The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-08-29
Wartime Changes in Cost of Living

family OF Inc average WdSSediAoi III
the United States during the period
from the outbreak OF the war In July,
l1y14, up to the middle of June, 1918,
is indicated in a report on wartime
changes in the cost of living issued
to-day by the national Industrial con-
ference board In small number OF
communities where there have been
Exceptional increases in rent and in
cost Of fuel, this percentage of in
crease would have to be raised some
what.
/ The increases for the different
items were as follows:
! Food-62 per cent
Rents per cent.
| Clothing-77 per cent.
Fuel and lights per cent.
Sundries-50 per cent.
| Average increase depending on ap-
|portionment of these respective items
| in the family budget)-50 per cent.
! to SIS per cent.
/ In combining the percentages of in
crease for the respective items, in
order to determine the average In
crease for the budget as whole, food
was taken as constituting 43 per cent.
| Of the total family expenditure, rent
Is per cent. clothing Is per cent.
| fuel and light 6 per cent, and sun
dries 20 per cent. Applying the
boards percentages of increase for
the respective items to this distribu-
| ton of the budget, the average in
crease is 50 per cent. The distribu-
| ton of budget items just given is an
average based on cost OF living
studies made by several United
States government bureaus and other
agencies, covering in all $4,000 fami-
lies.
| The proportions of these major
items of expenditure can be varied
within narrow limits, but no reason
able arrangement would cause wide
change in the increase in the total
cost of living as given above. For
| instance, if, instead of this average
distribution of the budget, food be
allocated as much as 40 per cent,
rent and clothing Is per cent. each,
! fuel and light per cent. and sun
dries 20 per cent, the Indicated IN
crease in the total cost OF living,
using the boards percentages OF IN
crease for the respective items, would
| be "a per cent.
For the item of food the report
i bases its conclusions on data as
sembled by other agencies, chiefly
| the United States bureau Of labor
| statistics. For clothing an original
study was made through schedules of
inquiry sent to department stores and
retail clothing establishments in rep
resentative cities. Information as to
| changes in rent and in cost OF fuel
was likewise obtained chiefly by first
hand inquiry. The great variation
among individual families in the ex-
lpenditure for sundries and the great
number of items comprised under
this head precluded an original study,
| and the increase was placed some
| what arbitrarily at so per cent. which
lis approximately the average Increase
/ in cost of the other four items in the
budget. Such an allowance is con-
lsidered to be liberal.
| The report points out that because
iof great differences in local condi-
Itions and in standards OF living
among individual families, any aver
age of increase can be applied only
| in broad way. A range OF so per
! cent. to So per cent. is, however, con-
sidered fairly representative OF the
increase in living costs for the ma
iority of industrial communities
Special emphasis is moreover laid on
the fact that if these figures are to
be used as a basis for FeadJusting
wages, local studies must be made of
changes in rent, which have shown
marked differences in different COM
lmunities. Thus, II in given COM
munity rent had advanced as much as
10 per cent, the increase in the total
cost of living would range from so
mate of IS per cent as the rise in
the cost of fuel will also have to be
Increased for some communities; but
this would have only a slight effect
on the increase in the budget as a
whole because of the relatively small
expenditure for fuel. Similar adjust
Iments can easily be made to allow
for further changes in cost of any of
the other items as ascertained from
time to time as, for example, the
tchanges in the price of food reported
from month to month by the United
States bureau of Dor statistics.
The report contains caution
against the use of food prices alone
or wholesale commodity prices as a
measure of the cost of living. point
ing out that errors of this kind have
sometimes been made by writer's on
the subject. Even retail prices are
an uncertain guide until the separate
items in the budget have been given
their proper ALLEGATION. 1t is further
stated that the boards study was not
intended to reach refined deductions,
but instead, as general survey
which, without giving precise meas
uremerts, nevertheless affords a basis
for close approximations.
Food.
The report cites records of the
limited States bureau of labor stats
tics, which show an average increase
lin retail prices of fifteen leading
ARTICLES of food between midsummer
) of 1914 and June, 1913, OF about 62
ner cent. Prices in midsummer
1914. were very close to the average
Cor 1a12 For more than a year