ABSTRACT
The world is passing through the greatest economic catastrophe that has ever occurred. The gold standard was generally suspended, and prices began to rise in those countries that raised the price of gold. Sound public and private procedure depends on a correct diagnosis of causes and probable future tendencies. A hundred and ten years later, in 1930, only 21 per cent of the persons gainfully employed were in agriculture. The battery that keeps this modern machine running is the medium of exchange—money. Price changes are even more important in their effect on the total production and national welfare. When prices are rising, industry is stimulated. When prices rise, the government's activities are primarily for the protection of the consumer. The decline of prices after the war and the even more drastic decline in the price of farm products further increased the interest in index numbers and in measures of value.
