MOTOR PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 September 1919, Page 10

MOTOR PRICES.

ARE THEY COMING DOWN? THE AMERICAN MANUFACTURER'S VIEWS. "How can prices fall ?" asks the manufacturer in a brightly-written, imaginary interview in the Motor World. "To begin with, our prices never went abnormally high, and there was a bit of a cut shortly after the armistice. There's —let's see—an increase of only about 40 per cent, since prices started to soar., At the same time the cost of living has gone sky-high and the price of labor and materials is away up to 40 per cent, and then some. At the factory the average wage used to - be four dollars a day. Now it's live and a-half, and maybe six by now. The same ratio of I vage increase—or greater—prevails in the plants of the factories that make our motors, axles and other parts. By the time you get back to the raw material in a car you'll find that there is absolutely nothing to it but labor." "But "

"But nothing!" says the manufacturer. "There's absolutely nothing in an automobile but lubor. And it is this labor factor that you've got to take into consideration all the way through. Take the steel. Where do you get it? You find it in the ground and you pay a man to dig it out. It's all labor. Then you pay another man to handle it in its first step. It's all labor- The coai that is used in treating the steel is found in the ground and they pay a man to dig it out. It's all iabor. They pay a man to make the coal burn. It's all labor.

"Then the motor maker buys steel to make motors, but all ho pays for is something that somebody found in the ground—plus labor. The motor maker puts the steel through his plant and increases its value—by labor. He has to carry an overhead of investment in his factory. But what is hi 3 factory? Nothing but iron, and stone, and brick, and steel, and wood, which somebody found in the ground or on the mountains or somewhere else—plus labor.

"Take the leather. It comes from a cow. Tile sustenance of the cow comes from the earth. The grain she eats is created by labor—and nature—and nature works without pay. Trace back everything in the car and you'll find that somebody found it somewhere at 110 cost and that the entire product is nothing but labor. It's labor, labor,, labor, all the way through. ' "And now take labor. It's worth 50 to 100 per cent, more than it was four years ago . AND IT'S NOT COMING DOWN.

"Furthermore, the labor that has increased is not alone the labor of the man in the automobile or motor factory. Labor has increased all 'over the world-

"The price of labor has increased in countries far removed from and unaffected by the war. The Mexican peon, the native of South America, the be-shirted pink of Egypt, the copperylooking Hindoo in India—they have all Mad their wage* stepped up, And why!

Because of inflation. And what is inflation? It is nothing except a lot of money. Without going into details, inflation always: brings high prices. This means that until the excess paper money is withdrawn, until credit is contracted, unul the bond issues are redeemed, there isn't a piker's chance of a reduction in general prices. And what is tins inflation? A mere trifle. Only about two hundred and sixty-six billion dollars, and the interest that must be paid is ten billion a year where it used to be two. Your grand-children may see lower prices—but yoii? It's a dream."