HIGH PRICES AND INFLATION OF CURRENCY.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 201, 25 August 1919, Page 10

HIGH PRICES AND INFLATION OF CURRENCY.

Sir, —In your leader of August 20 you cay that the enormous inflation oi the curre-aey," which is largely rer-ponsible for high prices, and consequent unrest, must be red.u-.-cd. 1 can assure you, sir, that the "inflated currency"—if the currency is inflated—has no iiiriuenee on the high prices of commodities. The quantity of money in circulation is very little compared with the national debts of the British Empire, which, after ail, is only the "exchangeable value" of the right to craw the interest paid on loans —mostly for war purposes. The people who should be working to create labour products are now consumers of the produsts already raised, but very scarce all over the world. Commodities being | scarce and not enough to supply the , demand makes znon of all classes . "cheeky" to dengind higher price;. ( Speculators buy up all kinds of goods, knowing well that people must have ' them, as there is not enough io go , round, hence prices are always on the , rise. Labour necessarily wants more j wages, and so the vicious system goes \ on. This fallacy of the '"inflated cur- , reney" is blinding people so that they , cannot see the truth that it is really a . '"shortage of commodities" that" is causing high prices. The simpfc- remedy J for high prices is to work and produce i more commodities, but the question . arises, who is goinjr to do the work ? I ' cm, etc., ROBINSON CRUSOE.