Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-10-05
COMPARATIVE PRICES.

~ study OF the progress OF prices up ana down
curing such a period as that of the past ten years is
always interesting. Numerous comparisons have
been made in the prices of pre-war times, war prices,
and the prices since the work of deflation began. A
table has just been published by Mosher and Wal
lace, a prominent New York financial concern, COW
erlng the prices of many commodities for the month
of August in each year from 1909 to 1921. Following
the custom, the base IS fixed at 100, regardless of the
specific price of the commodity, and to reach that
basis an average is taken of the five years, 19o9-1913,
inclusive, all of4these years ante-dating the war.
While it is impossible to give the entire list, the
prices for August, 1921, may be quoted. They are
as follows:
Wheat, 1872; corn, "a; oats, 90; rye, LA; sug-
al. 1.19; coffee, .ee; cattle, fly; sheep, Icy; beef,
l "a; mutton, 1.24; pork, LIS; copper, "a; pig iron,
Icy; cement, 2.05; hemlodk, LIE; yellow pine, 2.05;
petroleum, 1.36; coal, bituminous, 1.se; hides, .82;
leather, 1859 rubber, ~; average of all commodities,
1872. ..
Assuming this list to be accurate, it will be not
ed that the highest relative prices quoted are cement
and yellow pine. Goal is among the higher priced
commodities, standing at 1.89. The greatest de-
crease is in rubber which, according to this table,
now stands at about one-eighth of the price per
pound OF the pre-war average. The highest price
reached by any commodity was touched by coal in
August, 1890, the figure for this product being 7.9e,
or nearly eight times the normal. While the present
price is still relatively high, the decrease from the
high point touched has been tremendous. Leather
runs a falrly close second to coal, having stood at
5.1S in 1918. 1t will be a matter of surprise to most
people to learn that in spite of the demand for rub
Der during@she4war period, the price in New York
showed a steady decrease during all those years.
The highest price quoted is for 1909, when rubber
stood at 1.35, and since then, regardless of the war,
there has been a regular decrease each year until
the present low figure of ~ is reached.
1t will be noted that in the main there is a very
fair proportion existing among the commodities on
the prices quoted for 1921. Naturally the decrease
has not been uniform by any means, but with very
few exceptions it has been fairly regular. The de-
crease in domestic agricultural products seems to
have been midway between the highest and the
lowest. Among the articles which are now lower
in prices than the pre-war level are corn, oats, cof-
fee, copper, wool, hides and rubber. All of the ar
ticles quoted are what may be called raw materials.
Some of them have passed through. certain stages
OF manufacture, but in no case are we given the fig
ures on the ultimate manufactured product. We have
for instance the price of pig iron and steel, but not
the prices of the articles which are made from these
bases. The price of leather is given, but not the
price of shoes also the price of rubber and raw silk,
but not of the articles manufactured from these. The
list of manufactured articles is not so very large and
so varied that it would be a work of great difficulty
to make comparisons, because the forms and pat
terms of goods change from year to year - and it
would be almost impossible to reach a satisfactory
basis upon which accurate comparisons could be
made. ~ 8