4.
| Average prices for years 1860-65. | Prices for 1900. | |
| Coffee, lb. | $ .12 | $ .18 |
| Coal, ton | 3.00 | 3.60 |
| Sugar, lb. | .08 | .06 |
| [Wool], lb. | .30 | .20 |
| Wheat, bu. | .80 | .90 |
Upon the basis of the prices of the above commodities estimate the general price level for 1900, showing the percentage of its decline or advance from the basal price level. Indicate some of the causes which may have brought about this decline or advance.
5. At a given time the following commodity prices prevailed: cotton (raw), $.10 per lb.; wheat, $1.00 per bu.; sugar, $.07 per lb.; potatoes, $1.00 per bu.; beef (for roasting), $.25 per lb.; shoes, $5.00 per pair; cotton cloth of a standard grade, $.12 per yd.; woolen cloth of a standard grade, $1.25 per yd.; men's hats, $4.00, and coal, $7.00 per ton.
At a later date the prices of the same commodities were respectively as follows: $.13, $1.05, $.06, $1.10, $.30, $5.75, $.15, $1.20, $4.50 and $6.50.
Tabulate these facts and compute index numbers, which will show:
(1) changes in the price level of all ten commodities.
(2) changes in the price level of the articles of food.
(3) changes in the price level of the articles of clothing.
6. In the preceding exercise, do the data afford sufficient grounds for saying that the cost of living has moved either upward or downward?