MONEY

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prices  are  kept  approximately  stationary  ;
but,  though  theoretically  such  a  scheme
could  be  carried  out,  he  would  be  a  rash
prophet  who  should  venture  to  foretell  that
it  is  really  feasible.  However,  we  may  conclude ­
  that  reliable  index  numbers  of  general
prices  ought  to  be  kept  and  made  public
(as  they  are),  and  carefully  watched  by  the
business  world  (as  they  are  not  ordinarily)
with  a  view  to  orders  relating  to  the  future
and  adjustments  of  salaries  and  wages.
Index  numbers  of  prices  are  figures,  scientifically ­
  calculated  from  the  prices  of  a  large
number  of  different  things,  which  indicate
how  on  an  average  prices  are  moving.
No  discussion  of  money  would  be  complete
without  some  reference  to  bimetallism,  a
subject  which  links  on  to  the  question  of  the
purchasing-power  of  money.  The  agitation
for  bimetallism  was  very  strong  some  years
after  the  fall  in  prices  which  began  in  the
“  ’seventies,”  but  of  late  it  has  collapsed,  and
it  can  no  longer  be  held  to  play  a  noticeable
part  in  current  economic  movements.  It
was  desired  by  some  with  the  object  of  stopping ­
  the  fall  in  prices  ;  by  others  with  the
object  of  steadying  prices  ;  by  others  with
the  object  of  creating  a  par  of  exchange