Show wholesale prices are highest in years T will be of interest to those who IT were busy last year in keeping the wolf from the door to a know that alg figures on wholesale prices of representative senta tive staple articles reached the apex of their soaring last october these statistics are for the 18 years between 1890 and 1907 the annual report on this subject of the commerce and labor department shows that the average for the year 1907 was 58 per cent higher than for 1906 per cent higher than for 1897 the year bear of lowest prices during the tha 18 year period and per cent higher than the average for the ten years from 1890 to 1899 prices reached their highest point during the 18 year period in october 1907 the average for that month being 12 per cent higher than tho the average for the year 1907 1101 when the commodities are divided into nine groups every group shows an increase in price in 1907 as compared with 1906 for farm products taken as aa a whole this increase was greatest namely per cent tor for food foode 46 per cent for clothes and clothing 56 per cent for fuel and lighting 24 per cent for metals and implements 61 per cent for lumber and building materials 49 per cent for drugs and chemicals 83 per cent for house furnishing goods 68 per cent and for the miscellaneous group five pel cent the effect of the money stringency in the latter part of the last year le IE reflected in the decrease recorded in all commodities during november and december the average price showing a decrease of 35 per cent below october of tho the articles tor for which wholesale prices were recorded showed an increase in the average prices for fot 1907 as compared with 1906 35 showed no change and 51 showed a decrease |