ABSTRACT

In all countries the war, by diverting enterprise from productive to unproductive ends, caused a shortage of commodities which led to a rise of prices. At first this rise was taken philosophically, for when the war first broke out most people had expected starvation and a rise of price seemed a small thing. But as time went on and prices continued to rise, grumbling commenced, and in all countries the cry went up that the “ Government ought to stop it.” To the uninstructed the problem seemed easy; the Government had simply to say that the shop­ keepers were not to charge too much and all difficulties would be solved. One by one the Governments of the different belligerent countries yielded to popular clamour, and fixed prices for different articles, to charge more than which would be a punishable offence. The number of articles thus regulated varied in different countries; in Great Britain, broadly speaking, the regulation during the war was confined to the more important foodstuffs.