The Omaha guide., 1935-04-13
ECONOMIC
HGHLIGHTS
HaHnc ings Tha- Affect The
Dirner Pals, Dividend Checks.
and Tax Bills Of Every Indi-
vidual. National and Interna-
tional Problems Inseparable
From Local Welfare.

During the first year of The
Roosevelt Administration. the
spectre Of initiation presented a
constant topic for conversation
and comment. Then it dropped
out of the headlines, and little
was heard of it save the serious
economic reviews. Now inf!ata-
ton has returned to The public.
eye and promises to be a major
political and economic issue.
There are two kinds of infla-
ton. The most obvious IS cur
rency infla ion, and it is never
never resorted to except when a
government is in the direst fl
nancial strai,s. 1t consists of
turning the printing presses
loose to produce paper money,
irrespective of gold backing Or
any other security. The result Of
this kind Of initiation is to dras-
tically lower the value of money
the prime modern example is
postwar Germany. The German
government, bankrupt because Of
war costs, turned out currency
In unlimited quantities-and the
mark, which had been then
worth about SO cents in foreign
exchange, deprecated to the
point where millions of marks
were required to purchase a loaf
Of bread. The ~sufferings of he
German people particularly those
with investments, savings ac-
counts and insurance policies were
almost indescribable.
More SUBJ lie is credit initiation.
This consists of constantly ex-
banding the amount of business
credit available, and makes it
possible for industry, government
and individuals to spend more
than they arr for a long period
time. The eventual consequence,
of course, is a financial explo-
sion. In this country, the post
war years witnessed a tremend-
BUS amount Of credit initiation
and it's elimination was The
crash Of 1929, which heralded de-
preston.
Now a number Of economists
are forecasting hat the United
Safes is well on the road to
another credi, initiation. The
group, believing this is led by
famed commentators, Willard
Kiplinger, who has published a
book on the subject, and his
camp is filled with other we'll
known experts. They think hat
credit initiation will bring the
United States prosperity during
the next year or two, which will
be followed by a veritable boom,
similar to that of 1928. After
that-another crash.
Some businesses want initiation.
Retail trade, for instance, would
benefit, inasmuch as there would
be much more money in circula-
ton to spend for perishable
goods. Businesses and individuals
with fixed or regulated income
are bitterly opposed 10 initiation.
A short time ago the Analyst
said thai the recent general de-
cline in wholesale prices casts
doubt on the theory that infla-
ton is OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES that
the present movement in stocks
is Of the "bear" variety, and
there had never been initiation
during the present generation
without a "bull" movement. One
Of the inevitable results Of any
kind Of initiation, Of course, is to
force commodity and stock prices
upward.
Thus, there are two schools Of
thought on the subject-but the
first sch5of consisting Of those
who forecast initiation next year
or the year after, is by far the
largest. 1t is a notable fact that
many businessmen likewise be-
long to this school, and are now
taking steps to prepare for in
flation as best they can.
-oOO-
Conservatives who think the
"Share-the- Wealth movement" is
merely a temporary example Of
economic and social insanity
which will soon pass away, are
apt to be sadly mistaken.
Father Of the movement is Huey
Long, who has dramatized an is
sue which is almost as old as time
itself. His theory is that the
trouble with the country is that
a small group Of people have too
much money, and that they are
gradually starving out the rest Of
us.
In opposition to Senator Long,
economists Of all schools bring
forward graphs, statistics, charts,
which dispute his figures and
prove him to be entirely wrong.
However. not one American in a