APPENDIX 115 



the highest of the highest-priced grade and the lowest of the lowest-priced 

 grade being averaged. 



LIVE STOCK PRICES AND RECEIPTS. 



Practically all of the live stock figures since 1903 have been compiled 

 from the Chicago Drovers' Journal Year Books. Mr. Chas. A. S. McCracken 

 has compiled the price figures from actual transactions day by day in the 

 stock yards for the past thirty years, and is still with the Drovers' Journal. 

 The original source for live stock receipts is the stock yards companies, 

 but we have used the reports of the Drovers' Journal. For the years 

 1903, 1904 and 1905, for receipts at six markets, we have used figures fur- 

 nished by Mr. M. F. Horine, statistician for the Chicago Union Stock 

 Yards. These figures seem to be comparable with the figures for the 

 later years, except in the case of cattle, where there is evidently some 

 confusion in the counting of calves. The cattle receipts at six markets, 

 as published by 1903, 1904 and 1905 reports, are about 8 per cent too large 

 to be truly comparable with the later years. 



RETAIL PRICES. 



Retail price figures are taken from the publications of the Bureau of 

 Labor Statistics. Concerning the significance of these figures, the fol- 

 lowing statement of Royal Meeker, Commissioner of Labor Statistics, is 

 of value: "We secure retail prices of 44 articles of food from 50 cities on 

 the 15th of each month. The stores selected are those patronized by 

 wage-earners. The goods carried are standard grades and brands. The 

 Bureau requests that these grades and brands be uniform thruout the 

 year, as nearly as possible. Some of these stores are 'cash-and-carry,' 

 and some of them deliver, depending on the locality in which they are 

 situated. The Bureau makes every effort to have each city represented 

 by a sufficient number of stores so the prices published for that city will 

 represent the average prices charged to the wage-earner. Of course, the 

 chances are that there will be differences, as we do not carry either the 

 high-class stores or the cut-rate stores." 



