Evening star., 1947-12-21
Reviewed by
CARTER BROOKE JONES.

CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Bodin's analysis of the high cost
of living in France was published
in 1868. But you'd never know it
dated back to that remote time. In
it's factual premises and general
conclusions, it might have come out
of hearing on Capitol Hill today.
No wonder scholars have called
"Bodin's Response the first mod
ern work on economics.
Before touching on some of the
Illuminating features of the little
book, it should be explained that
Col. Moore, a retired officer of the
Regular ! Army living in Chevy
Chase, Md, has made the first COM
plete translation of Bodin's re-
markable essay. Only portions of it
have been available in English Ex-
haustive research here and in Eu-
rope has failed to disclose any
record of a translation of either the
Response" or of Malestroit's Par
adoxes" 1885, which provoked Bo-
din to take up his pen. Col. Moore
has translated both works, and
prints them in sequence.
Lord Malestroit, adviser to the
King of France and director ordi-
nary of his accounts, wrote his views
on the price situation in the form of
two paradoxes, which he discussed
and disposed of to his own salts
faction. He held that there was "an
unjustified complaint in France of
the increase in price of all things,
although nothing has increased in
price for 300 years"
Cost the Same.
He contended that this was true
because, despite the five to 10 fold
increase in prices, the larger amount
of money needed to buy these things
contained no more gold or silver
than the smaller sum exacted in
the reign of King st. Louis in the
18th century
The paradoxes and Bodin's reply,
which attained far greater fame,
were published together in revised
and enlarged edition in 1878. Bodin
showed the speciousness of Male
stroit's thesis, citing various prod
ucts and contending that Male
stroit could not show they had not
advanced in price tenfold even in
the last so years, 'in whatever
money he takes Bodin found that
the high price Of all things came
from these factors:
The principal and almost only
reason (although no one up to the
present has touched upon it, is the
abundance of gold and silver, which
today in this realm is greater than
1t has been for 400 years.
THE second reason for the in
crease in price comes from the
monopolies in part. The third is
the scarcity, which is caused as
much by the export as by the waste.
The fourth is the pleasure of the
kings and the great lords, which
raises the price of things Of which
they are fond. The fifth is because
of the value of the money debased
from its ancient value"
Present-Day Imitation.
Write your own contemporary
symbols for a few of those terms, |
and you have modern summary of
infiationary prices. Bodin suggested
an international conference to end
debased money and set standards.
Scholars have studied Bodins es-
say, mostly in the old French, for
nearly 400 years. Col. Moore'S
translation was issued In limited
edition. Colleges and schools sub
scribed for almost every copy and
plan to use the Response" in grad
uate seminars and in some under
graduate economics courses. Thus
Col. Moore, who has kept up his
scholarly interests all his life, de-
spite an active military career, and
only recently took a Phi. D. at
Georgetown University, has made
an important contribution. It was
no simple task to make clear and
highly readable translation from
Bodins Renaissance French "a
language as different from the
French of today as Chaucerian Eng
lish is from ours. 1t will be amaz-
ing If some general publisher does
not obtain the right to give the
Response" the wider circulation 1t
deserves.