The Arizona copper camp., 1920-04-03

(By Royal MeeKer, commissioner or
Labor Statistics, in Monthly Labor
Review for February, 1920
Everybody is anxiously watching
the course of prices and even more
anxiously inQuiring when, if ever,
prices are coming down. The wish il
father to the thought, and it is easy
for the housewife to accept any state
ment that prices are slated for a fall
in the near future.
Before attempting to answer the
query as to when, if ever, prices are
to fall, it would be we'll to consider
the causes which have brought about
the remarkable rise in prices since
1915. These causes may be summar-
lied as follows:
(1) BY far the most important
cause Of increased prices is the enor-
nous addition to the circulating me-
dunn, money and its substitutes, dur
ing the past four years.
(2) Decrease in the actual physical
quantities of goods produced and ex-
changed.
(3) Manufacture for and purchase
by the governments of the world for
war and other purposes.
(4) Changes in the demands for and
the supply of goods and services:
~
causes operating to boost prices must
be attacked. The amounts of money
and checks in circulation must be
appreciably reduced 0nd the quaint
ties of necessary goods must be in
creased in amount. The stocks of
commodities manufactured on govern
ment account must, so far as possible,
be salvaged and thrown upon the mar
ket. The extraordinary demands for
goods, new and old, must either be
curtailed or production of these goods
expanded to meet the needs.
The financing of the war has made
two dollars grow where but one dol
lar grew before. This, coupled with
the fact that there has been an enor-
nous destruction of economic goods
and of the farms, mines, forests and
factories supplying these goods, ex-
plains the enormous and world wide
decrease in the purchasing power
(value) of money, which causes in
creased prices. AS long as people
have twice as many dollars with
which to tuy smaller number of
commodities, prices are bound to re-
main high. 1t will take a long time
to deflate the worlds inflated curren-
cies or to initiate the worlds deflated
supply of goods. The Profiteer is be-
ing blamed en- all, hands for the in
crease in prices. Undoubtedly, prof
iteering of a most reprehensible sort
has existed and does exist today, but
the profiteer is a result of ever-in-
creasing prices rather than cause
thereof. His influence in boosting
prices is negligible If all the prof
iteers in the world could be appre-
hended and thrown into Jail or lined
up and shot, it would have no appre-
ciable Influence upon prices.
1t has been suggested that the alb
normally high prices are psychologi-
cal in origin and that prices will fall
just as soon as the people can be
made to think falling prices. Of
course, psychology is involved in ev-
cry price, but the larger quantities of
currency and the smaller amounts of
commodities are physical facts that
no psychic legerdemain can overcome.
Higher Prices Possible
l see no prospect of any considera-
BILE fall in prices for several years to
come. 1t will be impossible for the
governments of the world to pay off
their debts very rapidly. On the con-
trary, there is every reason to appre-
hend that credits must be issued to