The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-09-20
Convicted Out Of Their Own
Mouth.

The Republicans gravelyf announce that
while the cost ofliving III the ten years
ending In 1868. has Increased los per cent
the Increase III wages during the same
period has been 1876 per cent. or a net
Increase OF IL per cent. Even these fig
5ureg are severe commentary on the Re-
publican boast that high tariff taxes bene-
g TT labor One and one-tenth per cent.
increase IN wages In ten years. over and
above the increase in the cost OF liv-3
Ing Is surely not liberal. when 1t Is
remembered that In the past ten years
new economies and new inventions have
so Increased the productiveness Of la Dor
+ that In all right and equity Its wages
should show Il much larger gain Yet,
this is as much as the Republicans claim.
The Democratic campaign book shows
clearly that even this pitlfulF1.1tper cent.
net Increase In wages Is humbug, and ex-
lists only in the minds of Republican poll
ticians Secretary Shaw and the Hon.
Carroll D. Wright, United States COM
missioner of labor. have undertaken TO
supply figures to uphold the Republican
contention. but fairminded men must ad-i
NIT that they failed utterly. Senator Fair
banks has also tried TO explain away
4 facts after the manner OF the two gen
tlemcn named, but his failure has been
even more pltiabe. IS
II two men make savings bank deposits
the one OF 1893 and the other OF 81. the
average deposit is $500. Would the 81
man be worth $500 because OF this aver
age? BY putting dried bugs, and a score
+ OF articles the average man never saw
OH the free list tho Republicans point
with pride to a tariff law that let's In
more articles free OF duty than were sim
ilarly admitted by a Democratic law. BY
pursuing this method Republican ''ex-
pcrtsn make 1t appear that the cost OF
living under Republican trusts and high
tariff taxes has increased only 1875 per
cent.
Misleading " Averages"
To illustrate how misleading are these
Republican ..averages, =. suppose. for ex-
annie that the increase In the price of
eggs has been 10 per cent, while the.
decrease In the price OF nutmcgs II per
cent.
This shows n decrease In the average"
cost OF living. but Of how much practical
benefit would this be to a people to whom
eggs arc n prime necessity, and to whom
nutmegs are almost valueless. The aver
age American consumes II dozen eggs
in a year, for which he pays the average
price Of 20 cents Il dozen, making his an
nunl egg bill $40 n year; an advance of
Il 2 cents a dozen is an advance OF 10 per,
cent In the cost OF living SO far as egGs
are concerned, The average American
consumes about 1-4Oth of a pound OF nut
negs year, al an average price of IS
cents pound, and his nutmeg bill Is
less than cent u year II the price OF
nutmegs falls to 80 cents that is equiva-
lent to decline of II per cont. In the
cost of living. SO farias nutmegs are con-
cerned,
& 1t is exactly upon such figuring rs
this that Republican orators are basing
their claims that the average cost of
living has Increased only little more.
than Is per cent.
Tho cost OF living was nearly Z per.
cent, higher In 1901 than during tho period
of 1s90-1S90 Commissioner Wright, who
makes Ills figures suit the demands Of the
Republican campaign managers, includes
pepper, OF which the average American
consumes cents worth a year, OF the.
same relative Importance in his tables
OF the cost Of living, az coffee of which.
tho average American consumes $1.60
worth every year. Alum is made to af-