120 COST OF LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES 
Bureau of Labor Statistics index has been higher; sometimes 
that of the National Industrial Conference Board. The 
Board’s budget for this item is based on equal proportions of 
anthracite and bituminous coal, and gas and electricity in the 
proportion of two to one. The light items in turn are com- 
bined with the coal items in the proportion of one to two. 
The present combination of items in the Board’s light budget 
was only adopted in 1922, however, the index prior to that 
time having been an estimate which, although it took ac- 
Cuart 4p: InpEx NumBers oF THE ComBINED CosT OF 
FutL AND LicHT, IN AVERAGE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, 
1913 To DECEMBER, 1925, INCLUSIVE 
Based on figures in Table 1 and Table 5 
National Industrial Conference Board seseem———m 
July 1914 = 100 
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics sessesscsecses 
Year 1913 = 100 
INDEX 
SUMBERS 
250 — 
TUEL ano LIGYT 
4. 
og 
ool. 
ar 
ri ————hrrr eat ir 
2d wr or vy ‘ea 28 
count of electricity from the beginning was, nevertheless, 
made very largely on the basis of gas costs.! Had the esti- 
mate made on the basis of electricity and gas been included 
in the present ratio from the beginning of the series, the fuel 
and light index would be lower than at present, thus bringing 
the Board’s series practically continuously below that of 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Sta- 
istics’ budget includes wood and kerosene, in addition to 
1See pp. 37-38: 48-51 of this volume.