The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-16
War Prices in Europe.

A year or war has thrown consid
cradle light upon a matter Of fruitful
speculation and prophecy, the effect
Of a general European war upon the
food supply and prices in the battling
nations and their neutral neighbors.
While 1t has d%isproved omlnous fore
bodings Of want and starvation, ex-
cept upon sections actually devastated,
It has shown an increase in the cost
Of living throughout Europe and the
necessity in every country of legal or
administrative mea sures to restrict
this rise.
The greatest advance has been in
the price of accessories. This is ex
planned by the fact that people cut
or %luxuries and began using neces-
saries; as an example. when the price
Of flour increased many stopped the
Use Of wheat and made their bread
Of rye. In this way the poor rather
than the we'll to do felt the pressure
more severely; for the increased de-
mand for necessaries advanced the
price to those whose living had been
mainly confined to them. Another
way In which the burden fell harder
upon the poor was the decrease in the
purchasing power Of the worker due
to unemployment. In some cases, and
In others to the fact that the wage
Garner had been called to military
service.
Flour and sugar showed the great.
est f~uctuation in price. This varia-
ton. according 10 data furnished the
State Department by Its consular ser.
vice. a noted not only in different
countries, but In different sections of
the same country, the important con
siderations being whether the coun-
try was or was not dependent upon
imports and the distance Of the To-
cality from the base Of supply. Eng
land Imports all Its sugar and thus
the price has risen 20 per cent. Ger
many and Russia, being exporting
countries, show no advance in price.
Greece. a neutral nation. was one OF
the sufferers in this regard, for the
price increased $50 per cent.
Although both Germany and Aus.
tria claim to have sufficient wheat To
last until next harvest. the price of
wheat -four in Austria has greatly
advanced. On the other hand. in Rus.
sla, the greatest wheat exporting
country in Europe, the price has not
been increased in fact. in Moscow the
price of wheat -four has actually
fallen.
The outbreak Of the war was fol.
lowed by the sharpest rise in prices.
but when within a fortnight the first
panic was over the prices fell. From
then on local conditions became the
most important factor. The reports
mention that In some parts OF Nor
way, where the cessation of tourist
travel left the inhabitants with an
oversupply of fOodstuffs, the prices
dropped to a lower level than before
the war began; in Venice the reduc-
tion in the number OF visitors re-
duced the income OF a great part Of
the population and at the same time
increased the cost Of living by lessen
Ing the imports; in Paris the prices
Of some meats, vegetables and fruits
decreased, and in another great
French city, Mnrsellles, the cost Of
living increased 20 per cent.
The most common mea lures used
to check the rise in the cost Of neces.
saries were an embargo on exports
and a removal Of customs duties on
Imported foodstuffs. Some Of the
Governments permitted local authori-
ties to fix prices on most things, but
issued DEGREES concerning highly i'm
portant articles. Both Austria and
Germany prescribed the proportions
Of wheat and rye in making bread {:
and Germany prohibited use OF grain
for certain purposes and csta blished
maximum prices for potatoes and for
babe their use in the manufa curing
Va olpiito' III CcIDld tUe MlHlSteT OF
the Interior was charged with the
duty of fixing maximum prices. In
most Of the neutral nations the munic.
ipal authorities exercised this right,
which In many cases was of long
standing.
BY means Of closely restrictive
measures and careful outstanding Of
resources the Governments Of Europe
have managed in addition to caring
for their armies TO supply the non
combatants with the necessa ries of
life. But the burdens Of the great
bodies Of troops in the field grow
heavier each day; and even with the
promises Of bountlful harvests in Eu-
rope, the demands upon the whole of
the rest Of the world for foodstuffs
must still remain great.
New Alignments In State POlltics.