COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 16910, 6 December 1918, Page 6

COMMERCIAL.

A proclamation ha* been issued by the Imperial Government prohibiting the importation to the United Kngdom, except muter ,1 lieen.se of the !;oaid of Tre.de, of oL'o, stearine, tallow, olive oil, and onions. AUS.TR AL L\X PR01) UCE. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. MKLBCdjRNE, LVjembcr 6. (Received Decemlvr 6, nt 11.15 a.m.) i'"ir'ev : Chevalier malting, 5.-; od, ,5s 9d; Capo, 4s 2d. 4s 4d. Oat.s : Algerians, 4s Id, -is Z.d. Potatoes, £5 10s, £6 10s. Onions, £ll, £ll 10s. PRICES OF COMMODITIES. Tn a, recent numb, r of the 'Frankfurter Heitung' appea i:-: a ]on-:r article d-ealin? with prices Lvi"''': - e, during, and after the war, in which it is poin'cd out (hat tho fast decade before the war was remarkab-Je for the . nnt'i'iit ■! upward to"da!.ey of prices. The in-iin oaeso of Cii-- phenomenon was that- tho mniilvcr ;;nd requirement-, of the people i,-.riiui| a tin;,' in the workl's consumption h"d increased at n. fjiiicker rato than had the teclmical advancement, -which cheapens production. Ino world's population increaw'd, and year by year tlie world's oonuiercie grew, and with the ever-prowing demand for mere fr.cxl;-tu(Vs and mo-o ray-.- ma-to.i"ia is production became dearer. The period was frcour ntiy alluded to p.a a time of unexampled prosperity : l:ut vast nv.mhers of workers, empb/vee.s. officials, etc., derived no advantage from the boom, hut rather disadvantage, since their incomes, although increased, were unable to eom-penvi-to them for the prices. .Still greater has been the inflation of prices caused by the war, and this abnormally high level will bo one of tho most problems awaili:i<; solution in the transition period. Tho revolution nt prices might not have been so serious hat! it not been for the long duration of |l,e war. It is true that the price of the majority of commodities rose driving the first'year of the war, whereas other commodities—for the most part articles tie luxe—fell in price at first. It was necessary for this upward tendency to become more accentuated the longer tho war lasted, the shortage of supplies becoming greater as the requirements of the Army increased. Tho position in which the whole world finds itself to-day, when prices are continually increasing, only arrived with the second half of the war. This position is popularly referred to as depreciation of money. It is not that the individual commodity has risen in price because, tho cost of its production is greater, but that all prices have risen because. " everything else is so much dearer"; and instead of talking of the increased price of every commodity and every service rendered, it is simpler to talk of the diminished valua of the financial unit, and to say that the mark, the krone, tho franc, the rouble, tho pound sterling are only worth two-thirds or a half, or a mere fraction of their prewar value. The explanation of this depreciation is simple: it is due to the paper currency, the circulation of notes, which causes inflation. Put this explanation is only true to its fullest extent of countries liko Russia., where the Government printing press for notes became, so to speak, the only means of fimineiiijj tlie country.