The Railway Library, 1909 / A Collection of Noteworthy Chapters, Addresses, and Papers Relating to Railways, Mostly Published During the Year - Unknown

Relative Retail Prices of the Principal Articles of Food in the United States, 1890 to 1909. (Average price for 1890-1899 == 100.0.)




Year	Apples, Evaporated	Beans, Dry	Beef, Fresh, Roasts	Beef, Fresh, Roasts	Beef, Salt	Bread, Wheat	Butter	Cheese	Chickens (year or more old), dressed	Coffee



1890	109.0	103.3	99.5	98.8	97.5	100.3	99.2	98.8	101.3	105.4
1891	110.3	106.2	100.0	99.4	98.3	100.3	106.4	100.3	104.0	105.2
1892	99.3	102.4	99.6	99.3	99.5	100.3	106.8	101.5	103.8	103.8
1893	107.0	105.0	99.0	99.6	100.3	100.1	109.9	101.8	104.2	104.8
1894	105.8	102.8	98.3	98.2	98.9	99.9	101.7	101.6	98.6	103.3
1895	97.4	100.5	98.6	99.1	99.6	99.7	97.0	99.2	98.4	101.7
1896	88.6	92.7	99.1	99.5	99.8	99.9	92.7	97.9	97.1	99.6
1897	87.8	91.5	100.3	100.2	100.9	100.0	93.1	99.0	94.0	94.6
1898	95.4	95.9	101.7	102.0	102.1	99.8	95.1	97.5	96.8	91.1
1899	99.5	99.7	103.7	103.9	103.2	99.6	97.7	102.4	101.8	90.5
1900	95.2	110.0	106.5	106.4	103.7	99.7	101.4	103.9	100.8	91.1
1901	96.8	113.9	110.7	111.0	106.1	99.4	103.2	103.3	103.0	90.7
1902	104.4	116.8	118.6	118.5	116.0	99.4	111.5	107.3	113.2	89.6
1903	100.8	118.1	113.1	112.9	108.8	100.2	110.8	109.4	113.5	89.3
1904	99.2	116.8	112.8	113.4	108.3	103.9	109.0	107.4	120.7	91.8
1905	106.0	116.3	112.2	112.9	107.9	104.5	112.7	110.9	123.6	93.6
1906	115.6	115.2	115.7	116.5	110.8	102.3	118.2	115.5	129.1	94.7
1907	124.6	118.8	119.1	120.6	114.1	104.5	127.6	123.2	131.4	95.0
1908	126.4	138.9	126.2	131.5	116.4	124.5	123.5	121.3	128.6	94.7
1909	128.6	141.2	132.6	134.1	128.2	124.5	134.8	142.0	150.2	108.6



Year	Corn Meal	Eggs	Fish, Fresh	Fish, Salt	Flour, Wheat	Lard	Milk, Fresh, unskimmed	Molasses	Mutton	Pork, Fresh



1890	100.0	100.6	99.3	100.7	109.7	98.2	100.5	104.7	100.7	97.0
1891	109.7	106.9	99.6	101.7	112.5	99.8	100.5	101.7	100.6	98.7
1892	105.2	106.8	100.1	102.2	105.1	103.6	100.6	101.2	101.0	100.5
1893	103.1	108.1	100.1	103.4	96.1	117.9	100.4	100.6	99.9	107.0
1894	102.2	96.3	100.4	101.5	88.7	106.9	100.2	100.3	97.8	101.8
1895	100.8	99.3	99.8	98.9	89.0	100.1	100.0	99.0	98.7	99.7
1896	95.0	92.8	100.2	97.5	92.7	92.5	99.9	98.7	98.7	97.4
1897	93.7	91.4	99.8	95.2	104.3	89.8	99.7	97.7	99.6	97.6
1898	95.0	96.2	100.5	98.8	107.4	93.9	99.4	97.9	100.4	98.6
1899	95.1	101.1	100.2	100.2	94.6	97.1	98.9	98.2	102.6	101.7
1900	97.4	99.9	100.4	99.1	94.3	104.4	99.9	102.2	105.6	107.7
1901	107.1	105.7	101.4	100.9	94.4	118.1	101.1	101.3	109.0	117.9
1902	118.8	119.1	105.0	102.8	94.9	134.3	103.3	102.1	114.7	128.3
1903	120.7	125.3	107.3	108.4	101.2	126.7	105.8	103.8	112.6	127.0
1904	121.5	130.9	107.9	111.7	119.9	117.3	106.3	104.0	114.1	124.0
1905	122.2	131.6	109.9	113.8	119.9	116.6	107.0	104.4	117.8	126.6
1906	123.2	134.2	116.2	116.8	180.1	128.0	108.9	105.3	124.1	137.7
1907	131.6	137.7	120.6	121.6	117.7	134.2	116.8	107.7	130.1	142.5
1908	154.0	140.2	116.2	118.4	140.0	132.1	115.4	102.2	126.4	141.6
1909	160	142.2	120.4	122.6	154.4	153.8	141.6	106.4	134.8	168.2



Year	Pork, Salt, Bacon	Pork, Salt, dry or pickled	Pork, Salt, Ham	Potatoes, Irish	Prunes	Rice	Sugar	Tea	Veal	Vinegar



1890	95.8	95.3	98.7	109.3	116.8	101.3	118.6	100.0	98.8	102.9
1891	96.6	98.9	99.3	116.6	116.5	102.5	102.7	100.4	99.6	105.5
1892	99.1	100.5	101.9	95.7	113.5	101.3	96.2	100.2	100.0	102.7
1893	109.0	108.7	109.3	112.3	115.6	98.4	101.5	100.1	100.0	99.5
1894	103.6	103.4	101.9	102.6	100.9	99.0	93.8	98.7	98.7	99.8
1895	99.4	99.2	98.8	91.8	94.2	98.8	91.8	98.5	98.5	98.9
1896	96.7	95.5	97.6	77.0	86.8	96.7	96.6	98.8	99.5	97.2
1897	97.4	97.3	98.2	93.0	84.3	97.9	95.7	98.5	99.9	97.4
1898	100.2	99.1	95.1	105.4	86.3	101.7	101.3	100.7	101.2	97.9
1899	102.9	101.8	99.2	96.1	85.1	102.4	101.7	104.4	103.7	98.3
1900	109.7	107.7	105.3	93.5	83.0	102.4	104.9	105.5	104.9	98.5
1901	121.0	117.5	110.2	116.8	82.6	103.5	103.0	106.7	108.8	98.9
1902	135.6	132.5	119.4	117.0	83.4	103.5	96.1	106.0	114.9	99.1
1904	137.9	125.8	118.4	121.3	79.6	101.6	101.9	105.8	115.5	98.9
1905	138.8	126.0	118.5	110.2	81.4	102.6	98.2	105.5	123.2	102.6
1907	157.3	141.2	130.7	120.6	88.4	108.5	99.6	105.3	125.0	104.5
1908	142.4	137.4	112.0	138.4	—	105.1	100.0	108.6	124.2	112.4
1909	180.0	151.2	145.0	120.0	—	103.3	105.0	109.0	130.2	113.0

No authority is claimed for the prices in these tables for the years 1908 and 1909. They merely represent the tendencies in those years, as found in official and unofficial wholesale prices of the several commodities, and there are often striking divergences between wholesale and retail prices over short periods. Eventually they follow the same course, although not always in the same proportion.

Now let us see how the average retail price of these 30 articles of food compares with the average daily pay of the four representative classes of railway employes in train service for the ten years 1899 to 1909.





	Average Daily Compensation				Relative Prices of Food, 1890-1899 ==100
Year	Enginemen	Firemen	Conductors	Other Trainmen	Relative Prices of Food, 1890-1899 ==100



1899	$3.72	$2.10	$3.13	$1.94	99.6
1900	3.75	2.14	3.17	1.96	101.5
1901	3.78	2.16	3.17	2.00	105.5
1902	3.84	2.20	3.21	2.04	110.9
1903	4.01	2.28	3.50	2.27	111.6
1905	4.12	2.38	3.50	2.31	112.5
1906	4.12	2.42	3.51	2.35	116.2
1907	4.30	2.54	3.69	2.54	120.7
1908	4.46	2.65	3.83	2.64	117.7
1909	4.46	2.67	3.76	2.60	127.7



Per cent. increase	19.9	27.1	20.1	34.0	28.2

Here it will be observed the percentage of increase in the average daily compensation of "Other trainmen" exceeds the relative increase in the price of food, that of firemen almost equals it, while that of enginemen and conductors is below it by approximately 8 points. But, as demonstrated in the table from the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor (1903), a smaller percentage of the income of enginemen and conductors is spent on food than of those employes receiving lower pay.

Moreover as only two-fifths of all expenditures is spent on food an increase of 20% in wages would take care of a 50% advance in the average price of food—provided the increase in wages was not attended by a corresponding increase in every other item entering into the cost of living.

And right here's the rub with any attempt to measure wages by the cost of living. Which is the egg and which is the hen, in the matter of precedence. Does the cost of living lay the income or does the income hatch the cost of living?

Economically and theoretically it is not up to the railways to solve this world old conundrum. Practically they are called on to meet every advance in the cost of living of their employes to which in twenty years they have not added a nickel, and they are denied the privilege, enjoyed by every other employer of labor, to add its increased cost to the price of their only commodity or service—transportation.

Today the advances in the scale of railway wages awarded, proposed and demanded mean an increase of from $60,000,000 to $75,000,000 in the annual "cost of living" of the railways. The advance made in 1906-07 added $120,000,000 to the pay roll of 1908. Combined, these two advances within three years mean an increase of approximately $200,000,000 a year to the operating expenses of the railways without adding a single unit to efficiency of the labor factor in railway operation.