Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-03-16
COST OF LIVING
WORLD PROBLEM
TAFT MESSAGE TO CONGRESS
TELLS OF INCREASE IN PRICES
'. OF FooDSTUFFs. N
SOCIETIES OPPOSE 1T
Cooperative Leagues in England Re
. duce Expenses Of Many Fam
lilies According to Reports
Of Consular Officer.

! Washington, D. c., March '14.-Tha
the increase in the cost Of living
not confined to the United States, bu
is felt in England and by the Thrift
peasant of France and Germany, i
shown by a report transmitted b
President Taft in special messag
10 congress yesterday.
The inquiry was conducted at tn
presidents direction by the state d.
partment through it's consular officers
Comparisons of prices charged TO
staple food products are given for tn
last twelve years.
The report shows that in London
from 1896 to 1910. wages increased
I'LL per cent and food prices 1915 pc
cent. The wages of railroad employee
in that time increased only rs pc
cent Bacon and hams on the Lon
don market have risen since 1908 from
fraction under cents to a Fraction
above 16 cents pound; butter, from
22.7 to PSI cents pound; cheese
from 1915 to Is cents pound, lard
IRON 6.5 to 1876 cents a pound; sugar
from to 4.6 cents a pound. The on
ly decrease noticed is in flour, which
in that time fell from 2.7S to 2.46 cents
a pound.
In 1908 pound of bacon or han
cost a Manchester family 9.92 cents
| and in 1910, 1888 cents; two pounds OF
butter Asa cents in 1908 and 51.4s
cents in 1910; half pound of lard
324 cents in 1898 and SO cents in
1910: four pounds of sugar, 1892 cents
! in 1898 and 1924 cents in 1910. Flour
and tea alone showed decreases. Coal
jumped from SAL ton at the pit
mouth to 1922 ton.
France Fares No Better.
France has Jared no better. ''The
increase in the cost of living" says
the American consul general at Paris,
has become the most generally alb
sorbing topic Of discussion by the peo-
pie of northern France The consul
at Havre reports prices on food pro.
ducts in November, 1909. and in No
vember, 1911. showing increases as
follows Beef, from % to 80 cents:
lamb, from 30 to 40 cents; veal, from
81 to As cents: pork. from rs to 35
cents: potatoes, from 1 to 2@ cents:
eggs from 4s to So cents; butter, from
30 to "A cents; milk, from AZ to
cents: rice, from to 10 cents; -four,
from 7 to cents; bread, from to
cents; tea, from Is cents to ST.; soft
coal, from $40 ton to s12 ton. and
from $3.50 to $3.50 a ton.
Sugar showed a decrease from IL to
10 cents.
The meats quoted were from the
second French quality, prime meats
costing from one-half to one-third more
than those quotations. A report from
Lyons shows fish to have been the
only commodity which had not sored
in price in that district from 1909 to
1911.
The consul general at Berlin reports
that living conditions have been ser
iously affected by the continued rise
in the price of food products there. The
German report shows the average re-
tail prices prevailing in fifty-one of the
first week of September, 1911. were:
Beef, 1874 cents: veal, 201 cents mutt
ton, 1873 cents: fresh pork, 10 cents
ham, sliced, 81 cents; whole ham, 27.c
cents: bacon. 1875 cents: and horse
meat S4 cents. Vegetables and dairy
products also showed a considerable in
crease from 1910 to a1s11.
Gains by Cooperative Leagues.
The report reviews the struggle
made by the English consumer through
the medium Of cooperative societies
to combat this increase in prices. The
cooperative movement as consider
able factor dates back to about 1860.
In 1862 there were 400 cooperative So
cities in/Great Britain, with a men,
bership Of 10000. Their sales aggregat-
ed s1,165.000, with net profits to the
societies of $S25,000. AS compared with
this in 1908 there were something over
2 900 societies. with a membership of
2 .701. 900 and their value of sales had
increased to s615,000,000. Their net
profits in 1908 were s14,9s5.OoO.
The report also gives the history of
growth of city cooperative society
loca ted at Leeds. This was organized In
1s47 for the purpose of securing to it's
members cheaper flour. 1t commenced
it's operations with a single flour mill,
which it rented. For the first five years
it sold it's flour to members only and
held to the policy of selling at cost.
Later. by law, it was allowed to sell to
the outside public, and it then began to
sell at a profit, only to pay this profit
back to its members in the form of
dividends at the rate of per cent.
In 1856 it began the sale or groceries.
Then the society took up dealing in
boots and shoes. meats. dry goods. and
clothes and also started series of lee
lures to enlarge it's membership.
Engages in All Industries.
The society was then operating six
,een branches. Each Of them bought
An utilization was made
With the Wholesale cooperative So
,iety of Manchester and all Of the six
cen stores began to buy Jointly from
he latter. Then building department
vas established to help it's members to
1uild homes and the society commenced
he manufacture of shoes. clothing ant,
furniture. 1t established a system Of
giving it's members an annual holiday,
,egan to make grants to certain char
ties, established a newspaper, a
and a library.
In 1884 it bought a coal wharf and
hen became a shipper of coal direct,
,uying it's own ships. These ships also
handled grain. Later q woman's guild
vas organized and schools established
o teach dressmaking ands cooking. etc.
II 1892 it bought farm lands to estab-
ish small farms near the city. Now it
S engaged in or interested In almost all
ines Of distribution and in many lines
If educational and productive develop
nent.
The report states that the co-opera-
i've societies maintain about a per
- ! 81. g. 49,