THE THEORY OF INTEREST

istic of our times. This increased tempo tends toward ahigh interest rate because of the flood of new inventions,despite the opposing influence of the old and maturedinventions which have made us so much richer.

Some outstanding examples of recent inventions whichgreatly increase production and consumption are: theautomobile; the radio; the airplane; motion pictures inall their many uses; the numerous applications of elec-tric power in factories and on the farm; long distancetelephone, which has finally solved the problem of send-ing messages across the Atlantic Ocean ; the' utilizationof cellulose, formerly a waste and a nuisance, in themanufacture of building materials, paper, and rayontextiles; the use of cotton seed for oil and fertilizer; thepulverization of coal by which its fuel value is greatlyincreased; the liquefaction of coal which gives addedsupplies of much needed gasoline; the innumerablechemical and dye products made from coal.

New discoveries and inventions, by utilizing wastesfrom forests, fields and mines, and increasing the outputof labor have greatly advanced the scale of living inAmerica .

Furthermore, the use of a new invention spreads withlightning rapidity in this high speed and intercommuni-cating age, affecting the income streams with a muchgreater influence than formerly and, as it spreads, it leadsto further inventions. This is a chief reason why today isincreasingly an age of invention. Nations like Great Brit-ain, the United States, Germany and France lead in civi-lization by taking the greatest advantage of this self-propagating principle of invention, and nations likeChina and India, so long as they give it little attention,will lag behind.

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