Compared with the prices that the 1902 1912 1915 1913 American labourer pays for his Pork 70 200 220 230 shave, his rent, shoes, and: food, Beef per catty 60 180 190 200 living in China appears to be very Cabbage per catty 2 5 6 7° cheap. It is, but so is labour.
The figures indicate the prices in Living is not cheap to the man who cash. A cash is the equivalent of earns thirty-four cents a day and one-sixteen-hundredth part of a pays out thirty-four cents a day dollar Mexican at the current rate for his living. Or. to the.coolie of exchange. A dollar Mexican who earning an uncertain twenty equals about fifty gold cents. cents a day finds that he must There are several reasons for the breakfast on a bowl of hot water increase, principally as every where if he breakfasts at all. else, the war. Before China enter The Monthly Labour Review of ed the war, there was widespread Washington for December 1921 in business inactivity and unemploy-discussing the cost of. living in ment. Then Japan by imposing her China says that since the war, Twenty One Demands on China wholesale prices in China have incut off her largest market and most creased one hundred and forty per natural ally. At once began a cent, but wages only eighty per complete boycott of Japanese imcent. The increase in the price of ports with the result that the supply rice for these years is ample evid-of certain commodities decreased, ence. In 1919, a picul or one Chinese manufacture was stimulate hundred and thirty-three pounds ed, and prices rose, cost Tls. 6.13 or about $8.50; 1920, Secondly, because of the greed Tls. 8.375; 1921 Tls. 7.444, and in of the Chinese militarists for money June, 1 vis. 8.498 or about for their armies and their own $11.80. July because of hoard-treasuries, the currency was de~ ing of unscrupulous dealers, a picul preciated. The paper money lost increased ju cost to $15.00, (in one its value, copper coins were de-day adding a dollar to its value), based from fifteen to twenty-five and was nicely on the way. to percent. The last official check of $16.00. the value of a dollar in various Mr. George E. Sokolsky, manager parts of China shows the increase of the Publication Office of the from May 1921, to May 1922 in the Bureau of Economic Information, number of coppers required to make gives an interesting and comprehen-up a dollar. sive table of a family' 's expenses in May 1921 May 1922 Increase a recent article in the Trans-Pacific Amoy 145.099 167.02 21.03 Monthly. Some of the items are Hankow 155.40 180.37 14.97 not included in the budget of the Nanking 150.25 171.60 21.35 factory operator, but the percent-Shanghai 149.52 168.14 18.62 age of increase. is the same for all.
Peking 153.00 168.00 15.00 Supervisors and department man-The cost of living increased with agers in the factories, receiving the necessity to meet the original from eighty dollars to one hundred price with debased coinage. So and fifty dollars would however, be also did the number of strikes for included in this table, higher wages, Corporations like the street rail-1912 1922 Increase ways were able to refuse debased Rent 8.00 22.00 14.00 coins but the workingman had to Rice 7.00 12.00 5.00 take what was given him. He Flour 4.00 500 1.00 suffered most.
Meat and other Prices reached their high-water food 13.00 20.00 7.00 mark during the winter of 1921 and Coal, water, miscel 7.00 10.00 3.00 1922 and now may be said to be on Police assessment 1.50. 2.00 50 the decline as the following ex-Education for chilcerpts from the July Report of the dren 4.00 5.00 1.00 Rickshaw coolie, Treasury Department Bureau of incl. food 14.00 16.00 2.00 Markets will show. (The basis for 150 2.00 50 the figures given are the average Sanitary expenses 150 2.00..50 Clothing 10.00 2.00 Social expenses A 10.00 2.00 too). for February 1918, taken as 100.
2 85 3 Total per 2 23 32 month $77.50 $115.00 $37.00 8f§ S$ 4 5 2° 3 8 38 These are the expenses of a husband, wife, two children, a July 1921 111.7 108.8 103.3 94.3 113.2 maid and a ricsha man.
Jan. 1922 128.2 114.6 110.0 91.9 107.7 July 1922 © 127.1 118.8 103.1 92.9 106.2
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.