The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-25
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COST J ! 0 ]: II !
Government, forsF irst Time,8Will.
Admit Increase Out Sof# Pro ri
portion to ages.
VIII Be. 6 CAMPAIGN ISSUE.
Even ducts Z f 81 Farm r.: High Up
Oh Price Scale Some
. ss.s Explanations.
HAN, 81.
5Is t'',,5 n. - "a nv a y z
(FromS Our SRegul Corresponding

s From Our Reg liar Correspo lent $G
l5}cyyAsH1NGToN,S =. e., July "a The
government will make an official admis-
sion IN a short time to the effect that
there has been most material advance
lin the cost Of living during the past year,
without any adj vance In salaries or wa es.
The Forthcoming report OF the La Dor Bu-
reau3 Of the Department OF Commerce and
Labor on retail prices for 1905 will show
that the cost Of flour, meal, II vel eta bles,
tan 4, other articlcg OF every day consum mp
A'tforns has ntnped S to soar, and has
reached a height which renders the max
Ing OF both ends to meet q problem Of
the most difficult solution. y u. sssN
I'm al most Important feature OF the report
will be the admission that wages have
mot 8correspondinglysta advanced within he
year to offset the high prices. This will
be the first time that the government
will admit that the cost of living has sad-
yanced more re- pidly8 than wa ges, although
eve rybody who works for a sala noWs
itShas been true for several years The
commissioner OF Tabor created amuserr
rnent &all sov err the country In 1901 by get
ting out a report which showed the adj
vance In wages, but which assumed TO
show that the cost OF living had not al
vance,. a The la tier feat was acc omplished
DY2J aQOlnR SIl0 CUBL& lIOuL $A.AA
other necessities in the same colu1n
with certain non-essentials Of living, such
as spicesS condi ments, seasoning extracts,
etc. n and striking an average .8sSB The result
went to sustain the contention that the
cost OF living was as cheap as 1t had been
during the so-called era Of hard Z times.
II Advance General.
Il, IL a scurlouss fact that the report will
show that the advance In prices has not
been confined to the products OF the mills
and factories. e It will show that the
products of the farms have advanced
almost as greatly as manufactured artl-
5cles. which pass through several hands
before reaching the consumer. The farm
or sells his products at O higher price
than ever before, although there would
appear to be no valid excuse for the $ad-
vance In prices, OF course, in the case
ct manufactured articles, the existence
Eof trusts the result Of tariff system,
which shuts out foreign competition and
enables nlonopolies to control the price
Of the domestic article, will explain the
advance in cost to the consumer. But
there is no such explanation possible In
the case OF farm products Probably the
advance In the cost Of the latter may be
due to the fact that the farmer has to
nay a higher price for everything he
buys, and he mas Hhu ~ fauY I t'1o
price OF everything he sells. !;
The administration, which must be re-
B1grarded as .'stand pat,"| although Presl-
den Roosevelt is believed to favor some
revision OF the tariff, . claims that present
conditions mean prosperity despite the
advance In the cost Of living without an
n M In Wa & es. But the men who
have not had n raise In salary in years
contend that 1t ia not q real prospe rity.i
The country is going to hear much Of
this question on the stump this fall ana
In 1905. 8.5s2 y,
S7S The Commissioner Of Labor, Charles +.
Neill, !. says that he cannot explain the
situation, and that every man will offer
an explanation according to his bias
He suggests three answers that may
and varying opinions-the first, that the
tariff is responsible; the second. that the
y trusts are \ responsible, and the tn;ra:.
that the advance In the cost OF living