The values of commodities may be judged from two angles. From the point of view of any commodity, it is puma cated by the price; from the point view of the dollar, it is representa fy the purchasing power of money.
when the assing power is the cost of living is low, and when the purchasing is low, living cost is high. The sing power of money and com-are reciprocals of each two moving exactly in directions. For instance, July, 1937, general index, 109.61, as the base, both the index for the month and its will be represented by 100. The yearly general index for 1938, wi is 160.66, will then be represented by 146.65, reciprocal of which is 68.19. This figure, therefore, rets the purchasing power of a dollar for 1938. In other words, the TA classified table in the report shows industries arranged in their respective rates of wages per hour in nine years from 1930 to 1938. ai these industries, the shipbuilding, printing, and machinery industries, are among the high wage groups. An hourly rate of approximately ten cents was paid in these industries. At the bottom of the list, the sih Teeling and cotton spinning workers wer opald a rate of as low as from three to four cents an hour. Of the various industries, the cotton spinning employs the greatest number of workers but is one of the most poorly paid industries in the city. In the last two years of the period, that is in 1937 and 1938, two industries, shipbuilding and match making, have been dropped from the investigation due to difficulties arising out of the present hostilities.
A similar table of earnings is included in the report as distinct from wage rates, expressed in monthly terms rather than in hourly earnings. "The ship-building, printing, and machinery industries occupy the same position as in the case of wage rates. Workers in these industries earned from $23.98 to $4763 per month. Earnings for workers in the silk ree! ing and match making industries were the lowest ranging from $631 to $11.39. Even at normal times, it is ly possible to live on such a meagre income.
Wages Before and After Hostilities Comparing the wages after the outbreak of the War with the pre-war level, a decline was shown in most Of the industries. The decline was particularly keen in the under-wear knitting, enamelling, and hosiery industries. This might be attributed partly to the difficulties of outport sales and partly to the fact that after the War, most of the large scale factories were either destroyed or forced to suspend operation, and that those under investigation were largely of smaller scale and paid a lower level of wages. Some of the industries, however, showed increase in wages. The cotton spinning, for example, showed an increase in wage rates from $0.089 in 1936 to $0.051 in 1938, and in earning from $10.05 to $13.30. The increase was due to the increased demand for cotton yarn as a result of the influx of population to this city, which necessitated an increases of skilled workers in that industry, and also to the indirect effect of manipulations in the cotton yarn market. The silk weaving and cotton weaving industries likewise showed an increase, but in this case, the increase was more the result of business prosperity before the War than of any factor consequent upon {he War. After the outbreak of the War, these iwo industries did suffer serious losses in business, but owing to the Increased consumption of wearing apparel, they were able to keep the wage level well above the prewar scale. The effect of the War
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.