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Show The Paper That Dares To Take A Stand No Reason For Inflation Continued From Page 6 little while in a grave emergency like a war but over a period of time they will not work. We are not going to make a success of our controls unless we are willing to adopt the savagery of Russia and shoot people down or send them to Siberia if they violate the regulations. Nothing short of that type of slavery will ever make economic controls work the way we hope they will work. We are going to see a demonstration of that in our own country before our own eyes if we keep on trying to do it. The third part of this discussion of inflation is, there is never any reason to have inflation. There is no justification for it whatsoever. I want to prove that statement by two historical references. First, by what happened to the regime of Napoleon in France and second, by what happened after the second World War in Germany. When Napoleon took over in France, the economy was at its very lowest ebb. His ministers said that in order to revive economic activity he would have to borrow money and have inflation and have deficit spending. But, Napoleon said, no, he was not going to do that. What he couldn't pay for he was willing to do without. He fought the whole series of Napoleonic wars on the basis of sound money and no inflation of the currency, with the result that, when he was defeated at Waterloo, France recovered very quickly because they had no great burden of useless money and no enormous debt with which to contend. If there was ever any reason to have it you would think that would be the time when inflation might be useful. But no, Napoleon won on the other basis. The second example is that of post-WorWar II in Germany. General Lucius Clay, who was our administrator in the American zone in occupied Germany, called in Ludwig Erhart, the Minister of Finance, and Conrad Adenauer, the Prime Minister. He said that in order to revive the economy in Germany (It was at the very lowest ebb, the most complete degree of destruction of any country, anywhere at anytime. Germany had been looted of all moveable wealth in both the Eastern zone and the Western zone. She had twelve million refugees thrust upon her to feed and take care of) they would have to have inflation and deficit spending. Ludwig Erhart, backed up by Adenauer, said they would not do it. General Clay said his advisors told him it was the only way, it would 4iave to be done. Erhart said his advisors had told him the same thing but they were no going to do it. They were going to preserve a sound gold standard mark and not spend more than they had in any one year. They decided against building up a big indebtedness and having inflation. As a result, within three years time, ld became the most prosperous country in all Europe, Germany if not the whole world, on the basis of sound money. Now, if ever there was a reason for an unbalanced budget, you would think that would be it, but the sound money gave the most outstanding demonstration of the fact that it is what is necessary to stimulate an economy. Sound money creates incentive, people know it is good and they work to get it. They will use their ingenuity to find out ways of doing things. If the money isnt sound there isnt incentive, theres not much reason to work for it. So this, I think, proves my case that there is never, never any need for inflation. The third division of this talk is, the extent of inflation. How far has it gone? Let me give you some illustrations from my own experience. When I was 6 years old I had split and accumulated 45 rails. These were pieces of wood about 8 feet long which were used to make fences. They didnt have barbed wire in those days and all the fences I saw were rail fences. I walked two miles and bought a pocket knife with that 15c, I still have it. You couldnt buy one like it today for $1.50. That shows you what has happened to the dollar in one mans productive lifetime. When I got my first job in Boston after the turn of the century, I bought a meal for 10 cents. It would cost you $1.50, at least, today. You remember when we had the 2c postage stamp? It lasted 48 years. Then we had a 3c stamp and it lasted 26 years. Then we had a 4c stamp and that lasted only a few years. The 5c stamp lasted a few years, about 7 or 8 years in each case, and then we had the 6c stamp which lasted 3 years We came to the 8c stamp and we have had it less than 2 years now and who would hazard a guess that its going to stop there, or where its going. One thing we discover about these increases in prices is that each jump is bigger than the previous jump and comes after a shorter interval of time. A newspaper in my early days cost one penny and that included the best paper anywhere in the country. Now, the cheapest is a dime and from there up to 20 cents. Thats what happened to newspapers. The salary of the Congressmen, until the early 30s, was about $3,000 a year. We didnt have any problem getting good men to run for office. Usually a Congressman was a man who had done something in business or a November 17, 1972 'The UTAH INDEPENDENT Page 7 profession who could afford to appropriates a half trillion dollars spend some years serving his or 500 billion dollars for two years. country for the honor involved in a From 1 billion to 500 billion in my high position. It was considered a memory. What are we going to do great honor and great men ran for about it? This shows the extent of inflation taking over. office for that reason. Now, we It is the tendency of bureaucracy have gotten into the habit of upping everything and coveting to grow and grow and expand. It everything we can from other feeds on its salary. The salary of the people and we have raised the bureaucrat depends on the number Congressmans salary now to of people in his bureau so he finds $42,500 a year, 14 times greater reasons to expand his bureau and than it was about 40 years ago. to hire more people and that And, there is talk of it being raised increases his salary. Back in 1940, the increase in the again in the coming congress, to $50,000. So you see what is going amount of money in the country was $36 billion. Today- it is $240 on. As late as 1939 it cost $30,000 a billion and .increasing faster than year to keep a congressman or a ever before. Meanwhile, prices senator in Washington over and have gone up 614 times, that is above his salary. That is for his 650! If I had a blackboard 1 office, his clerical hire, free meals, would draw you a curve showing hair cuts, transportation, and all you the increase in the quantity of the purposes that go with it. I saw money. Then I would draw a in todays paper that Congress, parallel curve showing you the before they adjourned, passed a increase in prices going right along with the increase in the quantity of new ruling that any senator or congressman was entitled to free money. I would draw you another transpoitation to his home from curve showing the increase in Washington 36 times in any one wages. Dont think that, you 'are year. If he didnt use it he going to control prices unless you could turn it in and draw his also control wages, for prices are money, so really, it was a raise in made up of 90 payroll. Whatever salary. A congressman living in you buy, on the average, 90 goes or Maryland, or to some payroll somewhere and Virginia there is no such thing as controlling somewhere around Washington, can draw $2,500 in cash for this free prices unless you also control travel if he doesnt use it. It used to wages. We dont want to come to be 24 times a year and they upped it slave labor in this country, but to 36 times a year. It used to cost us thats what we are going to have to $30,000 a year to retain a do if we dont stop the increase of congressman. Now, 30 years later, the quantity of money and put an it costs over and above his salary end to inflation. To show you how this is not a $600,000, Do you think your congressman is worth $600,000? A political problem, or at least not a few may be but most, I would party political problem, 1 want to call your attention to the deficits think, might not be. So, officialdom has joined this that have been incurred by the last train of coveting the wealth of 5 administrations. Beginning with others and getting into whatever it Harry Truman, the Truman deficit can. And Congress is in a very over the period of 8 years that he favorable position to do that. All was in office was $1.6. billion. That they have to do is to pass their own frightened the country. We said laws to get as much as their that we could never stand for a conscience will allow them to take deficit of $1.6 billion just for the out of the public and their term of one president, so, we conscience seems to be rather decided to change parties. We put flexible in this respect, and so it in Eisenhower who said he would balance the budget and practice goes on and on. I remember when the first economy and put an end to inflation. So, we backed congress, in the history of America, the billion run to $1 Eisenhower. appropriated In Ikes 8 years, he increased the government for two years. In two years time, this congress back in deficit 10 times morethan Truman. the middle 1890s, appropriated a The Eisenhower deficit over 8 years billion dollars and it scared the was 15.7 billion dollars. Then we country. There was a lot of talk said we cant stand that, so we will about the billion dollar congress. go back to the Democrats. The We didn't know what to do about it young man, Mr. Kennedy, said he but we hadnt seen anything yet. could balance the budget and get us Now, $1 billion is a drop in the - -- - bucket. TRUCK PARTS The Great Conspiracy The Great Conspiracy is the title of a new revealing book based on information from 24 other patriotic publications. The Great Conspiracy , by Richard T. Osborne, exposes the plot to hurl the world into an all-oWorld War III. The author explains how, why, and when World War III will come. To receive a copy of The Great Conspiracy send name address and $2.00 to: - IPOTER Is HAN O O O O Impact Wrenches Air & Electric Drills Welders Tune-U- p Salt P.0. 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