Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-03-14
WAGES SHOW SOME ADVANCE
Increase is Much Less Than in Prices
for Food and Clothes.
COOPERATION is BIG FEATURE
Associations of Consumers Secure
Practical Results.
SERVE MEMBERS AT LOWER COST
This Is Denied by Retailers, hut Fig
ures Do Not Bear Out Their Con-
tention - Doctor. Pay Com
mission to Associations.

hAottlNGION. March lS.-Thc preSi
dent today, in a special message TO con
gross, transmitted the first installmen
of the information collected BY the De
partment Of State In regard to co-opera
ton and the cost of living In varioul
European countries. The department. b.
direction OF the president, instructed tn,
consular officers to make the investiga
tion. The results Of the inquiry are sum
med up in letter from Acting Scecretsr,
of State Huntington Wilson. which II
submitted with the consular reports ant
with a summary of their contents.
The president in his message says tha
the popular demand for information oi
this character apparently was based or
the belief that some remedy might bs
found for the high cost OF living. The
immediate result Of the inquiries instl'
tuted by the Department OF State through
the consular officers was to accentuats
the fact that the increase in the prices
Of the common necessities OF life Is
worldwide. and that II Is an absorbing
question with the cooperative sssocia!
tions. Intelligence presented by the CO.
operative 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 supplies. The
president says that the information coll
lected by the Department OF State is
permanent contribution TO the history OF
the efforts OF producers and consumers
TO solve for themselves the economic
problems Of production, distribution and
consumption. IL the cooperative asso-
Citations which have been in existence for
half a century have not been able to de-
termlne the fundamental causes OF the
increased cost OF living or TO retsrd the
advance, the student Of social progress
may at least derive instruction from the
account OF the associations and their
Influence on the well-being OF their mem-
bers.
Suggests International Commission.
The president also calls attention to his
message Of February 2. In which he
recommended an international commits
sion to look into the cause for the high
prices OF the fiecessftfes,of life and the
possible remedies. Should such COM
mission be authorized by congress. he
says. the relation Of the cooperative So
cleties to this subject would be OF great
interest
Acting Secretary Wilson in the letter
10 the president describing the activities
OF tho Department Of State in carrying
out the presidents instructions says that
while the consular officers were engaged
in their Investigations their attention was
drawn to the facts given hy the co-opera-
tive societies concerning the advance IN
the prices OF the most necessary articles
OF food. Tire reports on this phase OF the
subject were uniform In showing that
the members of the cooperative asso-
ciatious we're feeling the universal in-
crease In the cost Of staple commodities
The onsul-seneral at London for
warded a table prepared by the co-opers-
tive wholesale societies which exhibited
the increased cost Of certain articles in the
United Kingdom since lSss, From a SUM-
mary Of rates OF wages II was developed
that the per cent OF increase In certain
trades from 1896 TO 1910 was Ill and IN
food prices 1876. The wages Of railway em-
gloves during this period had increased
only 7.3 per cent. The consul at South
ampton reported that during the last
five years there had been an advance OF
70 per cent In the purchase price VI fresh
beef. mutton bacon. hams, butter. eggs,
fruits. tea. dried fruits, sugar, coffee,
fuel. tin goods, women's apparel, foot
wear, clothing. cotton goods, bedding,
furniture and underwear. A series Of fig
ures relating TO general groceries conf
piled by the Cooperative wholesale
Society OF Manchester gave an instrue-
tive example Of what the rise In the
cost OF provisions meant TO an ordinary
family. Taking the table as whole 1t
appeared that as compared with 1885 the
Increased cost Of living In 1910 was l3.Ss
per cent.
Food Prices In France Rise.
The consul at Havre. France. reported
food prices in November, 1911. All these,
with the exception Of sugar. showed
heavy increases. The consul ut Lyons
a table prepared by the
exchange giving the aver
axe prices Of various food commodities
m 1sOe and 1911. Fish was the only COM
modify that had not SCARED in price.
With reference 10 Germany, the consul |
general at Berlin reported that living |
conditions we're seriously affected BY the |
continued rise in the price Of food
products, many Of the commodities hay-
ng advanced far above all previous rec
,rds. The average retail prices prevailing |
n fifty-0ne Of the principal cities Of Ger /
many were gwen.
In Holland the consul at Amsterdam 1
quoted an official agricultural report coy I
ring such articles as beef. pork. eggs. I
butter. ham and wheat. which showed /
hat the Increase In prices had ranged 1
rom IS to IS per cent In the twelve years i
1855 Reports from consular 4
,fflcers in other countries showed similar
ldvanoes-
Referring to the general subject mat !
er OF the consular reports the acting
secretary OF state says that much inter- I
st attaches 10 the cooperative aSso-
.istions in the United Kingdom because /
England may be said to be the nursery /
Il these societies. The consular officers 4
describe the inception and growth and I
he organization and operation Of the 1
cooperative associations. both distribu- i
i've and productive. The collective growth /
u cooperative societies in the United
as a whole is shown By a sta
isticzl summary In iss3 there were lss i
ocie,ies, with 80 members The value
CONTINUED on second Pzge)