Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-10-12
THE EVILS OF PRICE MOVEMENTS


the argument that price changes. even dur
ing the war. have been principally owing
10 monetary rcpdcciation the first impress
sion i. ''rhcn the high cost of living is
not a. bad a it seems: il i for the most
part. merely nominal"
Now ii j. quite true that the high cost
of living l. not rs bad IA some people
| think il To be-: ii is not a bad a. though
The average cost of living had risen while
our average income had not. In general.
before this disastrous war. incomes rose
all over the world and. in general, they
rose faster than the cost of living.
The estimated per capita income in the
| United States i'm 1910 was. according to
Professor King. 1892 a. compared with
1896 in 1900 showing an increase Of II
per cent in the same period.
In only one of the six decades between
1850 and 1910 did the price level rise
Caster than income. namely. In the Civil
War decade. 1860 20. when in the green
back standard. prices rose 81 per cent,
while the per capita income rose only %
per cent. 1t i altogether likely that the
present decade. 10000, will ike the Civil
War decade, show not only an enormous
rise in the cost Of hvin. but q loss of per
.apita real income.
III for every one uI n the rise 1T in
come were To keep pace with the high cost
of living, the latter would Ne merely on
paper and not n matter of vital concern
To anyone.
SOCIAL JUSTICE.
But even when. a. was usually true
before the war, the rise IN prices was no
more rapid than the average rise in money
incomes, prices and incomes did not in
crease evenly for AL ~ a.. Some classes
gained much and Others nothing while still
Others lost. There l. no social Justice"
IA such changes.
Bondholdcr> of all kinds. including the
bencticiarie> Of trust funds invested IN
bonds such a. widows and orphans and
Institutions such ~ colleges and hospitals.
suffer because their normal interest re-
mains the same while the prices Of what
they buy rise. WA told that one great
life insurance company C'timated that 1t
Host some $50. 100000 through depreciation
in bonds and .c~ ~mcc these have
grown unpopular - an investment be-
cause Of the continually decreasing value
of the fixed income.
Some incomes are fixed or limited bN
law. Railroads are finding difficulty in
dom. bl,inceo under their legally restricted
rates because while their prices are fixed,
their costs 90 up with the rise Of the gen
cral price level. This i the fundamental
reason why railroads are asking pcrrni>-
! sion of The Interstate Commerce Commits
sion L. rai~c their rates.
Salaricd men of all kinds. such a,
clerks. teachers and public officials and.
last but not least. wagc-carncr~ lose; for
while salaries and wages rise they DO not
keep pace with the rise in prices.
On the other hand the cntcrpriser Or
profit maker gains by rising prices.
During fallin. prices. 1T course, the op-
rositc has been the ease. Interest. rent.
salaries, wages and other relatively fixed
items lag behind prices. The bondholdcr
wins from the stakeholder. the fixed sal
AIRED men from the cntcrpriscr and the
wagc-carncr from the employer.
This subtle transfer back and forth
from one set Of pockets 10 another has
probably amounted To several billion dol
lars a year between the Civil 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 recent.
sharply contra>ted periods; from 1873 to-
1896 and from 1906 TO the present.
During the first period the farmer and.
active business man were complaining that
they could make little or no profits. hut
that the ''b!oatcd bondholer' was coming
to own the earth. while the wagc-earner
was waxing fat and comfortable.
Now Tin the second periodl nothing j.
heard of ''bloated bondholders." Instead
We are complaining Of the profit makers.
and. to indicate the complaint. 4 new word
has been invented-the 'proiiteer."
A new labor problem ha~ come mi" be-
ing ~ The response Of the wagc-carncr toI
the high cost Of living. The war, % far,