The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-26

I 50-&e.k 68t6ksSR A ssHuy oA N !. oiakpl encls.ye rigures issued by the NIUnited States department of labor II Dshows that, compared with the figures N lat the opening ofthe year, farm proa- |j|ucts command better prices,F ana dnae | Ifood as a whole is up. os y.. N Clothing is substantially cheaper, II lhuilding materials havesfailen snarply' house furnishings are appTeciabiy low Her; metals and metal products nave | |0tumbled, and. fuel is well below the N Hprices ruling early, this year.
 Bl sRhe cost of living is today, this com. N shows, on exactly the same levei las ruled year ago. There was mod ! crate rise last fall and winter, but spring lbrought downward trend. ,Its now costs exactly iihaf as much lhgain td live as 1t did in 1913, the gov ' brnment,s records reveal flA Clothing has almost doubled in price, risen more thantf any other ne =eessity of life. House furnishings rank < blosely by fuel and building materials. 1 &MetaIs and chemicals and drugs have kdyanced, least, being only 30 per cent
 Our farmers are doiig better than Ethat. Farm products now stand 4S
 Der cent above the 1913 average and 8Ikood A per cent up. ! This means that the farmers dollar N Is now worth, within a shade, of the I Dollars of the rest of us.
 2 This evening up of prices, this clos & lnE of the gap between the price of &||tarnn products and manufactured goods, I ls stfll going Oh. The Aiierican Wooien Nlhompany has just announeed a 10 per a.,f fu foir inn lbroducts. The drop In raw cotton # khould mean lower prices for cotton
 koods.> Metals are sassins still fur 4 Professor Irving Fisherrrecorded quite
 drop in the general price level this
 counted for by downward fluctuations n some agricultural products.
 what: has become of the sensational | tinfiation" which many alarmists so
 loudly predicted would be raging by x Aow? Tnsse recluses who% bury them NJ aelves iYl statistics covering past his- E lory and who do not rub shoulders
 With men of affairs and learn at first
 land how these Anen have profited by f Ahe experience In theS last few years,
 kredicted with snug qsnfidence that < he abnormal increase in Americas
 htock 6f gold could not fail to send #M PflCeS SOdTluB SkyWaHuSs
 4 Rl Nothing sfof the kind has happened
 Ind very little of the kipd is in danger S Ef .hnpbenaAa.s Our a3ahkers are too
 lensibie to foster wild Initiation which,
 hey have learned to their cost, cul- 4 Inmates in disaster, Most of our busi- & Ness leaders also are wiser than they
 hset to~be, and now prefer sound, solid,
 krosperous conditions to whooping up XS Y reckless boom. X;
 The. fact is that the. United States
 laniot afford to indulge in inflatton. ## France is taking drastic measures
 b keep down the cost of living there. M The German government Is at. this t lhoment taking VigorousA steps to cut % Hosts of production so ab to help Ger
 han business interest tq compete sue
 Iessfuliy in foreign markets. Coal prices
 lave been reduced, the sales tax has Eeen lowered from 21s to per cent, Railroad rates have been cut 10 per
 sent, telegraph and telephone rates are
 h be lowered, stamp duty on new
 hares is being reduced and business
 Interests are being furnished with
 honey on distinctly easier terms than
 prmerly.
 In Britain, the cost of living was
 Pwered last month. as
 II America, however, will be able to # Hold its own against the rest of the
 Eorld if it deserves to. But all our
 loasted wealth will not insure us
 1ainst bad times and widespread un- X Endowment if we act on the assump-
 on that there Is no need for usfto
 fork hard or to bestir ourselves to at-
 ain increased efficiency.