A Short History of Inflation; C. V. Grove

A SHORT HISTORY OF INFLATION GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS of post-World War I Germany deliberately embarked upon a policy of monetary infla tion as a means (they thought) of solving the country's economic difficulties. They assumed that inflation could be controlled and that "a little inflation" would stimu late business and make for a healthy economy. The inevitable results of such criminal tinkering with a nation's economy are starkly revealed in these figures from a German history book (Um Volksstaat und Volk ergemeinschaft published by Ernst Klett, Stuttgart, 1961, page 149) : PRICES IN GERMANY (in Marks) 1923 1914 1918 1922 Summer November Potatoes (lb.) .04 .12 80 2,000 50,000,000,000 Egg (one) .08 .25 180 5,000 80,000,000,000 Beer (glass) .13 .17 60 3,000 150,000,000,000 Meat (lb.) .90 2.00 1,200 90,000 3,200,000,000,000 Butter (lb.) lAO 3.00 2,400 150,000 6,000,000,000,000 Mr. Grove is a Chief Warrant Officer with the Adjutant General Division, United States Army Headquarters in Europe. The views expressed here are his own.

103 104 CECIL V. GROVE Out of the economic chaos thus created came Hitler, World War II, and the omnipotent governments threat ening our world today. The current crisis in Berlin is but another manifestation of the continuing conflict be tween insatiable government and freedom-oriented in dividual man. The nature of that conflict has not changed over the past six thousand years.