Changes in cost of living and prices, 1914 to 1920

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1 BUREAU OF APPLIED ECONOMICS, INC.

1 WASHINGTON

CHANGES IN COST OF LIVING

AND PRICES

1914 to 1920

Bulletin Number 6

WASHINGTON
1920.

COPYRIGHT, 1920

BY

BUREAU OF APPLIED ECONOMICS, INC.

WASHINGTON

HUGH S. HANNA, Director
PRICE $1.00

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BUREAU OF APPLIED ECONOMICS, INC.

WASHINGTON

CHANGES IN COST OF LIVING
AND PRICES

1914 to 1920

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WASHINGTON

1920

PREFACE.

This bulletin is a compilation of the existing authoritative data
on changes in cost of living since the beginning of the European War
in July 1914. Inasmuch as these data are at present scattered
through a large number of publications it is believed the assembling
of them under a single cover, in summarized form, will be of service
at the present time when there is so much demand for information
on this subject.

Bureau of Applied Economics,
Bulletin Number 6.

ADDENDUM, JUNE 20, 1920.

Since this bulletin was printed index numbers of cost of
living and prices for a month later than those given in the
bulletin have become available for most of the sources listed.
These later figures are shown below, together with the com-
parable data for the preceding monJ;h or two months, in order
to show clearly the recent changes. All figures are converted
to the same base (July, 1914=100) in order to make them com-
parable with those printed in the bulletin.

Index Numbers of Cost of Living and Wholesale and Retail

Prices, April, May and .June, 1920.

1914=100.

1920

April May June

1. General Cost of Living:

(a) National Industrial (Conference Board —

Food 100 111

Shelter 50 51

Clotliing 188 187

Fuel Heat and Light 51 55

Sundries 83 83

Total, weighted 96.6 101.62

(b) Massachusetts Commission on the Neces-

saries of Life —

Food 91.9 101.3

Shelter 29.3 30.3

Clothing 200.4 197.0

Fuel and Light 75.5 75.9

Sundries 83.0 83.0

Total, weighted 92.3 96.2

2. Retail Price of Food:

U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 211 217

3. Wholesale Prices:

(n) U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics —

Farm Products 246 244

Food, etc 270 287

Cloths and Clothing 353 347

Fuel and Lighting 213 235

Metals and Metal Products 195 193

Lumber and Building Materials 341 341

Drugs and Chemicals 212 215

Housef urnishing Goods 331 ^9

Miscellaneous 238 246

All Commodities 265 £12.

(b) Bradstreet—

All Commodities 225 225 21b

All Commodities 213 218 217

'^^f^'X 225 229 .235

1 Week ended June 12, 1920.

2 Preliminary figure.

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CHANGES IN COST OF LIVINC' 'aND
PRICES, 1914 to 1920

CHAPTER I.

Increase in the General Cost of Living July, 1914, to May, 1920.

Recent studies of cost of living and prices indicate that the in-
crease in the general cost of living between July, 1914, and May,
1920, was approximately 110 per cent for the larger cities of the
country and approximately 100 per cent for the country as a whole.

The periodic changes, for as short intervals as are available, are
shown in the following table, which summarizes reports of the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Indus-
trial Conference Board, supplemented by corresponding data for
Massachusetts as compiled by the Massachusetts Commission on the
Necessaries of Life.

PER CENT INCREASE IN COST OF LIVING SINCE JULY, 1914.

Mass. Commission

U. S. Bureau of

National Industrial

on the Necessaries

Labor Statistics.

Conference Board.

of Life.

18

Country

Industrial

as a

Country as a Whole.

Massachusetts Only.

Centers.

whole.

1914 — December ....

2

2

.6

1915— June-July ....

2

2

.5

dec. .4

December ....

3

3

1.4

1916— June-July .

9

9

8.7

7.6

December .

17

17

15.0

1917— June-July .

30

29

31.3

26.6

December .

44

41

36.7

1918— June-July .

...

60

56

52.2

49.3

November .

...

.

65.0

61.6

December .

76

72

62.7

1919— March ....

60.5

61.3

Jmie

80

75

66.8

July

..

72.2

68!o

November . .

82.2

80.7

December ..

loi

95(1)

80.9

1920— January . .

90.2

88.1

February . .

93.5

86.9

March ....

94.8

89.4

Apra

96.6

92.3

May

nii^)

ibm

(^)Esthnates; increase between December, 1919, and May, 1920, being estimated
at 5 per cent from price increases shown in later sections.

5

Sources op the Table.

The figures for the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics up
to June, 1919, are from the Labor Review for October, 1919. For
December, 1919, the figures are based on press statements issued by
the Bureau.

The figures for the National Industrial Conference Board are
from the Board's publications, supplemented by press statements
for February, March and April of this year.

The figures for the Massachusetts Commission on the Necessaries
of Life are from the recent report of that Commission, supplemented
by press statements for March and April, 1920. The index numbers
as issued by this Commission are all based on the jesiT 1913, equal-
ing 100. In order to make these figures comparable with those of
the other two studies, the base has been changed to July, 1914, by
dividing by the index number for that month.

Similarity op Results.

The similarity in the results of these studies is apparent, and the
similarity becomes even more striking when the methods and scope
of the studies are analyzed. Thus, while the United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics' investigations are the most thorough and, as a
result, probably the most accurate, they have covered the whole
period since 1914 only for certain large cities which during the war
were shipbuilding centers. As these cities suffered from a very
heavy influx of population, with consequent congestion, price ad-
vances there were somewhat greater than in most other communities.
In the October, 1919, number of the Labor Review, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics estimated that during the war the cost of living
increased 12 per cent less rapidly in other communities, and 6 per
cent less rapidly in the country as a whole, than it did in the ship-
building centers. If these relationships still hold, as there is reason
to believe they do, the figure of 101 per cent for December, 1919,
would be reduced to 95 per cent as a fair average for the country as a
whole.

Increases by Principal Commodity Groups.

The increases in Jiving costs have been by no means uniform for
the various commodity groups. The following tables show the esti-
mates of increases by commodity groups as compiled from reports
of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Indus-
trial Conference Board and the Massachusetts Commission on the

Necessaries of Life. The tables, it will be noted, cover slightly dif-
ferent periods, and the commodity groups are not identical, but they
constitute the most complete and most recent studies of the subject.

INCREASED COST OF LIVING BY COMMODITY GROUPS.

1. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1914 to 1919.
For 18 Industrial Centers.

Items.

Per cent increase

Dec, 1914, to

Dec, 1919.

Food

Clothing

Housing

Fuel and light

Furniture and furnishings \

Miscellaneous I

Total, weighted according to importance of each item in the|
family budget |

87.8
178.8

28,5

57.7
166.9

86.3

97.1

2. National Industrial Conference Board, 1914 to 1920.

Items.

I Per cent increase
I July, 1914, to
AprU, 1920.

Food i 100.

Shelter | 50.

Clothing I 188.

Fuel, heat and light | 51.

Sundries I 83.

Total, weighted according to importance of each item in thel

family budget I 96.6

Massachusetts Commission on the Necessaries of Life, 1913 to 1920,
for the State of Massachusetts.

Items.

Food

Shelter

Clothing

Fuel and light

Sundries I

Total, weighted according to importance of each item in the]
family budget

Per cent Increase
I 1913, to April,
1920.

98.2
33.8
205.5
70.8
83.0

96.3

Changes in Cost op Living by Cities.

The preceding sections have been concerned primarily with the
ascertaining of average increases in the cost of living for the coun-
try as a whole. This has meant the averaging of conditions in a large
number of communities. While increases in the cost of living oc-
curred during the past few years in every community of which
there is record, the rate of increase was not everywhere the same.
In general, the increases were greater in the East than in the West,
and greater in the centers where industrial activity was most stimu-
lated by the war. On the other hand, the greatest price increases
have not always been in the very largest cities. These variations
are well brought out in the cost of living surveys made by the United

States Bureau of Lg^nr ^t^iti^.tipn r^nr'ing.^Ui^y.Qj-, ^

These surveys covered a large number of cities, and the results
have been partially tabulated and published by individual communi-
ties. For only one group of 18 large cities, however, does the infor-
mation cover substantially the whole war period from 1914 to Decem-
ber, 1919. For 13 other large cities partial information is available
for the period December, 1917, to December, 1919, and for a third
group of 66 cities, mostly of smaller sizes, detailed information is
available for the one-year period, December, 1917, to December,
1918.

The summarized data for the two former groups of cities, as tabu-
lated from the published figures of the Bureau, are as follows :

(a)

9

Survey of Eighteen Shipbuilding Centers, December, 1914,
TO December, 1919.

This survey was undertaken by the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics especially for the use of the Shipbuilding Labor Adjust-
ment Board of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, and for that rea-
son was limited to shipbuilding centers. It covered 18 large cities
of wide geographical distribution and containing between 15 and 20
million people. The following tables show the percentage increase
in cost of living for December of each year from 1914 to 1919, as
developed in this survey.

PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE IN COST OF LIVING IN 18 SHIPBUILDING
CENTERS, FROM DECEMBER, 1914, TO DECEMBER, 1915, 1916, 1917, AND
1918, AND TO JUNE 1919 AND DECEMBER, 1919.

(Compiled from data published in the Monthly Labor Review of the U. S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics).

Percentage of increase from December, 1914, to —

Cities.

December
1915

December
1916

December
1917

December
1918

June
1919

December
1919

Portland, Me

♦ .42

1.57

1.97

1.19

♦1.37

.61

♦.21

1.27

♦.40

*.29

3.01

3.51

1.42

3.53

♦3.05

*1.02

♦1.93

♦1.66

.43

13.83

15.72

14.91

14.65

18.51

14.73

14.59

14.66

13.82

16.41

19.51

22.25

19.10

24.38

6.14

7.40

7.68

8.30

14.81

37.96
38.13
44.68
43.81
51.27
45.15
42.48
41.63
43.16
44.89
41.78
49.85
42.93
51.13
31.23
31.08
28.85
28.63
41.04

72.23
70.60
77.28
73.86
84.68
80.73
74.98
71.52
71.37
75.67
72.16
78.03
71.36
80.91
64.24
69.87
58.03
57.77
72.52

74.25
72.78
79.22
76.21
83.99
87.05
79.76
77.48
76.64
80.22
74.47
84.36
77.23
84.23
69.16
74.01
65.07
65.58
76.76

91.59

Boston, Mass

92 30

New York, N. Y

Philadelphia, Pa

Baltimore, Md

Norfolk, Va

103.81
96.49
98.40

106.98

Savannah, Ga

98 68

Jacksonville, Fla

Mobile, Ala

102.14
94 54

Houston, Tex

101.70

Chicago, lU

100 61

Detroit, Mich

107 87

Cleveland, Ohio

Buffalo, N. Y

Portland, Ore

Seattle, Wash

Los Angeles, Calif —
San Fran'co & Oakland
Average (unweighted) .

95.05
102.65
83.73
97.67
85.33
87.76
97 07

♦Decrease.

10

(&) Survey op Thirteen Large Non-Shipbuilding Cities,
December, 1918, to December, 1919.

The cities covered by tliis survey are for tlie most part lai^ in-
land cities. Industry in many of them was greatly stimulated by
the war, but in few, if any, cases did they experience the heavy labor
influx and housing congestion experienced by the shipbuilding cen-
ters. The following table gives for each city the percentage increases
in cost of living from December, 1917, to December, 1919, and to
June, 1919.

PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE IN COST OF LIVING IN 13 LARGE NON-
SHIPBUILDING CENTERS FROM DECEMBER, 1917, TO JUNE, 1919. AND
DECEMBER, 1919.

(Compiled from data pabfished in the Monthly Labor Review of the U. S. Borean

of Labor Statistics).

Per cent increase from December, 1917, to—

Cities

1
December, 1918 June, 1919

December, 1919

Atlanta, Ga

19.68
16.98
17.27
20.72
19.06
! 19.62
18.33
15.80
17.90
19.82
17.88
16.69
21.89
18.59

23.27
19.78
2L05
25.33
21.12
20.57
23.25
18.75
20.73
21.82
20.60
17.85
25.03
22.24

37.89

Pirminghain, Ala.

34.32

Cincinnati, Ohio

35 24

Denver Colo

38.19

Indianapolis Ind

36 53

Kansas City Mo

3816

Memphis, Tenn.

35.23

Minneapf>lis, Minn , , , , , ^ , . .

32.71

New Orleans, La.

33 86

Pittsburgh, Pa.

36.17

Richmond, Va.

32.02

St Louis, Mo

34.24

Scranton Pa

37.10

Average (unweighted)

35.51

Monthly Changes in Cost of Living.

Since January, 1920, the National Industrial Conference Board
has undertaken to collect and publish monthly statistics of changes
in cost of living. Prior to that time neither the National Industrial
Conference Board nor the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
attempted to report changes at less intervals than six months.
Therefore, the attempt of the Massachusetts Commission on the
Necessaries of Life to compile monthly figures for a period of years
is of much interest, even though the figures relate solely to the one

11

state. The index numbers as compiled by this Commission are shown
in the table below, by months, from January, 1913, to April, 1920.

INDEX NUMBERS OF COST OP LIVING, 1913 TO APRIL, 1920.

(From Report of the Commission on the Necessaries of Life, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, February, 1920.)

1913.

1914.

1915.

1916.

1917.

1918.

1919.

1920.

January

94.9

94.2

99.2

99.6

99.4

100.3

100.8

100.6

100.2

101.0

101.0

100.8

101.8
101.8
101.6
100.4
100.1
100.6
102.1
103.1
103.3
104.1
103.2
102.7

102.9
102.1
101.0
101.0
101.5
101.4
101.7
101.4
102.2
103.2
103.9
103.5

105.7
106.3
106.7
108.2
108.7
110.3
109.9
110.1
112.1
113.6
116.2
117.5

119.6
121.1
122.7
125.3
127.5
131.0
129.3
130.0
133.1
137.1
138.2
139.6

144.6
147.0
145.7
145.9
148.7
152.4
155.1
157.6
161.3
164.2
165.0
166.1

167.5
164.7
164.7
167.0
169.1
170.3
171.5
174.6
173.1
179.9
184.5
184.7

192.0

February

190.8

March

193.4 ,

April

196.3

May

Juno r T ,

July

August

September

October

November

December

Method op Computing Increased Cost op Living.

The relation between increased cost of living and increased prices
should be, but is not always, clearly understood. This point is de-
veloped in an article in the Monthly Labor Review for October,
1919. There it is pointed out that the determination of_changes in
the cost of living^to be atall accurate, must be based upon the retail^
CQStg-Of the variousitems ent*^T»inp^ intn |be ^^Hlnnry family hnfl^ot^

w^^^]^j^jl_^£2rirJlll3^^--t2^^ ^^ ^^^^ items in the budget.

This includes house^ent, sickness_expenses, amusements and other
PiO££Lor less intangible things, as well as actual commodities, such
a^^foodand clothing. For this reason prices of commodities, as the
term is usually used, whether wholesale or retail, do not constitute
a complete index of cost of living. Thus prices of food, fuel and
clothing may go up 100 per cent, but if rent and sundries (which
take about one-third of the average family's income) advance, say,
only 10 per cent, the real increase in cost of living will be about 70
per cent.

Retail prices of food offer an excellent guide to changing living
costs, but cannot be taken as absolutely conclusive, as food is only
one item, although usually a most important one, in the family
budget.

12

Wholesale prices offer a very unsatisfactory guide to living costs.
Experience has shown that during a period of rapidly rising prices,
such as has occurred during the past five years, wholesale prices
tend to increase more rapidly than retail prices. There are two evi-
dent reasons for this : first, the retailer often buys on contract for
future delivery, and, second, the retailer is often unable to shift
the increased wholesale cost immediately to the consumer. Thus,
in a period of increasing cost, retail prices — and it is at retail
that the average consumer buys — tend to lag behind wholesale
prices. Ultimately retail prices will show somewhat the same total
increase as wholesale prices will, but on any particular date, in a
period of generally increasing prices, wholesale prices may be sev-
eral steps in advance of retail prices.

Moreover, the existing data regarding wholesale price movements
are not entirely satisfactory. There are four well-known index
numbers of such prices — Bradstreet's, Dun^s, the Annalist's and the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics'. These are based on dif-
ferent groupings of commodities, and are by no means identical in
their results.

Character of the Principal Cost of Living Investigations.

Comprehensive studies of the character above mentioned and for
the country as a whole have been made only by two organizations :
(1) The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, and (2) The
National Industrial Conference Board. In addition, a very interest-
ing study has been made for the State of Massachusetts by (3) The
Massachusetts Commission on the Necessaries of Life.

(1) Cost of Living Survey of Eighteen Shipbuilding Centers
from December, 1914, to December, 1919, made by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and supplemented by a country-wide
cost-of-living survey, covering (a) thirteen large non-shipbuilding
centers form December, 1917, to December, 1919, and (b) sixty-six
additional cities, most of smaller size, from December, 1917, to
December, 1918.

In these surveys detailed expenditures over a year's time were
obtained from several hundred families in each community. From
these were determined the relative importance of each article in
the list of expenditures. The local retail prices were then obtained
and weighted according to their importance in the budget.

The most recent data of the Bureau regarding the "weights," or
percentage importance, of the various groups of items in the family

13

budget were developed in the budget study made in 1918-1919. This
study covered more than 12,000 families. Their combined expe-
rience gives the following per cent distribution of expenditures by
principal groups of items :

PER CENT DISTRIBUTION BY ITEMS.
(From Labor Review, August, 1919.)

Items.

White

Colored

Families.

Families.

38.2

42.7

16.6

15.9

13.4

12.4

5.3

5.3

5.1

4.3

21.3

19.4

Food

Clothing

Rent

Fuel and light

Furniture and furnishings
Miscellaneous

(2) Cost of Living Surveys of the National Industrial Conference
Board. This Board is an association of manufacturers' associa-
tions, which has established a research department for industrial
investigations. In these surveys the prices obtained were similarly
weighted, the results of previous investigations being used for this
purpose.

The weights used are as follows :

PER CENT DISTRIBUTION OF ITEMS.

Food

Shelter

Clothing

Fuel, heat and light
Sundries

43.1
17.7
13.2
5.6
20.4

In obftaining prices the Board used the retail food prices pub-
lished by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. For other
items it obtained prices direct from the localities, mostly by corre-
spondence. Its principal investigations are now made at intervals
of four months, with monthly studies of more limited scope since
January, 1920.

The making of cost-of-living surveys such as these just listed is
very laborious. It means collecting prices of food, clothing, house
furnishings, house rents, etc., from a large number of persons in a

14

large number of localities. As a result, such price collecting has
only been done at considerable intervals and for a more or less
limited number of communities. Thus there is no complete series
of figures showing changes in cost of living for all communities and
at short intervals. Therefore, in attempting to arrive at a complete
series of figures showing changes in cost of living during the period
July, 1914, to date, the best that can be done is to combine and
analyze the existing data and to seek to reconcile conflicting find-
ings and fill in lacking data as well as possible.

The paramount difficulty is that during the past few years there
has been considerable lack of uniformity in the increasing cost of
living in different cities and different sections. From 1914 to date
every community of which there is record shows a very substantial
increase, but the percentages are by no means the same. This fact
explains in some part the different results obtained by different
investigations.

15

CHAPTER II.

Retail Prices of Food.

The only authoritative data on retail food prices in the United
States are those collected by the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics and published currently in the Monthly Labor Review of
that Bureau. These price reports for a considerable period of time
have been for at least 22 principal food articles, obtained from some
2,000 dealeiFs in forty-five cities of the United States, so distributed
geographically as to be representative of the whole country. Re-
cently the number of commodities and the number of cities covered
by the study has been considerably extended.

Index Numbers op Retail Food Prices of All Commodities^ by
MoNTHS_, January_, 1913, TO April, 1920.

The following table gives by months from January, 1913, to April,
1920, the index numbers of retail food prices of all the commodities
for all cities for which data were obtained by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics for this period. The average of the prices
for the year 1913 is taken as a base of 100.

RELATIVE RETAIL PRICES OP FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES JANUARY,
1913, TO APRIL, 1920, INCLUSIVE.

(Compiled from Monthly Labor Reviews of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Month.

J J ,1
1913. I 1914. I 1915. I 1916. | 1917.

1

1917.

1918.

1
1919. !

1 1

146

16?

186

128

160

185

133

161

172

133

154

175

145

154

182 1

1 151

158

185

152

162

184

146

167

190

149

171

192

153

178

188

157

181

189

155

183

192

157

187

197

1920.

Average for year

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

100

98

97

97

98

97

98

100

101

102

104

105

104

102
104

97
98
99

101
103

101 I 101
99 I 98

99
100
100

102 I 100

107 I 100

107 I 101

105 I 103

105 I 104

105 I 105

I 114

I 107

I 106

I 107

1 109

I 109

I 112

I 111

I 113
118
121

I 126

I 126
I

201
200
200
211

16

Index Numbers of Retail Price Changes for Certain
Commodities 1913 to 1920.

The table below analyses the data of the preceding table by com-
modities. It shows for twenty-two important commodities the index
numbers of retail prices on February 15 for selected years from 1913
to 1920.

RELATIVE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES ON
FEBRUARY 15, 1913, 1914, 1917, AND 1920.

(Compiled from table in Monthly Labor Review of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Base, 1913 = 100.

Article

1913

1914

1917

1920

Sirloin steak

94

93

95

93

93

90

95

94

98

97

91

108

100

100

100

100

98

99

90

100

100

100

97

99

102

101

103

102

100

98

99

99

104

106

93

104

102

110

99

103

100

108

94

100

99

101

113
117
114
116
116
125
114
118
138
126
147
122
142
112
142
171
136
104
290
148
100
100
133

160

Round stf^ak

167

Rib roast

159

Chuck roast

157

Plate beef

152

Pork chops

179

Bacon ■.

185

Ham

188

Lard 1

204

Hens

210

Eges

199

Butter

190

Cheese

196

Milk

189

Bread

198

Flour

245

Com meal

217

Rice

210

Potatoes

353

Sugar

342

T^i

131

Coffee

164

22 weighted articles

200

17

Actual Retail Prices op Food on Fkbeuaey 15 of Each Year,

1913 TO 1920.

The actual retail prices of a long list of food articles for Feb. 15,
1913, 1914, 1917 and 1920, are given in the next table. Prices for
certain of the articles are not available for the whole period, but the
totals are suflScient to be representative.

AVERAGE RETAIL PRICE ON FEBRUARY 15, 1913, 1914, 1917 AND 1920,
OF SPECIFIED ARTICLES OF FOOD.

(From March, 1920, Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Article.

Average Retail Price
February 15 —

1913.
Cents.

1914.

1917.

Cents.

Cents.

25.4

28.7

22.8

26.0

19.9

22.5

16.3

18.6

12.4

14.1

20.9

26.1

26.4

30.7

26.5

31.8

18.9

25.9

22.2

26.7

21.6

91

10.0

35.9

46.9

23.6

31.5

15.8

21.9

1920.
Cents.

Sirloin steak.
Round steak,
Rib roast...
Chuck roast.
Plate beef..

Pork chops

Bacon

Ham

Lamb

Hens

Salmon, canned

Milk, fresh

MiDt, evaporated, unsweetened.

Butter

Oleomargarine

Nut -margarine

Cheese

Lard

Crisco

Eggs, strictly fresh.

Eggs, storage.

Bread

Flour

Corn meal

Rolled oats...

Pound
do.
do.
do.
do.

do.
do.
do.
do.
do.

do.

Quart

15-16-oz..can

Pound

do.

do.
do.
do.
do.
Dozen

do.
^Pound
do.
do.
do.

24.0
20.6
18.9
14.9
11.1

18.8
25.5
25.3
18.5
20.8

8.9
41.4

22.2
15.4

3*1.5

23.5
5.7
3.3
3.0

36.4

50.6

32.6

46.3

6.2

8.0

3.2

5.6

3.1

4.1

40.6
37.2
31.5
25.1
18.4

37.6
50.0
50.5
39.1
44.7

37.6
16.8
16.2
72.6
43.4

36.1
43.3
32.3
37.8
68.6

59.4

11.1

8.1

6.5

10.0

^Baked weight.

18

AVERAGE RETAIL PRICE ON FEBRUARY 15, 1913, 1914, 1917 AND 1920,
OF SPECIFIED ARTICLES OF FOOD— Continued.

Article

Unit.

Average Retail Price
February 15—

1913.
Cents.

1914.
Cents.

1917.
Cents.

1920.
Cents.

Corn flakes

8-oz. pkge.

28-oz. pkge.

Pound

do.

do.

do.
do.
do.
No. 2 can
do.

do.
do.
Pound
do.
do.

do.

do.

Dozen

do.

* 8.6
1.6

* 5.5
54.3
29.8

' 8.7
1.9

* 5.1
54.5
29.6

....

* 9.1

14.9

5.1
12.2

' 8.1
54.6
29.9

14.1
14.1

141

Cream of Wheat

29 3

Macaroni

20 2

Rice

18.3

Beans, Navy

12 2

Potatoes

60

Onions

94

Cabbage

93

Beans, baked

16 9

Corn, canned

18 7

Peas, canned

191

Tomatoes, canned

15 3

Sugar, granulated

18 8

Tea

71 0

Coffee

49 0

Prunes

Raisins

29.0
25 6

Bananas

41 0

Oranges

53 2

Increase in 22 weighted articles— each
specified year over 1913 — per cent

3

37

105

19

CHAPTER III.
Retail Prices op Coal.

The Monthly Labor Review of the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics for March, 1920, contains detailed data regarding the
retail prices of coal on January 15 and July 15 of each year 1913
to 1919 and on January 15, 1920. The prices shown for bituminous
coal are averages made on the several kinds, the coal dealers in
each city being asked to quote prices on the kind usually sold for
household use. The prices quoted are for coal delivered to con-
sumers, but do not cover charges for storing in cellar or coal bin
where extra handling is necessary. Coal prices were obtained only
for those cities in which the Bureau obtains food prices.

The following table summarizes the information referred to.
These abbreviated data are sufficient to show the trend of prices:

AVERAGE AND RELATIVE PRICES OP COAL IN TON LOTS FOR THE
UNITED STATES ON JANUARY 15 AND JULY 15 OF EACH YEAR, 1913
TO 1919, INCLUSIVE, AND ON JANUARY 15, 1920.

I
Pennsylvania anthracite, white ash. | Bituminous.

(

Year and month.

Stove.

Chestnut.

Average
price.

Average
price.

Relative
price.

Average
price.

Relative
price.

Relative
price.

1913:

Aver, for year.

January

July

1914:

January

July

1915:

January

July

1916:

January

July

1917:

January

July

1918:

January

July

1919:

January

July

1920:

January

$7.73
7.99
7.46

7.80
7.60

7.83
7.54

7.93
8.12

9.29
(1)

9.88
9.96

11.51
12.16

12.59

100

103

97

101
98

101
98

103
105

120
(1)

128
129

149
157

163

$7.91
8.15
7.68

8.00

7.78

7.99
7.73

8.13
8.28

9.40
(1)

10.03
10.07

11.61
12.19

12.77

100

103

97

101
98

101

98

103
105

119
(1)

127
127

147
154

161

$5.43
5.48
5.39

5.97
5.46

5.71
5.44

5.69
5.52

6.96
(1)

7.68
7.92

7.90
8.10

8.81

100

101

99

110
101

105
100

105
102

128
(1)

141
146

145
149

162

(1) Prices not secured by bureau in July, 1917.

CHAPTER IV.

Retail Prices of Clothing and Dry Goods.

Lack of standardization makes it very difficult to obtain satisfac-
tory price changes for specific articles of clothing and dry goods.
The tables below reproduce in condensed form two of the most
interesting of recently published studies of such prices. The first,
from the report of the Massachusetts Commission on the Necessaries
of Life, gives prices in 1914 and in 1920 for a few articles of everyday
wear. The second table, from a report of the National Industrial
Conference Board, gives prices for 1914 and November, 1919, for a
considerable number of articles of clothing and dry goods.

RETAIL PRICES OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF CLOTHING 1914, 1917, 1919
AND FEBRUARY, 1920.

(From Report of the Commission on the Necessaries of Life, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, February, 1920.)

I I

Company
number. 1914.

1917.

1919.

Feb.,
1920.

Men's furnishings:

Hats

Gloves

Collars

Hosiery

Shirts

Blue serge suiting (per yard)

Blue serge suits

Men's underwear

Shoes

Women's corsets

f3
{I
{I
{I
{I

$5.00
2.00

1.75
1.65

.15
.10

.50
.25

1.50
1.15

'1.37%

15.00
17.50
20.00

1.00
2.25
1.00

3.75

1.00
5.00

$6.00
4.00

3.00
2.85

.15
.15

.50
.35

2.00
1.75

'2.00

'20.00
'23.00
"25.00

1.50
3.50
1.75

5.50

1.00
6.50

$7.00
4.50

4.50
4.35

.25
.20

.75
.45

3.00
2.00

3.00
4.50
2.50

'$4.90

50.00
55.00
70.00

8.50

2.50
8.50

'January. ''January, 1920. 'June.

21

AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SELECTED YARD GOODS AND WEARING

APPAREL IN JULY, 1914, AND IN NOVEMBER, 1919, AND

PERCENTAGES OF INCREASE.

(National Industrial Conference Board.)

Article.

July 1,
1914,
price.

Nov. 1,

1919,
price.

Percentage

of increase

between

July, 1914,

and
Nov., 1919.

Woolen Yard Goods :

Serge

Poplin

Broadcloth

Cotton Yard Goods:

Percale . ,

Gingham

Longcloth

Fruit of the Loom . . .
Voile

Hosiery :

Men's

Women's

Knit Underwear:

Men's union suits

Women's vests

Muslin Underwear:

Women's combinations

Suits:

Men'j^

Women's

Overcoats :

Men's

Women's

Shirts and Blouses:

Men's work shirts

Men's work shirts

Men's negligee shirts.
Women's btouses

Overalls

3s:

Men's

Women's ,

Gloves:

Men's dogskin

Women's cape kid. ... ,

Hats:

Men's felt

Women's velvet

$1.00
1.50
2.00

.07^
.10

.15
.25

.15
.25

.50
.10

1.00

15.00
15.00

10.00
10.00

.50
1.00
1.00
1.00

.75

3.50
3.00

1.25
1.00

2.00
1.50

$2.62
3.24
4.82

.32
.34
.34
.39
.55

.32
.57

1.28
.26

2.06

34.21
31.51

26.78
23.90

1.45
2.15
2.24
2.02

2.26

8.42
8.30

2.69
2.60

4.34
3.49

161.9
116.0
141.0

326.7
238.0
174.4
160.7
121.2

108.0
126.0

156.8
163.0

106.0

128.1
110.7

167.8
139.0

189.6
115.4
124.3
101.6

200.7

140.4
176.3

115.2
159.8

117.0
132.7

22

CHAPTER V.

Wholbsale Prices.

Wholesale price index numbers have been compiled and published
for a number of years by various organizations. The best known
of these index numbers are those of the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics, The Annalist, Bradstreet and Dun. These are all
built upon the same general principle — namely, the averaging of
the wholesale prices of various commodities (in some cases weighted
prices) and expressing all changes in terms of some one year taken
as a base.

They differ widely, however, as regards the selection of commodi-
ties and their system of weighting. The series compiled by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics includes at the present time articles or
grades of articles divided into farm products, foods, cloths and cloth-
ing, fuel and lighting, metals and metal products, lumber and build-
ing materials, chemicals and drugs, housefurnishings and miscellane-
ous commodities. The Annalist series comprises 25 food articles.
Bradstreet's index includes 96 commodities classed as breadstuffs,
livestock, provisions and groceries, fresh and dried fruits, hides and
leather, raw and manufactured textiles, metals, coal and coke,
mineral and vegetable oils, naval stores, building materials, chem-
icals and drugs, and miscellaneous. Dun's index contains 200 com-
modities, divided into breadstuffs, meats, dairy and garden products,
other foods, clothing, metals and miscellaneous.

In the following table the four series of wholesale price index
numbers noted are brought into comparison for selected dates from
1913 to 1920. The base in each case has been shifted to the same
year, 1913, by dividing the index for 1913 in the original base into
the original index for each subsequent year or month.

The differences between the several index numbers are, of course,
due to the different selection of commodities, as noted above.

23

INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLi29!«f>ffi.WafCft5S.i'',
(Base 1913 = 100.)

•• • • » •

Bureau of

Labor

Annalist.

Brad-

Dun.

Statistics.

street.

100

100

100

100

100

104

97

101

101

106

107

105

124

126

128

123

176

187

170

169

196

205

203 •

190

100

102

97

103

100

104

94

99

99

108

99

103

101

105

107

103

111

110

119

114

120

121

125

120

151

151

149

140

187

189

175

175

185

200

195

184

198

203

208

192

203

211

201

190

197

201

192

182

201

209

187

180

203

222

188

182

207

226

187

184

207

216

196

189

219

219

205

193

226

220

217

200

221

202

211

197

223

200

212

195

230

201

216

191

238

205

219

202

248

210

221

205

249

209

227

210

253

213

226

209

265

225

225

213

229^

225

218

1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918

1914:

January .

July

1915:

January . .

July . . . .
1916:

January . ,

July ....
1917:

January . .

July

1918:

January . .

July . . . .
1919:

January . .

February .

March . . ..

April

May

June ....

July ....

August . .

September

October .

November .

December ,
1920:

January . .

February .

March . . .

April

May

^Week ending May 15.

Wholesale Price Index Numbers for Selected Groups of

Commodities.

The wholesale price index numbers of the United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics, as now constituted, include quotations for 326
commodities, the largest number covered by any of the index number

24

series. The index numbers as published by the Bureau are divided
into nine main groups — farm products, food, clothes and clothing,
fuel and lighting, metals and metal products, lumber and building
materials, drugs and chemicals, housefurnishings and miscellane-
ous. These index numbers by commodity groups offer an excellent
indication of the trend of wholesale prices of the more important
commodities during recent years. The following table gives these
data in detail for selected dates from 1913 to April, 1920 :

INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES BY COMMODITY GROUPS,
1913 TO APRIL, 1920.

(Base 1913 = 100.)

Year

and

Month

Farm
prod-
ucts

Food,
etc.

Clothes

and
clothing

Fuel

and

lighting

Metals
and
metal
prod-
ucts

Lumber
and

building
mate-
rials

Drugs
and

chem-
icals

House
fur-
nish-
ings

Miscel-
laneous

All
com-
modi-
ties

1913

100
103
105
122
189
220
234

97
101

101
104

102
108

108
118

148
199

207
224

222
218
228
235
240
231
246
243
226
230
240
244

246
237
239
246

100
103
105
127
178
191
210

99
102

102
104

106
105

114
122

151
182

188
186

209
197
205
212
216
206
218
227
211
211
219
234

253
244
246
270

100
98
100
128
181
238
261

100
100

98
99

96
99

110
126

161
187

211
249

234
223
216
217
227
258
281
304
306
313
325
335

350
356
355
353

100
96
93
119
175
163
173

103
99

99
95

93
90

105
108

176
192

157
166

170
169
168
167
167
170
171
175
181
181
179
181

184
187
192
213

100
87
97
148
208
181
161

107
98

92

85

83
102

126
145

183
257

174
184

172
168
162
152
152
154
158
165
160
161
164
169

177
189
192
195

100
97
94
101
124
151
192

100
101

98
97

94
93

99
99

106
132

136
154

161
163
165
162
164
175
186
208
227
231
236
253

268
300
325
341

100
101
114
159
198
221
179

101
99

100
99

103
108

150
156

159
198

232
216

191
185
183
178
179
174
171
172
173
174
176
179

189
197
205
212

100
99
99
115
144
196
236

100
100

99
99

99
99

105
121

132
152

161
199

218
218
218
217
217
233
245
259
262
264
299
303

324
329
329
331

100
99
99
120
155
193
217

100
101

99
97

100
98

107
120

138
153

178
190

212
208
217
216
213
212
221
225
217
220
220
220

227
227
230
238

100

1914

100

1915

101

1916

124

1917

176

1918

196

1919

212

1913-
Jan

100

July

100

1914-
Jan

100

July

100

1915-
Jan

99

July

101

1916-

Jan

July

111
120

1917-
Jan

151

July

187

1918-
Jan

185

July

1919-
Jan

198
203

Feb

197

Mar

201

Apr

203

May

207

June

207

July

219

Aug

226

Sept

220

Oct

223

Nov

230

Dec

238

1920-
jan

248

Feb

249

Mar

253

Apr

265

DAY AND TO $I.OO ON Tm. o '"''^ ''°^'''^"
OVERDUE. ^'^ ^"^ SEVENTH DAY

416814

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UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY