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Financial Situation, continued from page 6oio rubles a quart, and boots at 550 to 1,000rubles a pair.Serving TheSecond CityChicago, the Mecca of the Middle Westand the second city of the country, has theadded distinction of possessing the largeststeam public utility plant in the world.This plant, the Commonwealth EdisonCompany.serves Chicago practically withoutcompetition. The Street Railways,Elevated Systems, manufacturing andmercantile establishments, office buildings,stores, apartments, homes and hotelscomprise the diversity of demand forpower which is the most important elementof strength in the Company's earningcapacity.BONDS IN THE FIRST RANKThe first mortgage 5% bonds of theCommonwealth Company, due June 1,1943, undoubtedly rank in the first grade.Their safety, marketability and incomeare unquestioned.Private investors are afforded an unusualopportunity to invest in these bondsat a price which will afford ample opportunityfor later profit.Let us show you our "Bond Topics"{Booklet SS-200) listing these andother bonds to yield fromAHBickmore& CoIII BROADWAY, NY. *THESE are the prices of France under therevolutionary assignats, of our SouthernConfederacy in its later paper-money days, of theAmerican "continental currency," the "shinplasters"of 17S3 to 17S9. But in a less degree,prices in Germany, in Austria, inItaly, in France, have increased Paperwholly out of proportion to the increasein this country; partly at least, and RiseMoneybeyond question, in response to thein Priceswar-time increase of belligerent Europe's papercurrencies from the $2,300,000,000 of July, 1914,to the $19,500,000,000 of a month ago—that increaseleaving out of the reckoning the prodigiousand only casually reported paper inflation ofAustria and Russia.The question, to what extent the war-time riseof prices in our own country, and the persistenceof such prices at their present high level, havebeen affected by the undoubted currency inflationof Europe, is more debatable. Actually inflatedcurrencies help, directly or indirectly, in expellinggold, and the gold will naturally serve to expandthe currencies of the countries to which it goes.Europe's paper currency inflation was responsiblein some degree for our own unprecedented importationof gold in 1915 and 1916, which providedthe requisite reserve for our own war-timecurrency expansion. If the meaning of the termis carefully restricted, one might possibly have theright to describe this process as a left-handed inflation.WITH the economic solidarity of the civilizedworld to-day, all countries must in someway be affected in their own position by suchunheard-of paper inflation as has occurred since1914 in Europe. Yet it is possible to misleadentirely through laying too muchstress on that single influence as thecause for the present high prices inAmerica. A very much readier explanationlies in Europe's exhaustedstock of merchandise; in her consequent abnormaldemand on our surplus of production; in transportationrates higher by 50 or 100 per cent thanthey were before the war; in a "labor cost" inevery branch of production, increased since 1914in only a slightly lesser ratio. When, moreover,after all the hesitancy since November, ordersfrom home consumers had by the close of Mayreached such volume as to cause the mercantileagencies to report that trade revival had alreadyin some directions "assumed boom characteristics";when the largest inland mercantile housedescribed advance sales by its agents as "nearlydouble those of a year ago," and when one week'srecord of checks drawn on all the country's banksbroke all weekly records in the country's history,it was clear enough what the rising stock marketFinancial Situation, continued on page 64Cause ofthe HighCost ofLiving62