WHOLESALE PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS DURING THE CIVIL WAR 
AND WORLD WAR PERIODS. 
Wholesale prices of a few farm products for the two war periods are shown in 
Tables X to XVI, pages 29 to 35. Curves for some of these are given in figures 
5 to 11. 
To see whether the Civil War prices for a particular farm product were really 
high or low they may be compared with the wholesale prices of all commodities 
for that period, as given in Table I and shown in figures 5 to 11. For the. World 
War comparison may be made with the general price level as shown in Table II. 
For example, the quotation for Xo. 2 corn in Chicago in April, 1921, was 94 per 
cent of the five-year average price before the war. The general price level as 
shown in Table II was 157 per cent of the five-year average, before the war. 
Corn was very cheap. 
As explained on pages 17 to 18, wholesale prices do not show conditions on 
farms, but since farm prices are not available for the Civil War period, whole- 
sale prices are used. 
In times of violent price changes, prices should be compared by months, but 
the Aldrich report gives prices by quarters only. It would be very desirable to 
have an index number for wholesale prices and for individual commodities by 
months for the Civil War period. 
The data for the World War period can be continued by using the average of 
the high and low prices as given in the Monthly Crop Reporter. The index 
number is obtained by dividing the price for a given month by the five-year 
average before the war, for the month under consideration as given at the head 
of each table. 
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