Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-04
THE COST OF LIVING AND WAGE
ACCOUNT.

terest1ng figures. A very careful con-
sfderat1on of the extract that is here
reproduced from the report will show
that all Of the talk that is to be made
In this falls campaign about living
expenses, Is directly against tie in
terests of the American farmer. These
figures compiled by the bureau of la
Dor are very important because they
are going to be used considerably in
the campaign of the next three
months. Every person should read the
following extract:
average increase of 81 per cent an
hour in wages for 1907 over 1906 The
regular hours of labor in week were
O.4 per cent lower than in 1906, and
the number of employees in the estab-
lishments investigated was 1 per cent
greater than in 1906
The bureau investigated the princi
pal wage working occupations in
4,169 establishments representing the
principal manufacturing and mechan-
ical industries of the country.
Investigation covering the sales of
LOLA dealers In sixty-eight localities
show that the retail prices of thirty
principal articles of food, weighed &C
cording to consumption in representa-.
tive families, were AZ per cent higher
in 1907 than In 1906.
The average hourly wages in 1907
were higher than in any other year
of the eighteen year period from 1890
to 1907, and more than 20 per cent
| higher than the average In any year
from 1890 to 1900 AS compared in
each case with the average for the ten
year period, 1890 to 1899, the average
hourly wages in 1907 were 2S.S per
I cent higher, the number of employees
44.4 per cent greater, and the average
hours of labor in week per cent
lower.
OF the thirty articles Of food TWEEN
LYNNE were higher in price in 1907
than in 1906. The articles which show
ed the greater advance in price were
flour 8.9 per cent; butter per cent;
evaporated apples, 7.S per cent; milk,
| I'd per cent; cornmeal, 6.8 per cent;
cheese, CT per cent; and potatoes 5.4
per cent.
The only article which showed de-
crease was tea, the decrease being
OF per cent
It is plain to see that this cry about
the increase in the cost Of living hits
directly at the farmer, because almost
every article that shows an increase
in price to the consumer, comes from
| the farm. If the price of these articles
is to be cut down, then it is the farm
er that must suffer. 1t is hard to
figure out why it is that the Demo
Gratis want to bring about change
that win reduce the price Of farm
products. It is a bad political policy
that wants to cut down the price of
what the farmer raises, but Mr.. Bryan
and his followers have for years been
harping about the increased cost of
living which is direct slap at the
| farmer.
There is a whole lot of tommyrot
connected with all this talk about it
costing more to live now than it cid
twenty years ago. The secret Of
most of 1T is, that we are all living bet
ter than we did 20 years ago or ten
years ago. We are enjoying the con
veniences of the telephone, rural
route, electric cars, electric light, and
the advantages of rapid transportation
and better homes and schools, and
these increases bring us to voluntary
proportionate increases in other lines.
We have many things today that we
regard as necessary that our grand
parents could not have gotten at any
price.
If many Of us wanted to live today
as we did 20 years ago, we could live
just as cheap as we did then, ana
possibly cheaper. We can buy hat,
a pair Of shoes, meal at restaurant,
underclothes, at just the same price,
a sandwich is the same old nickel,
and we can get suit of clothes. for
$40 today that is good enough to wear
at banquet. The trouble with the
man who talks about the increased cost
Of living, is that he doesn't take into
consideration the fact that he has
traded his pipe for ten cent cigars.
| The price of food stuff Is bound to
! fiuctuate with the supply and demand
If the people in this country are work
ing, then the demand is assured. II
the factories are not running and the
workingmen are idle, then the price
i of farm products as we'll as wages is
4 hound 10 hn Tn, 80