, embracing a period Of twenty
eight months. The prices Of these 215 ar
ticles 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 investiga-
tion-that is to say, the average prices
which prevailed during the months of
June, July and August, 1880, on all the
articles were taken as the unit of price,
each unit or index of price being repre-
sented by 100, and as the prices subse-
auently rose or fell the 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, as have said, the last one on
"Nion On III 5'oioi was nieoo'
ihe Cost CT Living increased.
[Senator Carlisle here referred to
statement of Senator Aldrich that in the
same time the cost of living had increased
in England. He declared that the COM
mlttee had made no such inquiry; that no
such results could be drawn from any
facts before the committee, and that other
statements IN Senator Aldrich's speech
were not IN evidence before the committee,
and contInued]
Mr.. President, propose to show, or at
least endeavor to show, that the prices of
commodities lii the United States, whether
considered by wholesale or by retail, were
enormously increased by the passage Of
the Mckinley act and the agitation which
preceded it, and that the cost OF living in
the United States, giving to each one of
these articles its proper degree of impor-
tance IN expenditures for consumption,
was increased during the period covered
by this investigation more than SsS5, ,OOO,-
No' and THAI over sls5, 100000 OF that in
crease occurred after the passage of the act
OF 1870
venture to make the statement, which
N~~NSNf 'A-N"S ~ sNiJ
large proportion CT the increase in prices
or manufactured articles and in the cost Of
living which occurred before the passage
OF tina. act WIS on account OF the TACT that
1t was pending III congress with an almost
absolute knowledge on the part OF the pro
ducers of protected articles everywhere
that 1t Woulft 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, We're 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
selected by the committee fell, and that
the fall was grehter after the passage of
the Mckinley bill than it was during the
whole period preceding its passage,
Unless the 2l3 articles thus selected by
the committee are fairly representative OF
the total quantity OF articles consumed by
tne people, our investigation Is worth Dut
lcIie' SO Lar as IL attempts 10 ascertain the
cosC Oh lVlhS' IL "ould OF course De
vaiuaoie 10 sho" the course OF prices on
chose 'lo oarolcies' pu6 repeat uniess tney
INTO consumption, The lnVestlsatlon IS OF
but little value 30 far as It attempts to
sGa1e the eliec0 OF increase III prices upon
the cost OF living.
!Ihe senator here presented elaborated
tables showing a trick IN the committees
hethou OF proving decline ID prices; IL
LOOK prices iit d uilto IN 1907 When they had
risen Ia anticipation OF tne MCKINNEY Dill,
ana at anoCher IN 1911, "hen they were at
the lowest. ne aoGeeI
Io go no farther back TO hnd the ln1lu-
ence OF the MCKINNEY act upon the retail
prices OF cohmoui1les' we.hnd that from
and including OCT. l. lo9o' untH June l,
is9l' the prices increased as follows: On
Yct l. lo9o' the increase was o. 800 oSo over
the prices on sept. l; on NOV. l. losO, the
increase was so,4lo'ooo; on DEC. - SI,ooo,-
wv; on Jan. |, 1871, IL was Slo,ooo, $685. on
feo' l., 1851 1t was 81 ,oe3,3So; on March l,
1871; II was Sli,oeo, 600; on April l II was
Sl@'ooo'ooo; on May IL was so,foo'ooo' ana
on June 1t was s3,ooo'o6o.
What tho People Spend,
Mr.. President, there have been many at
teinpts made to ascertain the total annual
expenditures of the people of the United
States for articles of consumption. Mr..
Edward Atkinson, gentleman who has
given this subject great deal of thought,
estimates from our census reports and
other data that OF the total population OF