Quote from Carroll Quigley's Evolution of Civilization (p. 396). Keep in mind that whenever the Fed talks about ensuring price stability, what they really mean is preventing deflation.
"It should be noted that the generally deflationary character of the nineteenth century had certain beneficial aspects, such as wider distribution of goods at lower prices and, above all, the drastic need to lower costs of production by greater productive efficiency in order to ensure continued profits in a soft-price era."
