The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-14
Declares Statement in President
Taft's Message
SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS
Problem Has Been Found to Be World
wide and OF Absorbing Interest-He
Reports the Results of the State
Departments Inquiries.

Washington, D. c., March 1.-THE
president yesterday, in a special message
/ to Congress, transmitted the first in
stallment of the information collected
by the department of state in regard to
cooperation and the cost of living in
various European countries. The de-
partment, by direction OF the president,
instructed the consular officers to make
the, investigation. The results of the
inquiry are summed up in a letter from
acting Secretary of State Huntington
Wilson, which is submitted with the
consular reports and with summary of
their contents.
The president in his message says that
the popular demand for information OF
this character apparently was based on
the belief that some remedy might he
found Cor the high cost Of living. The
immediate result of the inquiries insti-
tuted by the department of state
through the consular offices was to ac-
centuate the fact that the increase in
prices of the common necessities of life
is world wide, and that il Is an absorb
ing question with the cooperative asso-
Citations. Intelligence presented by the
cooperative societies shows that even
where there has been an advance in
wages the percentage has not kept pace
with the rise in the cost of food IN
plies.
The president says that the informa-
ton collected by the department of
state is a permanent contribution to
the history OF the efforts of producers
and consumers to solve for themselves
. L. nf .,rnIt,efi
distribution, and consumption. If the
cooperative associations which have
been in existence for half century have
not been able to determine the funda-
mental causes Of the increased cost of
living or to retard the advance, the stu
dent of social progress may at least
derive instruction from the account of
the associations and their influence on |
the well-being of their members.
The president also calls attention to /
his message of February =, in which he |
an international commits /
sion to look into the cause for the high I
prices of the necessities of life and the /
possible remedies. Should such COM
mission be authorized by Congress, he
saws. the relation of the cooperative
societies to this subject would be OF
great interest.
Acting Secretary Wilson in the letter
to the president describing the activities
of the department of state in carrying
out the presidents instructions says that
while the consular offices were engaged
in their investigations their attention
was drawn to the facts given by the
CO. operative societies concerning the adj
vance in the prices of the most necessary
articles of food. The reports on this
phase of the subject were uniform in
showing that the members of the CO.
operative associations were feeling the
universal increase in the cost of staple
The consul-general at
London forwarded a table prepared by
the cooperative wholesale societies
which exhibited the increased cost of
certain articles in the United Kingdom
since 1898. From summary of rates
VI wages it was developed that the per
,ent of increase in certain trades from
1896 to 1910 was Ill and in food prices
1915 The wages OF railway employees
Turing this period had increased only 10
Der cent The consul at Southampton
exported that during the past five years
here had been an advance of 90 per I
,ent. in the purchase price of fresh beef, !
mutton, bacon, hams, butter, eggs, fruits, {
ga. dried fruits, sugar, coffee, fuel, tin I
FOODS, women's apparel. footwear, cloth Ii
ny cotton goods, bedding, furniture and |
underwear. A series of figures relating
o general groceries compiled by the Co /
operative Wholesale society of Manches. J
er gave an instructive example of what |
he rise in the cost of provisions meant |
o an ordinary family. Taking the table i
IS whole, it appeared that as com {
jared with 1898 the increased cost of {
living in 1910 was 1886 per cent,