1914. With 26 diagrams. Bilgram began his investigation into this topic with the intent of determining whether there was a possibility to correct the evil of economic depressions. He wanted to understand if they were the natural outgrowth of industrial progress and commercial development, and if so, then they were not to be avoided. But, if they were due to extraneous causes, and you could identify the cause, then there may be a possibility for preventing their recurrence and insuring continued economic prosperity. The book was also considered to be of importance for exploding the fallacy of the volume theory of money and showing that interest has no reason for being.