Summary, METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING MAssacHUSETTS CoMMISSION ON THE NECESSARIES OF LIFE 
INDEX NUMBERS OF THE CosT oF LIVING IN MASSACHUSETTS 
pot 
S 
fume 
Number of articles. ....... 
Localities covered. ........ 
Sources of information. . ... 
Method of gathering infor: 
mation. .... , 
Method of computing change 
in cost of each major item 
Shelter | 
General estimate. | 20 
100 - 27 ! 
‘'ndividual dealers; Yount officials, real estate [ndividual dealers; about! {ndividual dealers; about 
100 quotations per item.| agents, other interested! 100 quotations per item, 211 quotations for coal; 
parties. zas and electricity from 
Department of Public 
Utilities. 
Questionnaire and special Questionnaire and special 
agents. agents, 
Fuel and Light | Sundries 
10} 
Average price of each ar- 
ticle divided by 1913 
average; result multi- 
nlied by unit weight: 
sum of the products di. 
vided by the sum of the 
weights. 
General estimates sndgiversge price of each ar-|Average price of each ar-: 
from special surveys and! ticle divided by 1013] ticle divided by 1913 
housing complaints. average; result muld- average: result mult- 
plied by unit weight; plied by unit weight; 
sum of the products di- sum of the products di- 
vided by the sum of the vided by the sum of the 
weights. weights. 
= National Industrial Conference Board figure used except for 1ce and organizations for which data are secured from individual dealers for ice 
and from organizations by questionnaire and special agents, Changes are computed “as for food, except National Industrial Conference Board 
ficure 1s used as relative and multiplied by unit weight.”