Introduction

Most urban Americans of the Progressive Era (1890–1920) disliked even mild inflation comparable to the 2 percent per annum now considered desirable by the Federal Reserve. In response to a minor surge in the cost of living, expressions of public dismay intensified sharply in 1910. Living costs, centered on food, became a political issue and fostered a plethora of diagnoses and remedies. Meanwhile, farmers’ spokesmen celebrated higher commodity prices and decried city dwellers’ desire for cheaper food. Then World War I brought severe inflation by 1916 that lasted into the autumn of 1920. Consumer prices eventually more than doubled.