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between individual farmer and workman. Rates for piecework are very much higher than for day work. At present men receive about 150 marks and women 100 marks per day for day work. However, with the present piecework rate for harvesting potatoes, these laborers are making about 500 marks per day.

They receive 17 marks per 100 pounds for digging, picking up, and loading the potatoes on wagons. They work in gangs of three or four together, receiving a ticket for each basket emptied onto the wagon. The present rate on sugar beets is 750 marks per morgen. A morgen, in this section of Germany, is about one-fourth of a hectare. A family or small gang work together. They must pull the beets, cut the tops, and pile both beets and tops. The money payment is not the only one. There is a tendency to return to the old system of paying in foodstuffs. This means that the employer furnishes the Polish laborers with potatoes, flour, sugar, some meat, margarine, and lard.

It is interesting to note that American lard is furnished to the Polish workers, but that the Germans will not eat it if they can avoid it because of the oily contents and flavor. German lard is more expensive, but the Germans stated that to make American lard palatable for them they must remelt it and add onions and other flavoring material.

By law the working day is 10 hours in summer and 8 hours in winter; at the present time 9 hours is in force. There is no complaint that the laborers are not working well.

One hectare equals 2,471 acres.

PRICES AND COST OF LIVING.

Retail Prices of Food in the United States.

HE following tables are based on figures which have been received

Tby the Bureau of Labor Statistics from retail dealers through

monthly reports of actual selling prices.1

Table 1 shows for the United States retail prices of food on October 15, 1921, and on September 15 and October 15, 1922, as well as the percentage changes in the year and in the month. For example, the price per pound of rolled oats was 9.8 cents on October 15, 1921; 8.7 cents on September 15, 1922; and 9.6 cents on October 15, 1922. These figures show a decrease of 2 per cent in the year, and an increase of 10 per cent in the month.

The cost of the various articles of food combined showed a decrease of 6 per cent in October, 1922, as compared with October, 1921; and an increase of 2 per cent in October, 1922, as compared with September, 1922.

TABLE 1.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE OCTOBER 15, 1922, COMPARED WITH OCTOBER 15, 1921, AND SEPTEMBER 15, 1922.

[Percentage changes of five-tenths of 1 per cent and over are given in whole numbers.]

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1 In addition to monthly retail prices of food and coal, the bureau secures prices of gas and dry goods from each of 51 cities and for electricity from 32 cities. These prices are published at quarterly intervals in the MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.

The following 22 articles, weighted according to the consumption of the average family, have been used from January, 1913, to December, 1920: Sirloin steak, round steak, rib roast, chuck roast, plate beef, pork chops, bacon, ham, lard, hens, flour, corn meal, eggs, butter, milk, bread, potatoes, sugar, cheese, rice, coffee, and tea. The remainder of the 43 articles shown in Tables 1 and 2 have been included in the weighted aggregates for each month, beginning with January, 1921.

TABLE 1.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPEcified fooD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE OCTOBER 15, 1922, COMPARED WITH OCTOBER 15, 1921, AND SEPTEMBER 15, 1922.-Concluded.

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Table 2 shows for the United States average retail prices of specified food articles on October 15, 1913 and 1914, and on October 15 of each year from 1917 to 1922, together with the percentage changes in October of each of these specified years compared with October, 1913. For example, the price per pound of rice was 8.7 cents in October, 1913; 8.8 cents in October, 1914; 11.1 cents in October, 1917; 14.0 cents in October, 1918; 17.3 cents in October, 1919; 16.1 cents in October, 1920; 9.3 cents in October, 1921; and 9.6 cents in October, 1922. As compared with the average price in October, 1913, these figures show the following percentage increases: 1 per cent in October, 1914; 28 per cent in October, 1917; 61 per cent in October, 1918; 99 per cent in October, 1919; 85 per cent in October, 1920; 7 per cent in October, 1921; and 10 per cent in October, 1922.

The cost of the various articles of food, combined, showed an increase of 37 per cent in October, 1922, as compared with October,

1913.

TABLE 2.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE OCTOBER 15 OF CERTAIN SPECIFIED YEARS COMPARED WITH OCTOBER 15, 1913.

[Percentage changes of five-tenths of 1 per cent and over are given in whole numbers.]

Article.

Unit.

Average retail price Oct. 15—

Per cent of increase (+) or decrease (-) Oct. 15 of each specified year compared with Oct. 15, 1913.

1913 1914 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1914 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922

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Lamb, leg of.

Hens.

Salmon (canned), red.

Milk, fresh.

Milk, evaporated

(unsweetened).

Butter....

Oleomargarine.

Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts.
Pound 25.7 26.2 32.9 41.0 39.8 44.5 37.4 38. 3 +2
..do.... 23.1 23.8 30.8 39.0 36.9 41. 932, 933. 1 +3
..do.... 20.0 20.5 25.8 32.3 30.6 33.3 27.6 28.0 +3
..do.... 16. 4 17.0 21.8 27.9 24.5 25.919.9 19.9 +4
..do..
12.3 12.8 16.5 21.5 17.6 17.8 13. 212. 8 +4
..do.... 22.6 23.0 38.9 45.4 44.3 49. 936. 036.6 +2
..do... 27.8 28.6 48. 2 57.9 52.8 54. 641. 240.8 +3
27.6 28.3 42.6 52.0 52.4 59. 848. 347.7 +3
..do... 18.4 19.3 31.6 35.2 33.9 37.930. 035.9 +5
.do.... 21. 2 21.4 31.1 39.0 40.3 43. 937. 234. 8 +1
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128. 3 130. 9 134. 8139. 034.931.6
Quart. 9.0 9.0 12.7 14.8 16.0 17.3 14. 2 13.3
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16.6
Pound 38. 237.6 50.9 65. 1 71.1
..do....

+28 +60 +55 +73 +46 +49 +33 +69 +60 +81 +42 +43 +29 +62 +53 +67 +38 +40 +33 +70 +49 +58 +21+21 +34 +75 +43 +45 +7 +4 +72 +101 +96 +121 +59 +62 +73 +108 +90 +96 +48 +47 +54 +88 +90 +117+75 +73 +72 +91 +84 +106 +63 +95 +47 +84 +90 +107 +75 +64

+41 +64 +78 +92 +58 +48

42.6

Nut margarine.

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Cheese.

Lard.

..do... 22.4 23.0
..do.... 16.0 15.5

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Crisco..

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37.5 32. 121.523.2

Dozen 41.6 39.0 55. 2 64.1 72.0 80.858.954.3 -6
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Pound

59.2 64. 244. 139. 0
9.8 10.1 11.8 9.5 8.7+14
6.7 7.3 7.8 5.4 4.8 +12
6.6 6.5 4.3 3.9 +6
9.2 11.6 9.8 9.6
14. 1 14. 4 12.0 9.7
25.2 30.4 29. 7 25. 6
19.4 22.020. 519.9

..do.... 8.7 8.8 11.1 14.0 17.3 16.1 9.3 9.6 +1

+56 +72 +89 +81 +47 +52 +96+114+126+83 +8 +9

+33 +54 +73 +94 +42 +31

+77 +75 +80+111 +70 +55 +115+103 +121 +136 +64 +45 +126+119+113 +110 +39 +26

+28 +61 +99 +85 +7 +10 +67 +94 +111 +89+94 +

15. 313. 411. 2
68.953. 250.9-2
41.530. 227. 8.
35.7 28. 326, 9
40.632.9 34.1 +3
29.217.217.5-3

+33 +70 +86 +80+39 +33

3.4 3.5 2.2-17

6.3

4.7 6.5 4.4.

Cabbage.

..do...

4.5

3.6 4.8 3.5

Beans, baked.

(5)

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17.1 16.7 14. 013. 2

19.1 18.5 16. 115. 3

19.1 19.217.9 17.4

Tomatoes, canned..

16.1 14.5 12.9 12.7

Sugar, graulated

Tea.

Coffee.

Prunes.

Raisins.

Bananas.

Oranges...

All articles com

bined ".

1 Both pink and red.

2 15-16-ounce can.

Pound 5.5 7.2 9.8 10.6 11.4 13.9 6.9 7.9 +31
.do,.. 54.5 54.7 61.3 67.5 71.0 72. 469. 168.2 +0.4
..do.... 29. 7 29.6 30.5 30.5 48.6 43. 4 35.6 36.3 -0.3
..do..
16.5 18.3 29.0 27.919. 120. 6
14.9 15.5 20.9 31.427.320.7

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Dozen.

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39.3 47.238. 535. 6
55.3 71.3 56. 661. 1

+78 +93 +107+153 +25 +44 +12 +24 +30 +33 +27 +25 +3 +3 +64 +46 +20 +22

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3

8-ounce package. 428-ounce package.

6 See note 2, page 47.

Table 3 shows the changes in the retal price of each of 22 articles of food as well as the changes in the amounts of these articles that could be purchased for $1, each year, 1913 to 1921, and in October, 1922.

3 Although monthly prices of 43 food articles have been secured since January, 1919, prices of only 22 of these articles have been secured cach month since 1913.

TABLE 3.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED ARTICLES OF FOOD AND AMOUNT PURCHASABLE FOR $1, IN EACH YEAR, 1913 TO 1921, AND IN OCTOBER, 1922.

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