January 31, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



161 



TABLE SHOWING WEIGHTING OF GROUPS IN 

 VARIOUS INDEX NUMBERS 



Groups of 

 Commodi- 

 ties 



Clothing 

 Food .... 

 Other.... 



Norton's ^'<^'\: 

 Gibson street s 

 or Dun lodeK 

 Number, INumber, 

 PerCent.i /<="; 



Bureau 

 of Labor 

 Index 

 Number, 

 Per 

 Cent. 



number,'' the second column the Dun and 

 Gibson series, and the third column the 

 Dun and Gibson series reduced to the same 

 base as the American Sauerbeck which is 

 the average price level of the years 1890 to 

 1899 as one hundred per cent. This table 

 is represented graphically by diagram 

 No. 1. 



point will be discussed later in this paper. 

 On the other hand, if a large weight is given 

 to manufactured articles, which is the case 

 in the United States Bureau of Labor in- 

 dex numbers, the tendency is to reduce the 

 extent of advance. The group weighting 

 influences the results more than the fluctu- 

 ations of single commodities, because all 

 commodities of the food group are in a 

 large measure in competition through pos- 

 sible substitution by consumers. The fol- 

 lowing tables, which are represented by 

 diagrams, disclose the annual averages for 

 the period, 1890 to 1912. The first column 

 contains the American Sauerbeck index 



The annual average difference of the two 

 index numbers is two per cent. 



To summarize the general movements, a 

 five year average table has been prepared. 

 This table shows how little the weighting 

 has influenced the results in the two series, 

 because the weighting for the food group 

 differs in the two numbers to a less extent 

 than in the case of the other possible com- 

 parisons. 



'jSTorton's "Lessons Suggested by the Experi- 

 ence of the French People and of the Bank of 

 France," Proceedings of the Academy of Folitical 

 Science, January, 1911. 



