128 



THE MODERN MILK PROBLEM 



Government from the most important industrial cities 

 throughout the United States. 6 The level of 100 shown 

 in each chart is the base of the relative prices, that 

 is, the price indices relate to a value of 100 repre- 

 senting the average price for each food during the 

 period 1890-99, so that they give percentage variations 

 and may be directly compared. In the last of the series 



FRESH EGGS 



*.floo>S^N'"> ><>< f*o > i N^<''" 



FIG. 15. RELATIVE RETAIL PRICES, 1890-1915 

 Milk and Fresh Eggs 



a combined curve is given for the five staple foods as 

 compared with milk. It will be seen that, with the 

 exception of wheat flour, these have increased in price 

 more rapidly than milk, and, taken all together, 

 markedly. 



The economy of milk as a food has already been re- 

 ferred to in Chapter I, but may here be re-emphasized. 

 It was there pointed out that milk is ordinarily one 



