Evening star., 1944-02-27
Bureau Of Statistics
Hits Labor Figures
On Living Cost Rise
By the Associated Press.

The Bureau of Labor Statistic!
took labor's cost-of- living claims
apart yesterday and concluded tina
they were absolutely wrong"
The bureau submitted to tn,
Presidents Cost of Living Com,
mittee a 35,000-word analysis O.
the recommended report" of tn,
committees labor members, Georg,
Meany and r. j. Thomas, with thi!
comment:
THE claim of the Meany- Thoma.
report that the cost of living ha.
risen 43.5 per cent dn three years,
is not supported by their data
Rather there is conclusive evidenc,
that they are absolutely wrong ii
asserting that the rise in the cos
of living is nearly twice as grear
as the BIS shows it to be (23.4
per cent?
MANY Errors of Fact"
"The report contains many error:
of fact, and makes use of unpre.
sentative data to support it's genera
conclusion Could the labor
members of the committee, who as
sumed responsibility for these find
ings, have been fully aware of the
nature of the evidence submitted
we do not believe that they would
have subscribed. to the report"
Unswerved, Mr.. Meany and Mr.
Thomas joined in statement yes
terday challenging the bureau to
submit to the Nations housewives
the question of whose figures are
right. They said they got their
figures from these women and de-
clared:
mo group of Government bureau
Gratis has ever before had the audac-
ity to insult American. housewives
by telling them that their expert
ences are all wrong, and that they
should instead try to live on BIS
statistics"
Prices Vary Widely.
, The bureau did not discuss the
wisdom or practicability of using it's
index as a yardstick to measure or
limit basic wage increases nation
ally, as the Little Steel formula does
under certain conditions, but made
these comments:
1T the index must be accepted
for what it is-a good approxima-
ton Of average price changes for
essentials of family living. 1t is
national average, not a microme-
ter reading applicable to the situa-
ton of every family. When it is
used for policy purposes, considera-
ton should be given to problems
peculiar to the groups involved.
Families differ; localities differ;
prices vary widely.
"One of the facts that should be
noted about the cost of living is
that the lower the income group
whose well being is to be appraised,
the most carefully the index must
be used. At the lowest income
levels changes in the quality of
available low-cost merchandise, for
example, take on especial signifi-
canoe.
Increase Not Uniform.
I'VE certainly should not assume
that every family which formerly
had an income of $1,000 and now
has spendable income of exactly
81 1884 "a 234 increase) is as ade-
quately provided for today as it was
three years ago. The bureaus fig
ures themselves show that The cost
OF living has risen much more in
some cities than in others.'.
Under the beading, "ErroEs,in the
Meany-Thonaas Report" tie BIS
said that reports weakness "lies in
mistakes in the data and their use.
1t Is replete with errors. DESPITE
the fact that the data underlying
the, report are Enthusiastically
weak and often untruStworthy, the
argument has been so carefully
pieced together that it should be
followed through point by point"
The bureau said that "it is
claimed that foods not priced by
the BIS have advanced more than
those that are in the index. A
special survey shows that if the
principal items Of food, purchased
for use at home, and not now in the
index, had been included, the in
dex would be slightly lower than
1t is now.
mo Check On Prices"
1T is claimed that an independ-
ent check shows rs per cent in
crease in food prices. The fallacy
here is that the figures quoted as
expenditures for food are, in fact
figures of sales made in food stores
Gncluding everything from brooms
to liquor; in delicatessen stores
Qncluding not only potato salad
and caviar but newspapers and
magazines) in hotels and restau-
rants (where you pay for the prep
aratlon of food and for service
rather than merely for food as you
buy it in the grocery stores); and in
drinking places chat only serve
small amounts of food but do dis
pense increasing numbers of drinks)
This is obviously no check on food
prices"
The BIS shows food prices up 4(
per cent IN three years, some OF
them up 100 per cent, such as po-
tatoes, fresh fish, and apples. "A
national price yardstick must be
fair Only the big increases are
emphasized in the Meany- Thomas
report" the bureau said, adding:
Clothing prices are said to nave
advanced 70 per cent instead OF
the "a per cent found by the bureau
Housefurnishings prices are said te
have advanced 62 per cent. not q
per cent, as shown by the bureau
In both cases, emphasis is placed
upon the unavailability of cheaI
merchandise. A close examination
shows that in assembling prices fol
the report the very cheapest types
of clothing and furniture were Sc
lected to represent the market sit.
uation in 1940-1. These were of q
quality not usually bought by city
workers. Those lowest priced items
then were compared with much
better quality clothing and furni.
ture in highest price lines 1943."