Page:Walter Renton Ingalls - Wealth and Income of the American People (1924).pdf/226

204 increased to 1.92 and expenses to 1.82 times the rates of 1913.

It would be unsafe to attempt to draw very fine deductions from these rough data, but they indicate that the validity of the index numbers commonly used may be doubtful and furthermore that the cost of living did not increase so much as has been supposed. In considering that question it may be borne in mind that population increased steadily during this period. On the other hand in 1917–1918 men—to a maximum of about 5,000,000—were withdrawn from ordinary life and were supported during their military service out of the surplus of the nation’s earnings. This, together with the response of the people to the exhortations for economy in the use of food, fuel, and all goods, explains why expenses increased relatively little from 1917 to 1918. In 1919 there was an enormous jump. No longer were there any restrictions and the people spent recklessly. At the same time Europe was bidding our goods away from us.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1914, out of a total production of 1.09 billion tons of raw material the United States exported 53,180,558 tons of raw and manufactured products. In the year ended June 30, 1920, the exports were 70,591,657 tons out of a total of 1,165,000,000. In the year ended June 30, 1921, they were 87,009,809 tons out of a total of 1,234,000,000 tons.