Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-23
COST Of LIVING
IS LOWER HERE
Decrease of About II Per
Cent. From June, 1920 to
March, 1922
BY GEORGE II. MANNING
washington Correspondent of the
Perth Amboy Evening News)


WASHINGTON, June ga de-
crease in the cos. of hing in Perth
Amboy of approximately 81 PEI
cent from June. 1920. to March,
1922, and of Az per cent from De-
cember. 1921. to March, 1922, is
shown in a statement issued today
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the United States Labor Depart
ment.
The information contained in this
report is based on actual prices Sc
cured from merchants and dealers
for each of the periods named, and
includes such general items as food,
clothing, housing, fuel and light,
furniture and furnishings, and mis-
c~eilaneous articles.
Compared with prices for the year
1913. before prices began their
rapid rise, the March, 1922, figures
represent an increase in the cost OF
living in Perth Amboy of about 3s
per cent, but a decrease compared
with March. 1921, of approximately
10 per cent, which Is indicative of
the general downward trend of
prices for the country at large. 1t
Is also shown that prices on an av-
er1ge decreased nearly 5 per cent
from February, 1922, to March,
tV~S III citl AilDOy.
OF the cities OF the United States
listed in the report the greatest de-
. in prices from June, 1920 to
March. 1922. was rs per cent, which
was registered at Detroit while the
greatest decrease from December,
1921 to March, 1922 was SO per cent
at Kansas City, which also shows
a decrease of over % per CEN for
the longer period. The report
shows that the cost of living in
Los Angeles has been lass affected
in the general downward trend Of
prices than any other city of the
country, registering a decrease of
only las per cent since June, 1920,
and 2.3 per cent from December,
1921.
From the beginning of the stu
dies to June 1920. there was, with
occasional exceptions. a steady in
crease In prices. becoming more de-
cided during the latter part of that
period. From June to December,
1920, the report states. there was an
appreciable drop in the figures rep
resenting the combined expenditure
While rents and fuel and light con-
tinued to advance considerably. and
miscellaneous items to a lass extent,
the large decrease in food and cloth
ing and the somewhat smaller de-
crease in furniture and furnishings
had the effect of reducing the totals
for December by from rs to 10 per
CEN in the several cities below the
prices for June. The figures for the
period from December, 1920, to May,
1921, show a larger decrease than
the previous six months period,
ranging from ~ to 11.9 per cent.
The smaller decrease in furniture
and furnishings and the increase in
fuel and light shown in the period
from June to December, 1920, were
changed to decided decreases In the
period from December, 1920 to May.
1921, while the rapid decrease in
food and clothing shown in the for
mer period continued. However.
housing made an a~ppreciable ad-
vance while miscellaneous items in
creased only slightly.
In the period from May to Sep
TENDER, 1871, the downward move
ment was not sc rapid as during the
two previous periods. the decrease
ranging to nothing ITO S.8 per cent.
while the average for the United
States was IT per cent.
The decrease from September to
December, 1921. was also slight.
ranging from nothing to 3 per cent,
the average for the United States
being 1T per cent.
The decrease from December,
1921, to March, 1922. was more de-.
cided ranging from 2.3 per cent to
SO per cent with the average for
the entire country being AZ per cent.
Due to advances in hay. grain,
cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry, pro-
ducts from farms again show an n
crease. which was approximately
one and one-half per cent owe the
February level for 1922 and was
about the only group failing to show
some decrease.