Bean curd shops suspended busi- j mess for three the di month as from December 19. On the resumption of business, an increase of. creased Eypsum and other raw materials.
rise ranged from 25 per cent. in case of bean curd and dried bean 50 and 60 per cent, in the sheet bean and fried bean These are considered the cheap-
Obtain. The effect upon the working families, therefore, should not be overlooked, Coal briquettes again reached over $4 per 100 chin. Owing to shortage of supply, an abnormal increase was shown in the prices of useless timber and firewood. Compared with last month's quotations, useless timber was 50 per cent. higher and firewood 29.23 per cent.
As a direct result of the rise in fuel cost hot water shops also clared a 50 per cent. increase in price. Hot water was sold at L7 cents for ten Jadies prior to the hostilities, and it is now 5 cents.
It is to be noted that the items cited above are those of which the increase in prices has been the most prominent during the month. They at the same time form the daily indispensable items of consumption of the working class. The rise in the living cost index therefore carries a deeper significance, when it hits hardest upon daily necessities.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.