544 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 



variations in the type of organizations, which range from the 

 highly-developed bodies liaving a scheme of federal organization, 

 to the small independent local union. 



As regards the publication of particulars of membership and 

 finance, it should be observed that, with a view to obviating . the 

 disclosure of information as to individual unions, a general in- 

 dustry classification scheme has-been adopted. This will be used 

 for the tabulation not only of particulars of trade unions, but also 

 of information relating to changes in rates of wages, strikes and 

 lock-outs, industrial accidents, immigration, and other matters. 

 Though at the outset the work was to a slight extent impeded by 

 the suspicions and apprehensions of officials of a few labour orga- 

 nizations, it has now l^eeu made clear that the inventigations have 

 no connexion with any political designs, and are being made purely 

 for general statistical purposes. Hence it is gratifying to note 

 that the response of trade union officials in filling up the returns 

 is now satisfactory. 



7. Prices and Cost of Living. 



The question of prices, price indexes, and cost of living has 

 been dealt with in the first report issued by the new branch, and • 

 I do not, therefore, propose to refer to the matter in any detail. 



The whole question of prices is being investigated from a three- 

 fold point of view, viz., (i) Import and export values, (ii) Whole- 

 sale, and (iii) Retail prices. In order to furnish an adequate 

 basis for an examination of various phases of the question, it has 

 been thought necessary to treat the subject from each of these 

 different points of view. For example, for the purpose of investi- 

 gating any relation between prices and factors affecting world's 

 prices generally, import and export values, which relate to com- 

 modities for which there is a world-wide market, are to be pre- 

 ferred; wholesale prices reflect the commercial life of the commu- 

 nity; while, as an indication of the cost of living, retail prices, 

 which represent the actual cost to the consumer, are the most 

 appropriate. 



Retail prices have the advantage that a comparatively small 

 list of commodities, say, forty or fifty, suffices to represent a large 

 proportion of the average expenditure They are, however, sub- 

 ject to the difficulty that their variations depend largely upon 

 local conditions, and it is, thei-efore, ordinarily necessary to collect 

 the data over a wide area. 



Wholesale prices, on the other hand, are fixed usually at one 

 or two centres, but In investigating the question from the whole- 

 sale point of view, a much larger list of commodities must be 



