Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1907-05-09
Tho Government Statistics Show
Highest Level on Record.
EVERYTHING HIGHER.
Remarkable Increase I'm All Lines Of
Household and Personal Supplies
Indicated by Recent Complication
Of Statistics Of Wholesale Prices
and the Government to Study Re-
tail Prices.

tail Prices.
Living expenses are increasing at
rate that finally has startled the
government statisticians-and he ia
the last man in the world to be start
led at anything.
For three years the average Amer
lean housekeeper has felt the strain
OF increased household expenses. but
until within a few months, the mat
ter has not appealed officially to the
statistical agents of the governments
Indeed, less than a year ago, figures
were made public by the bureau Of
labor which seemed to indicate that
there had been no increase In the liv-
Ing expenses OF the average Ameri-
can citizen. The figures showed that
some articles OF everyday use In Am
ertcan households had gone I'D in
price, but the general PERCENTAGE OF
increase was so small as to be incon-
siderable. At that very time, II was
known to every householder In the
land that the expenses had increased
materially. and that he was paying
more for the support Of his family
than he ever had paid before.
Now, these facts have dawned on
the government officials. The latest
investigation made by the bureau of
labor have thrown some strong light
on the subject. The criticism of the
reports made about year ago induc-
ed the officers OF the labor bureau to
institute an inquiry into the cost OF
Wholesale amounts OF commodities
generally used in housekeeping. The
comparisons instituted covered a per-
iod OF seventeen years. The inquiry
into the wholesale prices Of such ar
ticles Of the same commodities is be-
ing made. The latter will not be COM
pleted for several months yet; but
the statistics respecting the whole
sale prices has prepared the statis-
tics for what they will find in their
inquiry into the retail prices.
In the inquiry only recently COM
pleted, 1t was discovered that the
Wholesale prices Of 25S ordinary
commodities had reached q higher
level In 1906 than at any previous
time In the history of the country.
or course. the period covered by the
Investigation was only seventeen
years, but at no time prior to that
had prices SO high been attained as
to any considerable number of the
articles investigated. On the whole
number of articles, the average price
in 1906, was 5.6 per cent higher than
1t was in 1905, and 36.5 per cent
higher than in 1897, the year In
which the lowest prices Of all the
commodities were reached in the II
year period. The statistics show
that the highest level Of prices was
reached In December. 1905, the aver
age for that month being Al per
cent higher than for the entire year
OF 1906, and Ga per cent higher than
for the corresponding month of the
previous year.
1t la stated by the bureau OF labor
that the inquiries covered farm pro-
ducts. food, clothing. lumber, build
ing materials. drugs. house furnish
ings and miscellaneous commodities.
Farm products and chemicals showed
slight decrease from the prices Of
1908, but all other products indicat-
ed a material increase. The aver
age price of farm products showed,
in 1906, only a slight change from
1905. while food products as whole
increased 3.6 per cent over 1905.
Sixty-five of the seventy articles
of clothing showed an increase in
price, while only four indicated a de-
crease. In the others there was no
change.
| I'm submitting the figures. the bu-
reau OF labor make no attempt to
discuss the cause of the rise and fall
lof prices contenting itself with a sim
pie statement of the facts as it finds
them. 1t is significant, however, that
an inquiry Is being made into retail
prices on the very heels of the other
| Investigation.