Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1911-12-26
YALE PROFESSOR
WANTS LIVING
COST BOARD
Irving ITsirr Would lake lnterna-
tionai Bndy to Regulate pricc of
Nccs~earic- of LIE.


~ Louis. Mo. Dec as.---An inter-
national board which would regulate
the cost Of the commodities necessary
TO a reasonable living was advocated
by Professor Irving Fisher OF Yale IN
an address before recent meeting
OF the Round Table club here.
"fhc object OF the commission" he
said, should be 20 gather all avail
ahlo facts as to recent changes IN
wages. cost OF living and prices gen
orally throughout the world. so IN to
make International comparisons, as
certain the causes aud devise REM
edies
Those chiefly Interested In the
commission do not agree on any REIN
edy The commission would not be
authorized 10 bind any nation repre-
scented to adoption. II would simply
express the best. unbiased scientific
conclusions and report favOrahly on
any plan outlined 20 remedy the evil.
III the volume OF money IN the
United States had not Increased,
prices would he Is per cent lower than
now. II we are going to have an ell
fectual remedy we must make the
punishment NJ the crime. The con.
sumner points to the retailer. the re-
taller 20 the mlddieman and the mid
dieman 10 the man behind him. Then
the railroads are blamed for Il all
Il am interested In regulating the
purchasing power OF the dollar as a
remedy We mast berlin by studying
the facts and causes aud an inter
national body must study these. More
than 100 men In the United States aud
foreign countries have been consulted
on the idea. and all have favored the
plan.
"A rise In our cost OF living IL sy-
anonymous with n fall In our purchas-
Ing power by purchasing power
mean n fall In what dollar can buy
or fall In our income or wages
Since 1896 there has been rise In
risen as fast. The wage-earner has
lost In two ways. His dollar does no,
40 as far as II used TO. and hla income
does not go rs far az Il used TO. From
1873 10 1896 there Was fall In prices
which eliminated In the Bryan cam.
paign, which attempted remedy by
Initiating the currency and opening
our mlnts 10 silver.
In this period the debtor class was
pinclied and squeaied. Since then the
creditor class has been injured, moi
lslmply the rich. but the small creditor
class, especially savings bank depOs.
Itors, widows and orphans II we ge
back a thousand years we win Sc,
prices are now Ave and ten times
higher than they were then. Prices
have risen so per cent In the United
states in tho last fifteen years. 30 per
cent In Germany and 20 per cent IN
England. The trusts. tariff and labor
unions have been held responsible fol
the advanced cost. but Il Ia merely
scratching the surface to attribute thu
evil to these causes alone.
Prices have risen In the United
States faster than In any other coun
TRY. and began rising earlier, although
now II IN said the rise il more RAPID
In foreign nations According 20 my
PHILOSOPHY the general level can be
laffected directly only by Ave causes
The amount OF money In circulation
the velocity OF circulation. amount o
deposits subject TO check and theii
velocity, and the volume OF business
done. II seems pnerlle to me TO at
tempt to explain the change In prices
without recourse 10 that relationship
III II true the quantity OF none,
Is the largest factor tending 10 In
crease prices, and Il IN interesting q
note what has caused the Increase u
money. One cause has been the in
creased production OF gold. II seeml
to me we need to learn there Is dan
ger from gold az well M from silver
The best authorities say the gold pro
duction viii probably increase yer!
rapidly In the future. and unless THU