Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-01-24
STANIFER COMPARES
CLOTHING PRICES
With Other Prices People Are
Getting and Paying Now and
a Few Years Ago

suits and clothing in this part of
the state, has been doing some in
teresting figuring on the prices of
clothes, in comparison with prices
that are paid for other things to-
day. He believes that all things
taken into consideration clothing
pr eascrni tnJ shrdlucmfwySIR
prices are not higher and he
thinks that fair minded men will
agree with him when they have
gone into the facts in the case as
he has.
He points especially to the diff
ference in price that the tobacco
grower of Madison and adjoining
counties is getting today for his
tobacco crop as compared with
the price he was getting a few
years ago when clothing prices
were much less than they are to-
day, too. In talking of this mat
ter with the Daily Register this
week, Mr.. Stanifer gave it his
views as follows:
"Most people seem to think that
clothes prices are high. Measured in
the number of dollars it takes to pur-
chase a suit they are. But measured
in the prices of things which the pro-
ducer has to sell, or in the wages
paid for services performed they are
no higher than they were before the
wal. In many instances, as matter
of fact, they are not so high.
Compare clothes prices, for in
stance, with that of corn, the great
American money crop. In 1914 the
Iowa farmer had to haul fifty bushels
of corn to market in order to get
the money to pay for a $25 suit of
clothes. Now he can get a $50 suit
and $40 pair of shoes for his fifty
bushels of corn.
t'It may be that he doesn't haul
corn to market but feeds it to his
hogs. On December Both, 1914, he
had to sell four hundred pounds of
hogs at the top price of the Chicago
market to get the money to pay. for
$25 suit and So hat On December
Both, 1919, if he sold four hundred
pounds of hogs at the top price of
the Chicago market he came within
So of receiving the money to buy a
$50 suit and there have been long
periods in the last two years when
he would have got from $50 to S92
FOR his four hundred pounds of hogs.
eff, on December 30th, 1914, he
marketed thousand pound corn-fed
steer at the top price of the Chicago
market he got $91.50 for it. If he
marketed it on December 30th, 1919.
for the top price, he got $195 for it
money enough to buy pretty nice
outfit of clothes even at present
prices.
"Wheat is raised in very wide sec
ions of the country. Official govern
nent reports tell US that the average
farm value of wheat on November
1st, 1914, was TIC a bushel. The
farmer who sold fifty bushels of it
got $3.50, or just about enough to
buy $25 suit, SIS pair of shoes, a
| So hat, two or three good shirts, and
then some handkerchiefs. The farm
| value of wheat on November 1st, was
S213 a bushel and the farmer who
sold fifty bushels at his home station
| received S106.50, or enough to buy
him a fine $50 suit and a big thick
)vercoat. If a farmer happens to live
n the Northwest and to have held
| his wheat until now he can get some
where near So bushel for grain of
| good quality.
"While we are talking about the
Northwest, it may be well to men,
ton the farmer who raised flax
seed. The government tells us that or
,he first of November, 1914, he re-
ceived an average of $1.18 pei
bushel at the farm stations for his
| seed. For twenty-five bushels he got
| just about enough money for his $25
| suit and a hat. If he marketed his
flaxseed on November 1st, 1919, he
| got on an average of 1882 bushel
| at the home station. For twenty-five
bushels he got $95. .50-enough to pay
for his $50 suit and leaves $3.50 fol
hat, shoes, and furnishings for the
winter.
"You may think the Northwest is
particularly favored territory but
let's look at the South where they
raise cotton. We all remember how
in the fall of 1914 the "Buy bale OF
| cotton" campaign was on to save the
producer from ruin. i
r"sThe price of cotton in the fall o1
1914 was down to 6 cents a pound fol
a time, but that's hardly a fair com
parison. Let's 30 back to Nov. 1
1913, when the average farm price
was 13c pound. The farmer the1
had to market 1913 pounds of cottor
to pay for $25 suit. On Nov. 1, 1919
the average farm price was 36.5c {
pound and the grower could pay fol
a $50 suit by selling only 165 pounds
of cotton.
4'The average price said to ths
farmer all over the United State.
for butter on November 1st, 1914
was 26.4c a pound, while on the same
day in 1919 he got Soc a pount
for it. For his eggs he go
25.3c dozen on November 1st, 1914
while he got sac a dozen for them il
1919.
| "The sheep raiser who produce.
wool st the country stations on Nov
1st, 1913. He had to sell 161 pound
to get money to pay for $25 sui
of clothes. On November 1st, 1919, tn,
average price paid to the producer.
for wool was 50.6c pound. He onl!
had to sell 118-1a pounds of wool t,
H.. L..