CHAPTER VIII 



CONCLUSION 



GOLD AND PRICES 



Perhaps the most serious criticism to which the 

 previous chapters may be subjected is that of 

 economists who hold that the rise in prices of 

 commodities is due to the increased production of 

 gold. Suppose, they say, that a mountain of gold 

 were discovered, mined and turned into currency, 

 goods of all kinds would go up in price. In 

 other words, the purchasing power of gold would 

 diminish. These economists point out that during 

 the last twenty years gold in enormous quantities 

 has been taken from the earth, and trace the rise 

 in prices to this cause, rather than supply and 

 demand, increased cost of production, etc., etc. 1 

 It would lead us too far from our subject to 

 adequately discuss this theory. It is generally 

 admitted that gold production has some influence 

 on prices, and at the same time the champions 



1 "Gold and Prices," by Professor Ashley, is.net, 

 sets forth the gold theory. An article by Mr. T. A. 

 Hobson in the "Contemporary " of October, 1912, states 

 the case against it. 



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