The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-02-06
FOOD PRICES RISE
In PAST DECADE
Chamber Committee Brings
Out Important Facts.
THE CAUSES SEEM OBSCURE
Clothing Advances 20 Per Cent.
Rents Are About 10 Per Cent
HIgher-COst of Constructing the
Houses Is 25 Per Cent Greatcr-Tea,
Coffee, and Sugar steadfast.

Interesting developments concerning the
cost of living are coming out of the IN
vestigatiOn being pursued by a special
committee Of the Chamber Of Commerce.
Not only has the price Of many food
products increased enormously in ten
years. but the cost of clothing and shell
ter has advanced in less ratio. The com
mite has established the fact that prices
are higher and In some instances has
probed 10 the cause or causes Of such
rise.
The investigation has been directed
along specific lines. It has carried the
investigation into few well-defned facts
rather than TO scatter II broadly. Ac-
Cordingly a schedule Of thirteen neCes-
saries entering most largely into daily
life were selected. The price range goes
over the years from 1900 70 1910 The
schedule includes articles OF food. cloth
ing, and the item OF shelter. In some
cases the difference IN prices has been
obtained from the books and records OF
business houses. In other cases the files
OF newspapers. especially OF the GrOcers
Circular, have been consulted in the Ii
brary Of Congress.
Clothing Advances 20 Per Cent.
Investigation thus far shows that the
cost Of clothing advanced approximately
% per cent in ten years. Rents have in
creased 10 TO Il per cent In the decade
The cost of a moderate-priced house,
new, to the purchaser has increased
about - per cent.
Coming 10 the price OF food, much In
teresting data has been compiled. Not
all food products have advanced In price.
For example. coffee. tea. and sugar are
sold at practically the same price today
as I'm 1900. but this is true only Of these
articles Prime ribs Of beef sold for y
and Is cents 10 the pound in 1900 At
present the price is ~ and . cents. The
average price of eggs In 1906. wholesale,
was - cents, while their price this year
is generally about Is cents. Milk has ad-
vanced from cents a quart 10 10 cents
Coal that cost $50 a ton in 1900 now
brings S25 Kindling wood brought g.
a cord In 1900 and now sells at 80. Flour
was sold ten years ago az $3.50 a barrel;
to-day it IS 1915. Cheaper meats have ad-
vanced from 12is cents to 14la. The gen
eral average Of FISH is from II TO Is cents.
oysters that cost 81 a barrel in 1900 now
cost s.
Looks Into the Causes.
As to the contributory causes OF this
advance In prices the committee has
gathered many interesting facts In the
matter Of clothing the cause may be
summed up in the general statement that
the advance is due 10 the general in
creased cost Of materials, such as cotton,
wool, and silk. which enter into their
manufacture. The higher rents are due
IN one sense to increased demands OF an
expanding population and in one sense
to the increased cost Of construction Of
new buildings Witnesses before the
have testified with great una
nimity that the increased cost OF farm
products Is due to the changes in agri-
culture brought about by the better finan-
cial condition among the farmers.
For example, it was shown that many
farmers in the States adjoining Washing
ton have wholly abandoned the produc-
ton of eggs and poultry except for their
own immediate uses II was also shown
that the production Of butter on the aver
age farm has been greatly reduced or
abandoned. The reasons given for the