Milford chronicle., 1921-01-28
A PRELUDE TO PROSPERITY
(From Harvey's Weeklyl

A year or two ago we were all dis
cussing and deploring the vicious
circle" Prices went up. That raised
the cost of living. That made higher
wages necessary. Then higher wages
increased the cost of production. Con-
sequently prices went up; which rails
ed the cost of living; which made
higher wages necessary; and so on,
around and around and around. We
all realized the evil, and all realized,
too, that unless we were to go to ev-
erlasting smash, the process would
some day have to stop, and be re-
Yersed.
Well, that is just what is now hap
pening, and yet some people are not
resigned. They are gloomily saying
that lower wages mean less purchas-
ing power; and that means less de-
mand for goods; and that means cur
failing of production; and that means
dismissal or suspension of workmen;
and that means still lower wages;
and so on, around and around, and
down and down, like the descending
spiral of Dante's Inferno, with good
ness knows what not appalling cata-
clysm at the bottom.
Such forebOdings seem to us illog-
ical, and contrary to facts and rea-
son. If the ascending circle or spir-
al was bad, as we were all agreed,
the descending spiral must at least be
potentially good. We do not deny that
If may be subject TO abuse. But that
is not its fault, but the fault OF those
who manipulate it-Or permit 1t TO De
manipulated-im If the low
ering of prices and the lowering OF
wages proceed in proper order and
inst ratio, the workman will be just
IS we'll off as before; his lower wages
will enable him to buy at commen-
surately lowered prices just as much
as before, and demand will remain
undiminished.
Perhaps exactly commensurate re-
duction of prices and Of wages is too
much to expect IN this sadly fallible
world. Their increase, according To
somewhat painful memory, was not
equal. Complaint was made that IN
some cases when wOrkmen's wages
were raised, say, twenty per cent, the
Drices of their products were raised
forty per cent, and that, contrariWlse,
in some cases when the cost of living
rose twenty per cent, the workmen
demanded and received an increase OF
forty or fifty per cent in wages. We
have no doubt thar some such irreg-
11arities and discrepancies existed.
But we all regarded them as tempor-
ary evils, practically lnseparaDle
from such a transition period OF nuA
and reorganization as we were then
traversiEg.
We shall not be surprised if cor
responding discrepancies occur in the
reversal of the process, wages gong
down. in some cases, more than prices
and in other cases, prices more than
wages. Such things are practically in
evitable in a period of readjustment
such as that through which we are
now nassing. and which we have been
eager and impatient to reach. You
cannot make an Omelette without
breaking eggs. You cannot readJusC
tn the extent of Transforming a vast,
complex. and often incongruous ana
incoherent economic system, with
nerfect mathematical precision in eV-
erv detail. There will be discrepan-
cies. inconsistencies, even inJustlces;
hecause necessarily the whole thing
is so largely empirical. The best that
we can hope to do is to reduce these
tn minimum, and then get through
with the business as quickly as pos
sible.
II would be miraculous if the years
of n1entv and too often of profigacy
through which we have been passing
were not followed by a period of COM
parative leanness, and of loss. That is
a commonplace of the worlds econo-
mic history. 1t would be well If those
who made the greatest gains were 10
bear the greatest burden OF loss, III
a process which would still leave
them handsome net profits. Unfortu-
natelv. that cannot always be assured.
Losses. like the rain, fall upon the
lust and the unjust without d1scrlml-
nation. But there is at least one
thing that can be done, if only peo-
pie will do it. We mean that, just as
in flush times all strove to profit from
them as much as they could, all shall
now with equal readiness strive to
bear the inconvenience and even the
losses of the readjustment period, and
thus expedite and facilitate the re-
turn to a normal state of affairs.
Such an attitude and such dispo-
sition are the more incumbent be-
cause, while the ascending spiral was
largely a matter of volition, the de-
scending spiral is matter of i'm
pregnable necessity. Men raised prices
not always because they had to, but
because they wanted to, in expecta-
tion of thus increasing their profits.
But now they are compelled to lower
prices, whether they want to or not,
under the compulsion of economic
laws which they cannot resist or
evade. Centuries ago very great man
found that it was hard for him to
"kick against the pricks." All men
who are so foolish as to try it will
find it hard to resist those laws
which are as regnant in economics as
that of gravitation in the material
universe. But such as place themsel-
YES in accord with those alws will |
find, we are convinced, even the most |
irksome transition period merely a
brief prelude to lasting prosperity.