Evening star., 1932-07-27
1S14DOLLAR NOW
WORTH II CENTS.
Purchasing Power Has In
creased s Cents Since
December Here.

The purchasing power of the dollar
Of December, 1914, now IS II cents in
Wachingson. the Labor Department. :;
Bureau CT Statistics revealed today in
compiling figures showing the changes
in living costs during the last six
months. For the country as a whole,
the dollar of 1914 will purchase "a
cents worth, according to the Bureau.
In Washington, the Bureau says, the
purchasing power of 1914 dollar has in
creased cents since last December,
and has jumped II cents since the stock
market crashed in 1929. At that time
the workingman was getting only So
cents value for every dollar, using the
1914 index Of 1000 as the base.
Varies Among Several Groups.
The dollar value here, of course.
varied among the several groups Of
items which the Bureau has listed as
absolutely essential for the working
man.
Food prices today in Washington are
only 2 per cent higher than IN 1914,
clothing is 28 per cent higher, rent Is
81 ger cent higher. fuel and light, 27
per cent; household furnishing goods
are 81 per cent, miscellaneous items are
rs per cent, making a general increase
of all items, 295 per cent.
Since 1929, however, the cost Of living
here has been sliding, according to the
bureau, with the exception OF rents
Food prices have decreased 35 per cent;
clothing, 81 per cent; rents, only 2 per
cent; light and fuel, 9 per cent, and
household furnishing goods, 20 per cent.
While the living cost in Washington
is higher by 295 per cent since 1914, 1t
has declined on an average OF SO per
cent since 1920, 10 per cent since June,
1929; 8 per cent since June, 1881, and
7 per cent during the last six months.
New York Most Expensive.
New York is the most expensive city
in the country for the working man,
being As per cent higher from a cost
of-living standpoint than In 1914. Buf-
falo Is second on the list Of 10 cities
cited by the bureau. Cleveland is third
and Baltimore fourth. Only Savannah,
Ga, and Portland, Greg, are lower on
the list than Washington.
The bureau said that throughout the
country the cost of living decreased
per cent as compared with the preceo-
ing December. The decreases varied
as among the several groups OF items.
Food decreased II per cent, clothing
decreased per cent, rents went down
6 per cent, as did fuel and lights, house
furnishing goods decreased per cent
and miscellaneous items decreased
per cent.
During the last IL months, cost of
living as a whole decreased 10 per
cent, while since 1890 it slumped 18
per cent. Comparing the 1929 figures
with those Of today reveals decrease
Of 20 per cent. Since that time food
Slumped IS per cent; clothing, 81 per
cent; rents, II per cent; fuel and lights,
10 per cent, and household furnishing
goods, % per cent.
Cost of living as a whole from De-
cember 1917, until today is per cent
less. Food today was practically back
to the 1913 level, it being only OIL per
cent higher than at that time.
The bureau said the price level of
the clothing group was only per cent
higher than in December, 1916. Rent
and also fuel and light In 1882, COM
pared with December, 1919, rent being
2 per cent higher and fuel and light
.02 per cent higher than at that time.
House furnishing goods was only per
cent higher than the price level in
December, 1917. The miscellaneous
group, because Of the nature Of the
items included In 1t, does not show
price changes as actively as do the
other groups.