Changes in composition of commercial bank assets and earnings, 365. — The problem posed by these developments, 368. — Possible action by the banks themselves, 369. — Inadequacy of such measures, 373. — The Economist's proposal, 374. — Proposals for Government action: nationalization, 376; special taxes on banks, 378; new reserve requirements, 380; special Treasury obligations, 382; restricting types of Government securities held, 385. — Necessity of some action, 388.

F. R. MACAULAY' and other writers2 have noted a tendency for changes in the square roots of common-stock prices to be constant regardless of price level. This phenomenon has naturally suggested that when such prices are represented graphically the charts be designed so that vertical distances from the origin are proportional to the square roots of the prices indicated in the margins. There is some reason to believe that charts of this kind might also be useful in plotting other kinds of data. Assume that n sales are distributed at random over 1/p firms during some interval of time, and that u1, u2, *, u1/, are the actual numbers of sales made by the different firms F1, F2, , Fil, Then, a priori, the probability that a particular firm will make one of these sales is p, and the mean and variance of the u's will tend to be

Abstract The Committee on Cost Accounting Principles has held one meeting and contemplates holding a second meeting before the end of 1946. A basic outline of the cost accounting subject matter has been prepared as a starting point in the search for fundamental principles and the ideas of the committee members have been consolidated through correspondence. The charge of the committee was to explore the feasibility of expressing general principles in the field of cost accounting, and, although the committee is not prepared to report definite conclusions at the present time, it is believed that further exploration will prove fruitful. During the year 1945 a number of manuscripts were given consideration as potential monograph material and it is to be hoped, barring continued shortage of paper and printing labor, that one or more research projects can be published during 1946. A project which has been in process for some time, the preparation of a complete index for the first twenty volumes through 1945 of the journal "The Accounting Review," is now practically complete and printers' bids are being received.

Abstract Accounting is essentially a technical subject. It accumulates, verifies, presents and interprets financial information about operations and properties for business enterprise or about financial activities and resources for government and nonprofit organizations. It deals also with the means and methods of controlling the receipt, possession and disposition of properties to establish personal responsibility, to reduce the possibility of errors and to minimize the opportunity for fraud. Certain phases of accounting study give the student some knowledge of business operations, of the importance of the profit system in an economic society, and of the need for financial information by management, owners, creditors, government, employees and the general public. Accounting courses too frequently do not meet the needs for social, personal and supplementary training in accounting. These needs cannot adequately be met by the content of the usual elementary accounting courses. Not all students can be, nor should they be, fitted into an all-purpose curriculum. Provision should be made for one or more accounting courses especially designed for these purposes.

Abstract In this article the author comments on a series of three articles entitled "Power Price Fixing," written by James L. Dohr, which were published in earlier issues of "Journal of Accountancy," as of January 1946. The articles discuss at some length the U.S. Federal Power Commission's decisions and those of the Montana and Arkansas utility commissions on the accounting practices of Montana Power Co. and Arkansas Power & Light Co. Each year the Federal Power Commission has published in a single volume the financial statements of the principal privately owned electric utilities of the U.S. An epitome of these statements was published for the year 1943 which brought out the striking changes that had taken place in the industry since January 1937, the date when the Uniform System of Accounts became effective. In the broad areas embraced by financial and business controls, accounting principles and policies have played a role that has increased greatly in importance during the past ten years. Accounting has become firmly entrenched as the language of business and of businessmen. Total assets, gross volume, net income are among the many terms that accountants have been able to keep within the confines of their art.