I 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



493 



(2) That price fluctuations occurred 

 most often in the following order : First in 

 cotton, second in yarns, and last in fabrics ; 

 but that no general rule as to sequence was 

 followed. 



(3) That the great fall in the prices of 

 cotton in the spring of 1918 had no 

 counterpart in the prices of yams and 

 fabrics. This decline in cotton prices was 

 probably due to the unfavorable military 

 situation which brought with it the threat 

 to shipping and to the prospect of price-fix- 

 ing. These forces naturally did not have a 

 similar effect on the prices of yams and 

 fabrics. 



(4) That the fall in prices in the early 

 part of the period was greatest for cotton, 

 less for yarns, and least for fabrics, while 

 the rise in prices for the latter part of the 

 period was least for cotton, more for yarns, 

 and greatest for fabrics. 



In order to bring out more clearly the 

 relative positions of the raw, intermediate, 

 and finished products and to get a basis for 

 quantitative comparison, the cotton curve, 

 the cotton yarn curve, and the cotton man- 

 ufactures curve will each be divided 

 (ordinate for ordinate) by the general 

 price curve. The quotients thus derived 

 will represent the rise in prices of each of 

 these classes of products in terms of an 

 all-cnmmodity standard of value. 

 The fourth chart of page 489 shows : 

 For cotton. — (1) That the drop in prices 

 in 1914 below the general level was 



Relative Prices.— Tire Fabric, Sea Island, 

 17'A ounce, combed. — By months. January, 

 1913. to December, 1918. (Average quoted 

 prices, July, 1913. to June, 1914 = 100.) 



greater than the rise above that level 

 in 1918. 



(2) That the period for which prices 

 were substantially under the general 

 level was somewhat longer than that 

 for which they have been above. 



(3) That assuming a uniform distribu- 



tion of sales by the producers, the net loss 

 resulting from the low prices in the earlier 

 period was greater than the net gain in the 

 later period. 



(4) That since the lowest price (below 

 the general level) came in the fall of 1914 

 and the early spring of 1915, the months 

 when the bulk of the crop was being sold, 

 the balance of loss over gain is larger than 

 appears from a cursory glance at the chart. 



For cotton yarns.— (1) That the de- 

 crease in prices in 1914 compared with the 

 general level was much less than the rise 

 above that level in 1918. 



(2) That the period for which prices 

 were under the general level was substan- 

 tially equal to that for which they were 

 above. 



For cotton manufactures.— (1) That the 

 fall in prices in 1914 below the general level 

 was slight compared to the rise above that 

 level in 1918. 



(2) That as was the case for yarns, the 

 period for which prices were under the 

 general level was substantially equal to that 

 for which they were above. 



Short staple, long staple. Sea Island. 

 — It should be noted — 



(1) That the price movements of short- 

 staple and long-staple cotton were very 

 similar throughout the period, with, how- 

 ever, more pronounced fluctuations in the 

 former. This tendency is probably to be 

 explained by the greater sensitiveness of a 



2.85 yards per 

 1913. to Dccen 

 prices, July, 19 



^nll'^v 

 :r. 1918.' 

 , to Jun. 



lELATlVE Prices.— Cotton Waste, average of 

 three series; and Osnaburg, 30 inch, 40 x 32, 

 7 ounce. 60 per cent waste. — By months. 

 January, 1913, to December, 1918. (Average 

 quoted prices. Tuly, 1913, to June, 1914 = 

 100.) 



