The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-08-08
THE SHIFTING DOLLAR
What Will Re-Establish the Former
Value of Unit of Our Monetary System.

The depreciating purchasing power of
the dollar is familiar to every housewife,
but one Of its worst iniquities has hardly
received more than passing attention. In
stable society it is naturally the con
Germ of proyident persons to provide
| against the inevitable loss of earning
! ability incident to old age, But the de-
clining value of the dollar has removed
or greatly essened the incentive for
providence. The man who, 20 or 30 years
ago, by means of abstinence and self
sacrifice, managed to save enough to in
sure comfortable old age finds he has
been cheated; that in fact he has hardly
4 enough for bare subsistence.
The superficial assumption is that So
ciety is in a conspiracy to rob this man.
| The blame is put on profteers, and we
! speak of diligence and honesty as if they
were forgotten virtues. The present gem
GRAFTON is accused of destroying the value
of the dollar because it is intent upon
| speculation rather than production.
The fallacy of this theory can be easily
demonstrated by comparison Of per cap
| tia production to-day with that of 90 or
80 years ago. 1t is evident, therefore,
| that the explanation of high prices must
! lie elsewhere. Most economists believe
that the principal cause is the imitation
of the money supply. The destruction of
| its effect, but that is only Incidental ex-
cept insofar as it has tended to increase
imitation.
We used to attribute high prices to an
over production of gold when there
seemed to be no other apparent reason.
In modern days, however, there appears
| to be paradox in the fact that the de-
mand for god'is greater than the supply.
The British government has been con.
sidering proposal to subsidize the pro-
duction of gold,
| The paradox is more apparent than
real. The great increase in paper money
and the extension of credit of all kinds
| during the period of the war have great
! ly reduced the relative proportion of
! gold As a recent writer on economies
has expressed it, "fnanciers are fearful
/ that If much more credit is added to the
base of the inverted pyramid the present
| gold reserve which forms its apex will
be too small and narrow to keep it from
| lettering"
This writer, Mr.. Roy G. Blakey, shows
that since August, 1914, the general
stock of money, which includes money
held by federal reserve banks and money
in circulation, has increased from 49,
786,000,000 to $7,78l 100000. But this is
not the whole story, The most impor-
tant items of bank credits, such as loans
and discounts, overdrafts, bonds and
other securities, have increased in the
same period from S20,924 ,e00,000 to 1922
| 3l6,000,000.
Mr.. Blakey gives some practical coun-
sci, which, if it were generally adopted,
would give immediate relief He insists
that thrift-thrift on the part of every
citizens the true remedy for imitation.
The money that is thus saved will not
only tend to reduce the disproportionate
amount of paper currency and bank cred
it now outstanding, but it will stimulate
necessary and legitimate production Our
duty to save did not end with the armi-
ce.-Chicago Tribune.