Il6  THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  UNEMPLOYED

The  exact  point  of  connection  between  the  mental  or
subjective  phenomena  called  confidence  and  enterprise
and  the  objective  commercial  facts  of  an  increase  of
sales  is  always  concealed.  Bimetallists  commonly  assume
that  an  increased  quantity  of  money  must  cause  a  corresponding ­
  rise  of  prices,  without  taking  the  least  trouble  to
show  how  this  increase  of  money  will  necessarily  induce
purchasers  of  goods  to  increase  the  quantity  of  their
purchases.  I  am  not  here  concerned  to  deny  that  it  will
have  this  result,  but  it  is  clearly  their  business  to  prove  it.
An  increase  of  money  which  was  privately  hoarded  by
its  possessors  could  manifestly  have  no  effect  on  prices.
If  it  was  hoarded  in  banks,  it  could  only  operate  by
reducing  the  rate  of  discount,  thus  stimulating  the
purchases  of  those  who  borrow  to  buy.
The  supposition  that  increased  volume  of  money  would
of  necessity  either  directly  or  by  enlarged  credit  imply
an  increase  of  purchases  corresponding  to  its  size  is  unwarranted. ­

§  4.  Bimetallism  can  o?ily  Raise  Prices  by
Raising  Consumption.
It  is,  however,  quite  needless  to  open  the  whole  currency ­
  question  or  to  propound  a  theory  of  the  extent  of
the  influence  of  quantity  of  money  upon  prices.  It  suffices ­
  to  affirm  the  principle  that  whatever  influence  an
increase  of  money  would  exercise  on  prices  must  come
by  raising  the  quantity  of  purchases  relative  to  the  supply
of  articles  offered  for  sale.  It  is  essential  to  recognise
that  if  bimetallism  or  any  other  monetary  “ism”  operates
so  as  to  stimulate  increased  production  equally  with  consumption ­
  it  can  have  no  possible  effect  in  raising  general