Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/126

 112 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

As showing the slight difference made by the change in articles, the report exhibits the result of a comparison of the ninety articles common to the two reports, showing the fall from January, 1890, to January, 1899, but i per cent, greater than for the articles of the present investigation. This, however, takes no account of the articles of the former report not included in the present investigation, nor of those in the present not included in the former report. Nor does it show the effect of the change from a method which gave so much weight to pocket-knives, crackers, and fish.

It is remarked :

A continuous series of relative prices for a long period of time, except for a very restricted number of articles, is an ideal which is impossible of realization in practice. From time to time the lists of articles must be revised because of the changing character of our consumption.

Yet the changes made seem hardly in conformity with this idea. In the group " Fuel and Lighting" we find candles retained as a representative of expenditure for illumination, and in other groups articles added that are less representative than those omitted. From the summary by groups it appears that, according to this investigation, what is termed the level of prices had reached the lowest point July i, 1897, since which time there has been a rise of 16 per cent, to July i, 1899, a point 9 per cent, below the price level of January i, 1890.

This report failing to show the great increase in prices during the latter part of 1899, an d indicating a decline since January, 1890, has already been widely quoted as overturning the popular impression as to the effect of trusts on prices, and will undoubtedly be frequently so quoted in the coming campaign. It seems at least remarkable that the price quotations of a report published in March of the present year should not at least include prices for the whole of the year 1899. Prices for October, 1899, and for January of the present year are cer- tainly those most easily obtained, and would furnish information regarding the recent great increase in prices, regarding which the public is at present most deeply interested.

From the standpoint of those whose primary desire is not the success of this or that political party or economic interest, but that each political campaign shall be a genuine campaign of education, official publications so obviously open to criticism must be regarded as peculiarly inopportune. If partisans allege, as they have not ceased to do in the case of the Aldrich report, that the document before us was prepared for campaign rather than for scientific or economic use,