The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-10-09
PR|C[sMOVEMENT
ANDEV|LS THEREOF
M sOCIAI. JUSTICE WHERE r's''
CHS AND INCOMES in NOT
RIsE TOGETHER
SOME WIN, SOME LOSE
Il, ,cuy,b Lecture by Irving Fisi'cr. The
EconomIsi shows -Four Glasses n
squeosed: Wage Ear"nrs. Sa,a'~u
rrople. Bond Holders. Ra''rosds'
nOu1rru I.ECrURiS

49, HOUKTH i.ECfORE
,.,l.iev Cal. Oct. a.--festefdaj al
,,rnoop irving Fisher gave his four,n
I.r,,iie ON ~pfice Movements" the SUD
,oc, being The Evils OF Price move
ments.." lie said III part;
nj one who has followed and aocepten
tho argument that price changes. owe"
durtng the war. have been princiP'n'y
owing to monetary depreciation. the
nrSt Impression h 'Thcn the high COST
az living Is not as bad rs II seems. II
A.. for the most part. merely noIninin,
Now IL Is quite true that the hish
co.t of living is not as bad as some peo-
,le think II TO be: II is not as bad as
,,,trb the average cost OF living had
,ssen while our average income had
not. In general, before this disastrous
vsr. incomes rose all over the worid
AMI in general. they rose faster than
the cost Of living.
One Notable Exception.
The estimated per capita income ia
the United states In 1910. was. accoru-
ing 10 Professor King. ss32. as com
pafcd with s23s in 1900. showing AN in
crease of IL per cent, whtress the price
same period
In only one Of the six decades DC
tween 1850 and 1910 did the price ievei
rise faster than income. namely, IN the
Civil War decade. ls60.1870. when In
the greenback standard. prices rose 81
per cent. while the per capita income
rose only SO per cent. II is altogether
likely that the present decade. 1sl0-19zO,
win like the Civil War decade. show
not only an enormous rise in the cost
of living. but a loss OF per capita real
income
II for every one Of us the rise of in
come we're to keep pace with the high
cost OF living the latter would be mere
IL on paper and not a matter of vital
concern to anyone.
Social Justice.
But even when. as was usually true
before the war. the rise OF prices WAS
no more rapid than the average rise In
money incomes. prices and incomes did
not increase evenly for all OF us. Some
classes gained much and others moth
ing while still others lost. There is no
social Justice" in such changes.
Bondholders OF all kinds including
the beneflciaries of trust funds. iRpest-
cd in bonds. such as widows and Or
pians and institutions such as col
legcs and hospitals, suffer because their
nominal interest. remains the same
while the prices of what they buy rise.
| was told that one great life insur-
ance company estimated that IL lost
some $4,000 900 through depreciation in
bonds and mortgages since these have
grown unpopular as an investment be-
cause of the continually decreasing
value of the fixed income.
Some incomes are fixed Or limited by
law. Railroads are finding difficulty in
doing business under their legally re-
stricted rates because while their prices
are fixed. their costs go up with the
rise of the general price levei. This is
the fundamental reason why railroads
are asking permission of the Interstate
Commerce commission to raise their
rates
Some Lose, Some Profit
Salalied men of all kinds. such as
clerks, teachers. and public officials and,
last but not least, wage-earners. lose;
for while salaries and wages rise they
do not keep pace with the rise i'm prices. |
On the other hand the enterpriser or I
profitmaker gains by rising prices.
During falling prices. OF course. the !
opposite has been the case. Interest, |
rent, salaries. wages and other relative
~ fixed items lag behind prices. The
bondholder wins from the stakeholder. /
the fixed salaried man from the enter
priser and the wage.earner from the |
employer
This subtle transfer back and forth
from one set of pockets to another has ,
probably amounted 70 several billion
dollars "A year between the Ciyii War
and this war.
1873 TO 1896 Contrasted with
1896 to Date.
The effects OF both rising and falling
prices are well illustrated in two re
cent sharply contrasted periods: from
1873 to 1896 and from 1896 to the pres
ent.
During the first period the farmer
and active business man were complain
ing that they could make little or no
profits, but that the -"bloated bondhol-
der" was coming 10 own the earth. while
the wage Garner was waxing fat and
Now lin the second period nothing is
heard of 'bloated bondholders." Instear
we are complaining OF the profit max
crs and TO indicate the complaint. a
new word has been invented-the
'proiteer."
a new labor problem has come into ,
/