The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-07-12
COST MUCH MORE !.
T0.L|v|E NOWADAYS.
Figures from Burcaut Of Labor
Show Marked Increase III
Ordinary Expenses.
ADVANCING FOR TEN YEARS
Increase in That Time Nearly
so Per Cent-Food and Other
Prices Move Upward.
Times.Dispatch Bureau.
Munscy Building,

Washington D. c.. July II.
It is officially admitted that the cost
of living for 1907 was 81 per cent.
higher than for 1906; and.44.4 per cent.
higher than for the year 1S07;ln other
words, the Bureau OF Labor admits that
the cost OF living has almost doubled
itself during the past ten years. IN
view of the fact that the country is Just
entering upon political campaign
these figures which are taken from d
bulletin issued by the Bureau OF Labor,
arc all the more significant, since the
country has been under Republican rule
during the entire ten-ycar period It
has been charged that the Bureau of
Labor has juggled with figures to pre-
vent its being shown that the cost OF
living has increased.
The Commissioner OF Labor took 25S
commodities and traced the course OF
them with prices during the preceding
decade. His comparison showed an In
crease Of an average of 81 per cent. in
nine classes Of commodities into which
he divided tile 25s articles mentioned
above. The. Increases were as fol-,
lows:
Per Cent.
Farm products ................... 100
Food, etc ............ AS
Fuel and lighting ................ "a
Metals and implements .......... 81
Lumber and buildings Materials. A.9
Drugs and chemicals ............. S.3
House furnishing goods .......... SIS
miscellaneous ...........,........ o.O
Greater Increaxc Than Apparent.
There Is no doubt that in many
classes OF commodities the increase Is
considerably greater than is apparent,
since included in thetclass. along with
the most important articles. are various
articles OF little importance whose prices
seldom vary. For instance. under tue
the head food is included beans, pota-
toes, coffee, eggs, milk. rice. nutmegs,
pepper and tea and coffee. as we'll as
pork, mutton and beef. The stability
In the prices OF many of these
unimportant articles affects the total
result, whereas the increase in the
articles OF most general consumption
has been very great.
With wages reduced, or no wages at
all, owing to the comparative scarcity
OF work for the past six or eight
months. the argument OF full din-
ner pail" will hardly be used as freely
in the coming campaign as in others OF
recent years.
The fact should be noted that in
every case the decrease in prices occur
red in the last three months OF 1907.
stiff Increase of Food Prices.
Food as whole increased 4.6 per
cent. In the average price for 1907 as
compared with 1906 1nzthis group 81
articles increased in price. six showed
no change and thirteen decreased in
price. Among the articles showing All
increase were beef. flour. butter.
| milk cheese. rice. meal, eggs,
lards and sugar No change took
place in the price Of bread The
principal articles showing de-
crease were coffee, potatoes, mutton
beans. prunes and evaporated apples
Some OF the varieties Of pork and fish
showed slight increase in the aver
age price for the year. while other
varieties showed q slight decrease.
OF the seventyfive articles included
under cloths and clothing, fifty-four
showed an increase in price. eleven
showed no change, and ten showed a