14 
BULLETIN 1440, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
any real advance in the value of hogs as compared with the value 
of other commodities, but represented merely the lower value of 
money. As money decreased in value, it took more to buy the same 
quantity of hogs. This was especially true during the period 1916- 
1920. The very high prices did not mean that the value of hogs 
Purchasing power of the dollar 
120 
110 
100 
90 
60 
70 
60 
SO 
4-0 
30 
20 
10 

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1913 
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1904- 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914- 1915 1916 1917 I9I8 1919 IS2.0 1921 1922 1923 191*1925 I32E 
Fig. 13.— The changes in purchasing power of a dollar from 1904 to 1925 are shown by comparing 
the average quantity of goods which could be bought for $1 in 1913 (at wholesale prices) with 
the quantity of the same goods which could be bought for the same sum each month during 
the period. In 1924 only two-thirds as much could be bought for $1 as in 1913 
was high as compared with other commodities, but that the value of 
money was low. 
When hogs sold at $18 per 100 pounds in 1919 they were not 
really worth much more in exchange for other goods than when they 
sold at $8 in 1913. This is evident when the prices are compared 
after multiplying each one by the index of the general purchasing 
power of money (fig. 13) to reduce them to dollars of equal pur- 
chasing power. Thus $18 times 49 equals $8.82, while $8 times 100 
equals $8; showing that on the basis of the goods that could be 
bought with the money, the 1919 price was only slightly higher than 
the 1913 price. 
Purchasing power of hogs 
I OOLLABS 
10 
A */n / w l 
^Ajrw^Mnl t^ *ft 
y v- if- mj ^ 
1904 1905 1906 IS07 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 
Fig. 14.— Hog prices for 22 years expressed in dollars of constant purchasing power. A great part 
of the total variation in prices had been due solely to changes in the value of money 
Figure 14 shows the prices of hogs for the whole period reduced 
to dollars of constant purchasing power in this way. The compari- 
son of this chart with Figure 11 shows that a large part of the changes 
in hog prices during this time was due solely to changes in the value 
of money. 
