R ARELY if ever has there appeared more widespread interest in employment and other measures of wage earners' economic status than in this depression of I930. Rather belatedly, employment is being looked upon with keen interest, not in its industrial and its social aspects alone, but especially in its relation to commercial problems the flow of money income and of commodity purchasing power, and the prospects for recovery in the wage-earner market for consumers' goods, especially those produced by mass methods. For some years past, a high level of gold wages, coupled with a relatively low cost of subsistence, had maintained the standard of real or commodity buying power at well-nigh unprecedented heights. This in turn helped to foster and further the consumption of mass-produced goods the production of which, under rising standards of industrial efficiency, had made possible the very existence of this high-wage era. But the benefits of all this (like many other human blessings) were not fully appreciated by some of the parties having most at stake the trade interests -until these benefits began to be taken away by the ruthless hand of business depression. In various published forms, including several issues of this REVIEW,I scattered over the last nine years, we have attempted to lay a technical groundwork, comprising a descriptive statement of the statistical operations performed, together with an analytical discussion of the technical problems involved, in the development of various indexes reflecting cyclical movements in labor conditions. We hope that this fundamental work has been done with sufficient thoroughness to justify our devoting comparatively little attention to technical matters in the present article. Therefore we confine ourselves to a portrayal of the leading economic facts on the subject, statistically measured, of course, but accompanied by no more discussion of statistical methodology than is necessary.

T HE purpose of this study is to give a general view of the major changes which have taken place in the composition of our laboring force during a period when striking economic changes have occurred in the United States as a whole. The attempt has been made to secure roughly homogeneous occupational groups from the data furnished in the decennial censuses from I850 to I920. The character of these data precludes the obtaining of rigorously demonstrable conclusions; yet the decisiveness and persistence of certain of the tendencies are such as to warrant several interesting inferences. Economic theory indicates that, with the development of a nation along industrial lines, a larger proportion of the population tends to be engaged in the rendering of services, and a smaller proportion in the production of goods. Statistical verification of this tendency has been sought in the present investigation, and the results, though derived from data highly unsatisfactory in many respects, do furnish a definite confirmation of economic theory upon this point. It must be granted at the outset that the present paper can endeavor to utilize data from but a small fraction of the numerous occupational tables. Many other lines of inquiry are suggested from an examination of these decennial reports. The student of social statistics might find greater interest in examining the changes in the relative numbers of women and children engaged in the various gainful occupations. The economic historian might prefer to make international comparisons which would indicate the stages of development of our nation from an industrial point of view. These lines of departure, as well as many others, would undoubtedly prove of interest, but lie wholly beyond the present attempt to give a broad picture of changes in the main groups of our working population for the past three quarters of a century. In I850 the first effort was made to enumerate comprehensively the workers engaged in the various lines of industry. Prior to that year, there had been fragmentary compilations (as early as I820), but nothing which could readily be joined to the more complete data in later reports. From the middle of the nineteenth century onward, however, it is possible to divide the gainfully employed population into six main groups, with sufficiently clear lines of demarcation to avoid serious errors in classification. These six groups, which will be discussed in much more detail below, are: primary production (including farmers, miners, etc.), manufacturing production, trade, transportation, professional service, and domestic and personal service. Continual changes in the compilation of the census material render the computation of such group totals very difficult. For example, the I850 census reported only males over the age of I5 in the various industries; while that of i860 reported both males and females over the age of I5, with no indication of the proportions of the sexes. In I870, both men and women were included for the ages I0-I5, I6-59, and 6o and over. So far as the main age groups are concerned, the I870 model has been followed for subsequent reports. In other respects, however, modifications have continued to be made. Regularly, from one decennial period to the next, there are certain changes in the industrial organization which call for the addition of new categories, and lead to the abandonment of others. In addition, there have been two major revisions of the arrangement and form of the occupational reports, the first in I870, and the second in I9g0. These changes, while improving greatly the utility of the reports, seriously hinder the obtaining of homogeneous groups, and, indeed, in many cases are of such a character that no statistical operation can furnish results which are assuredly trustworthy. A process of chaining has been employed in bridging these years in which sweeping changes in form have been made, and it appears that despite the many uncertainties involved in the handling of individual occupations, the main results give definite indication of the more significant and persisting changes. At first thought, one might suppose that all census reports are highly comprehensive and reliable statistical compilations. Many enumerations are necessarily fragmentary and inexact be-

Abstract In many of the institutions it has been necessary to increase the size of classes in accounting in order to meet the increased demand for this type of instruction. The number of students enrolled has increased much more rapidly, than the growth in the faculty personnel. This situation has brought some very difficult problems of teaching technique. The "Accounting Exchange," having as its purpose the presentation and discussion of teaching methods and material, has been turned over to a newly-formed committee appointed by President Rosenkampff. The limitation of adequate reading assistance for one thing has hindered the conscientious instructor in the grading of student papers. Furthermore, the many deviations from predetermined solutions, various interpretations of problem statements and the wide divergence in speed capacities of students working under examination conditions, all add to the difficulties of equitably grading the results attained by the typical questions and problem method. An attempt is being made this year at the University of Minnesota to adapt the objective type of examination to the large elementary courses in accounting.

Reviews the book "Retail Credit Procedure," by Norris A. Brisco.

Reviews the book "Elementary Training for Business," revised by York Wilkes and Tirrell Wilkes.

Abstract Accounting has been offered in some form to students in engineering schools for at least twenty years. It is only recently, however, that serious consideration has been given to this subject as an integral part of the required curriculum. The fact that engineers were entering positions of administrative responsibility in which their technical training was not directly applied, brought to the attention of engineering faculties the need for some adjustment in their established curricula. The collegiate Schools of Business started their phenomenal growth about the same time as the movement for industrial management in engineering and largely for the same reason. The first call for business training came from concerns that needed trained accountants and cost analysts. Somewhat later, the schools of business began to give more attention to the fields of marketing and finance which at present occupy a considerable part of their attention. The accounting courses in engineering should be a part of a management training program fitted into an adjustment of the curriculum of the existing courses in mechanical, electrical, civil and chemical engineering.

Reviews the book "Stock Movements and Speculation," by Frederic Drew Bond.

Abstract The existence of appreciation, as evidenced by a fairly permanent increase in values, must in many cases be conceded. Such increase may be indicated by actual appraisal or by other data or information; and may be formally recognized by action of a Board of Directors. Various arguments have been advanced both for and against bringing appreciation into the accounts. Of the three or four leading arguments for the bringing of appreciation into the accounts, one which is usually advanced is that insurance of properties requires that the books show such properties at present values. It is a fact that the very purpose of insurance means the use of replacement costs in order that any destroyed property may be fully duplicated. A second argument is that refinancing whether by bond issue or short-term commercial paper, is facilitated if the balance sheet shows the mortgaged property at full present value. A third occasion for recognizing appreciation is in the case of sale, of the merger of several concerns. In this event a new value is usually placed upon the properties of the companies to be sold or merged.

Reviews the book "Bookkeeping: principles and Practice," by A.H. Rosenkampff and W.C. Wallace.