But, without question, should the war last, a rise in the whole level of
prices of everything, including labor, will take place in the United
States. It will affect some individuals adversely, but for most will be
in the long run almost negligible. For those who actually produce or
handle goods which advance in price the result will be a profit, because
the price of the commodity they have to sell will almost certainly
advance sooner and faster than the prices of the commodities they
themselves are compelled to buy. In time the two will equalize and they
will be precisely where they were before the war; they will pay out with
one hand what they take in with the other. In nearly all cases where the
individual produces or shares in the production of an actual commodity a
general rise in prices, even to the extent which this war threatens to
produce, will be to him only a temporary advantage or disadvantage.
True, wages and salaries in industrial pursuits will not quite keep pace
with the rise in foodstuffs, and factory workers and clerks will not
benefit to the same extent nor as soon as the farmers will.
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