The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-02-14
DDnnIIf~l ocietr
CONSUMPTION
Highly Interesting and Valuable Dis
sertation on the Purchasing Power
Of Money and the Vital Necessity
for Ec0nomizing in War Time.
GIVE UP THE NONEssENTIALs.
The Best and Quickest Way of Find
ing the Right Road the Road of
Thrills by Reducing Consump-
ti0n and Increasing Production"

tion and Increasing Production"
Pointing out that never before in
history has an understanding Of the
simple principle of economics been 50
sorely needed, committee Of eminent
economists engaged in the study Of
the purchasing power of money in
war time, issued today it's first pub
lie statement. a.
After exhaustive investigation this
committee has reached its conclusion
unanimously. It would impress upon
US the imperative need Of a reduction
Of consumption and an increase, Of
production, of the repression Of nom
essentials, and Of promotion Of or
ganization and redirection Of indus
try.
I'm meeting the great national re-
adjustment to war conditions" the
committee says, tive must not let our
ebusiness-as-usual' impulses prevent
the needed saving and shifting of in
lustry, lest we pay a terrific penalty
IN higher cost of living and national
inefficiency." ,g.s
The committee finds the public con-
fused and vacillating between two
economic PHILOSOPHERS simple,
direct, old-fashioned, correct philoso-
ply of saving and working and the
fallacious philosophy, best epitomized
as business as usual" Zone of our
greatest perils in the future lies in
further credit expansion" the COM
mittee says, "and this peril comes
largely from our lending by borrow
ing" The committee points out the
right way and the wrong way. to lend
money to our country. "The right
way" it says, "is the frank and hon
est way Of saving up the money by.
spending less or earning more; the
wrong way is the at first cheap and
easy, although ultimately costly and
painful way, of lending the Govern
ment to buy war essentials and at
the same time release productive en-
ergy for the making Of essentials for
the Government" J"
"But," it goes on to say, "if we
won't make the needed sacrifice and
perhaps delude ourselves into believ-
ing that we do not have to do so or
even that we ought not to do so, that,
on principle, we favor "business as
usual" for ourselves while expecting
business unusual to be superadded by
the Government, we simply go thru
the motions of giving our billions to
the Government without really giving
them up. Therefore, the Government,
In order to buy away from us what
we will not otherwise surrender, bids
up prices, and the rise in prices which
comes about through this sort Of lend
ing is cumulative" b.
"As the prices Of war supplies rise
the money cost of Var grows and the
Government has to borrow more. Big
ger loans by US to the Government
require bigger loans to us from the
banks. This further expansion OF
commodity prices, starting the whole
process over again in vicious circle. ("
This committee is made up OF
Prof. Orving Fisher (chairman), of
Yale University; Prof. E. w. Kem-
merer, Of Princeton University; Prof.
B. M. Anderson, Of Harvard Univer-
sity; Dr.. Royal Meeker, United States
Commissioner Of Labor Statistics;
Prof. Wesley Clair Mitchell, Of Column
bia University; and Prof. Warren M.
Persons, Of Colorado College. The
committee in collecting it's facts has
had the cooperation Of several
branches Of the United States Govern
ment, as we'll as Of some large COM
-mercial and financial houses. The
statement of the committee is as fol-
lows:
"The country has experienced an
acute coal situation, drastic coal
order, the breakdown Of railway
transportation, the taking over Of the
railroads by the Government, mount
ing living costs, and price fixing.
"These events crowded upon us
while we were still congratulating
ourselves on the success Of the draft,
the passage Of fuel and food conser-
svation laws, and the unparalleled sub
scriptions to Liberty bonds.
sEnrollments, laws, and subscrip-
tions, however, do not represent the
things accomplished; they are only
plans laid out. The test of the Nation
comes when we try to execute these
plans. The breakdowns we are ex-
periencing show the magnitude and
difficulties Of our task.
1--WE are undergoing q national re-
adjustment to war conditions a great
shift from q peace to 9 war footing,
the growing pains Of which are acute
Just now, though they have been ex-
I Iperienced less acutely, for the past
three years. 81 u
ssThis war, the greatest Of al, y
greatest especially in it's cost. y is
estimated that the money cost alone,
Tor I'll nations, IS upward Of hun
5dred billion of dollars. Each week 4