Evening star., 1932-08-28
PRICES FOR TWO CENTURIES
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

period of the Napoleonic Wars IN
Europe caused the next price rise,
which began about 1890 Within five
years the level had gone up to q mark
of las. There were fluctuations. as the
tide Of war swayed, but throughout the
period prices did not fall below lis.
Then came our own next war, the War
of 1872
Prices for the war years shot up TO
1870. 1t will be remembered that one
of the major reasons for that struggle
was interference by both athe French
and the British with American foreign
trade. A great many commodities be-
came scarce because of the interruption
to normal trade and their prices rose
accordingly. But when the treaty of
Ghent was concluded there began long
downward trend which lasted for years
By 1923 the price level had descended
to the 100 average and then sank
beneath 1t a few points Then, be-
tween 1885 and 1840 there came an
unimportant rise which might have
been sustained had it not been for the
financial panic incident to the contro-
versy over the renewal of the charter
Of the Bank of the United States. The
usual rule of high prices prevailing in
wartime was reversed In the next few
years and, although the United States
entered the Mexican War, the price
level sagged down to only rs IN that
period.
There was a rise of short duration in
the middle of the 1850-1S60 decade, a
slump just prior to the Civil War, and
then the long, upward drive which car
ried prices to their third highest peak
in the history of the Nation. Starting
with the outbreak of the war, the level
of prices shot upward until by the close
of that Struggle the index showed a
figure of 1876. The decline was much
less abrupt than the decline after ear
lier contests. The index stood at 100
in 1870, but then slid upward several
points again, only to turn downward
once more. However, it was not until
about 1878 that the normal average of
100 was reached The level continued
to sink below this. then turned upward
to reach los in 1882, and next down
ward to a depth the lowest since the
Revolutionary days.
This was the period of longest de-
preston in the United States. The Ell
fects of the panic of 1873, the effects OF
the money controversy over the de-
monetiZation of silver, and the bitterly
contested political campaigns resulting
in the two Democratic administrations
of Grover Cleveland, all seemed to con-
tribute toward the protracted hard
times. A low of IS was reached. 1t
was not until nearly the turn OF the
century that the price level reached
the 100 line again.
The next tremendous change began
when the European War broke out in
1914. The heavy buying in this coun-
try by the allied nations sent prices
soaring again, with the movement still
more accelerated when the United
States entered the struggle In 1877.
After nearly century and half the
price level rose again to what 1t had
attained during the Revolution. How
the buyers strike Of 1s2o-2l brought
prices tumbling Is matter of yester-
DAYS history, and how they began an
other descent beginning In 1929 Is still
more recent While not reaching the
depths of previous periods. they did
drop below the 100 line established on
the 19lO-1s14 base and only now are
on the upturn again.