Arizona republican., 1917-10-02
France and from four to six times a' high as five hundred years ago.

France and from four to six times as 1 high as five hundred years ago. 1 And so we are not the only genera | tion to complain of the high cost of | living In the 18th century we find the | C ompiain. that wheat cost from three to ten times it's average price during the three preceding centuries and all things else, whatever, sustenance fol | man. was likewise laiSed " thOtlt all | conscience or req son" We are told that z 5, two hund ed and sixty years | before 1707 bought as much as E2S or | 30 at that date
 We may say, by the way that this great upward movement of prIces in the 18th century followed the importa- ion into Europe of silver from the new world.
 1789. 1909
 But we have no really good measure of price movements b0fore 17S2 at
 which date Jevons' index number foi England begins. Between 17S9 and 1909
 his index number rose from S5 to 16l
 or practically doubled in twenty years.
 Here again it is significant that, dur
 ing these twenty years, there was a
 great outpouring from the mines, of
 gold and silver, especially silver. There
 were also the Napoleonic wars and de-
 preciated paper money.
 1909 1849 Between 1909 and 1S49 prices fell Jevons' index number fell from 161 tC 64 That is in these forty years Eng
 lish prices were reduced to less thar
 half
 1849- 1873 Between 1S49 and 1873 (althougl with two interruptions) British price!
 rose, according to Sauerbeck's well i, known index number, from "A to III A similar rise occurred in the othe countries for which we have inde,
 numbers for that period. namely: tn United States France and Germany. Whatever the cause of this rise il I prices may have been, the fact is tha it followed closely after the great out pouring of Californian and Australian
 gold and a rapid development o ] banking.
 1875 1896 I Between 1873 and 1896 prices fell il countries using the gold standard an | rose in countries using the silver stan | dard.
 It will be remembered tha' throughout the world and particular in the United States during this period N there was much controversy owe | prices and gold, silver and paper mon E ey. We had in this country advocate | of the greenback standard. of fire silver. of international bimestallisn etc. as remedies for the great fall i ' prices and the depression of trade c which there were loud complaints. Tn ferment eliminated in 1896 in the fam \ ous Bryan free silver" campaign. 1S96- 1914 But, by the irony of fate, scarcel
 had the country become excited owe falling prices when the movemen turned upward again and, with fe' exceptions, it has been upward eve since. The old cry of too little golt of too low prices. of depression of trad | was forgotten and the opposite com plaint of the high cost of living grad ually gained strength. Meeker's inde number of the United States shows ~ise between 1896 and 1914 from 67 100 or about 50 per cent. The most remarkable fact is that tn
 course of prices up to the outbreak (
 the war was strikingly similar in a gold standard countries for which W have statistics, namely: The Unite
 States, Canada, England, France, Ger ' many. Austria. Italy, Switzerland Rus sia. Sweden. Denmark, Holland. Eel
 gium and even though less strikingl,
 in far away Australia, New Zealand | Japan and India.