VALUES 3 



in the transfer. Demand, or the need of the purchaser, is 

 weighed against outlay or effort on the part of the owner. The 

 necessities and desires of the human mind and body, such as 

 food, clothing and shelter, create the demand for any form of 

 material wealth. Civilized society differs from primitive condi- 

 tions by the greater extent and complexity of its needs. Values 

 are thus created which have no existence among savages. This 

 fact is strikingly illustrated by the history of the timberlands 

 belonging to Indian tribes. To the American Indians the pine 

 timber was of no value whatever, and their use of the forest was 

 confined to its game and fish, the destruction of which they 

 deeply resented. Title to much of this forest land was given 

 to various tribes by the government. This timber soon came 

 to have a high value to the white population, and the Indians 

 were either defrauded of values which they had failed to appre- 

 ciate, or found themselves enriched by these same values which 

 they had no part in creating. 



6. Effort or Outlay. Human demand or needs would not 

 alone create values. Materials indispensable to life remain 

 without value when they can be obtained without effort. Prop- 

 erty which is worth owning has cost the original owner some 

 effort either for its acquisition or improvement. This influences 

 his idea of its value. A prospective purchaser gauges his price 

 by the possibility of securing a similar article through his own 

 efforts. The supply of finished products is greatly influenced 

 by cost of production. 



7. Ownership. The whole structure of values rests on the 

 institution of private property, for without the right of owner- 

 ship there could be no measurable value. In a primitive state 

 of society each individual is able, after a fashion, to supply his 

 own needs. But with specialization and division of labor, pro- 

 ducers of most forms of wealth need very little of it themselves 

 and must sell it, while the purchasers would be unable to produce 

 for themselves the small quantities they need at anything like the 

 price at which it is sold. Purchasers therefore seek the lowest 

 price, while owners, in order to dispose of their surplus or to in- 

 crease their output, often underbid one another. With unlimited 



