Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1927-02-04

H=7 NY # A4."4
uz aH alike The mae owners
es1 zas extra eaSH. hs carrying
geld s. fhe mint ana betting coin.
they thsH ind them Ises - pos
session q money faH as7ond what
IS needed for their pockets. SIM
posa one Of these men gets from
tie ufnE thousand eoid dollars
while ioE pocket money $50 IS
aeII|E|ent; be IS almost SIRE Is
eek I'd speedily 81 81 least $3.50
b spending i fer enjoyables. IN
FesllHs Il II 1uzabIea. o. deposit
Ing il ~ the baHk. and TIE bank
ezaends 4.
che first effect Is felt II the
IlAne aiata neigh boFhooa of the
mine L vas thus that prices
rose IN the mining camps 81 Calls
EeEnls. ssyeHt rvs years ago.
ard Is Colorado and tie KlondIke,
twenty-five years ago. But this
local rise Of nrlcea soon communI
Gated itself IS other pIaees. The
price Ieyel Il one locality eannof
greatIy exceed that Il s neishbor-
ing LEGALITY without causing an
export e nehe5 ITom the fiasn
locality te TIE slack Reality: Tor
buyers VIll Enah their money 70
thz #Isfz drs lew,
and aE once raise them. Thus,
neH money gradually finds its
way into circulation throughout
the world, raising prices az fast
ae Il can Flow from place to place.
IN Europe. during the recent
paper money initiation. We had an
other example, even more Ike
Santa Claus. The oo9ernmeata
which could not pay their bills
ID any other way simply printed
more paper money and paid with
that. Instantly the people who
got this neNle created moasy
ueed Il to purchase goods. and
these who sald them the goods.
then took their turn at spending
the extra money.
So a increase Of money cauaA
rising tide Of prices. This pro-
cess Is Sc quiet and nervasive that
70 most people 1 seems to come
from nowhere il particular and
from everywhere in general. me.
price Of butter st the cornsf
grocery IA lifted and nobody
knows why just as q fiahefman's
boat il lifted BY the tides Of the
see without his knowing that the
moon did I'll
and It Is harder to trace the
cause Just because each Of us
sees only what his dealer does.
The grocer thinks he raises
prices because the wholesaler
does; the wholesaler blames the
iobber. the iebber blames the
factory. and 60 on. AS matter
Of fact. each retailer charges
more. partly because his eusto-
meTs arc flush. but partly and
mainly because BE has to pay
more the Wholesaler charged
more partly because bis custo-
meFs, the retailers, we're flush and
partly because he lad to pay
more and 30 on When you get
the whole picture In ali It's stages
It Is al because the world as 4
whole Is flush of money II is
nobody's FAULT. = Is the fault Of
money.
So the process BY which infla-
ton raises prices Is misunder-
stood because. at ANY one stage.
it Is almost Invisible
That imitation raises prices is
perhaps the most important prin-
eiple n economies. One practical
consequence Of IL Is evident The
world cannot get rich BY initiation.
Initiation win tend to raise wages
but at the very same time Il will
raise the cost OF living; so that
higher money wages do not usual
II mean higher real wages. II
any Santa Claus or any Govern
ment should make as al a pres
ent Of $40. the average man
would be no better of.
Needless to say. the Santa
Claus case Just described Is high
n imasinary n actual practieel
things are not 50 simple because
Of the existence Of debts Debts
are fixed "a terms Of dollars Una
like prices they cannot change
but that Is another story