Knowledge that Transforms

The Journal seeks to cover, in its monthly bibliography, all current literature of economic interest in the following fields: I. Books published in the English, French, German, and Italian languages. II. The government publications of the United States and of Great Britain. III. Periodical references of four or more pages appearing in the periodicals listed below. Additions will be made to this list from month to month and when added each periodical will be indexed from January i, I908. Periodicals devoting an entire number to a single discussion are listed under books. In addition to these fields, a considerable amount of fugitive material is covered. This includes such items as state and municipal publications, foreign government publications (other than those of Great Britain), reports and pamphlets of various organizations, etc. Facilities which would make possible a complete index of this material do not exist. The Journal has made a beginning, however, and progress is hoped for. Mr. Charles Harvey Brown of the John Crerar library has contributed many of the titles in this elusive field. In the current number the periodical index covers only issues since January i, I908.

The Fundatental Fallacy of Socialisn. Edited by ARTHUR PREUSS. St. Louis: B. Herder, i9o8. 8vo, pp. I9I. The subtitle indicates that this is "An Exposition of the Question of Landownership," and includes an account of the famous McGlynn case. It is written by a Catholic who seeks to prove that the public ownership of land is contrary to the teaching of the Catholic church, especially that embodied in the encyclicals of Leo XIII. These encyclicals and Henry George's open letter to the Pope are discussed in detail. The author then seeks to prove that the removal of the ban of excommunication which had been pronounced against McGlynn because of his advocacy of Henry George's theories did not mean, as it was commonly supposed, that the single tax was not contrary to Catholic doctrine. The argument is that on this point the apostolic delegate accepted the decision of four professors of the Catholic University of America, which decision the author declares wrong and without ecclesiastical authority. The final conclusion is that public ownership of land being wrong, similar arguments will prove the error of public ownership of other agents of production-hence the fallacy of socialism.