I. The Australian Tariff Committee's report and free trade theory, 289. — The expansion of primary production, 290. — The tariff and the growth of population in Australia, 293. — II. Marshall's doctrine of increasing and decreasing returns, 295. — The tariff and land values, 296. — The tariff as a method of reducing the severity of decreasing returns, 297. — III. Patten's case for protection, 299. — The conditions necessary for its application, 302. — IV. The limits of economic protection, 305. — V. The expediency of the tariff as a method of subsidizing industry, 306.

The assumption of independent national price systems, in theory and in treatment of current problems, 409. — I. No domestic and no international prices; only local prices, more or less sensitive to external conditions, 410; merchandise and services, wholesale and retail prices, not differentiated in the terms "international" and "domestic" commodities, 413. — II. Parallelism in movement of wholesale price indices, 413; Internationalization of the commodity price structure, 414. — III. Illusion of domestic price structure for wholesale merchandise: large or sustained movement not essential to price interdependence, 422; defective market data and apparent price deviations, 432; limitations upon actual deviation; a priori indications of high correlation, 433. — IV. Reformulation: the local category consists mainly of services and retail prices, 436; merchandise at wholesale is international, 437; regional prices structurally related, 442. — V. Practical applications: farm relief, 452; export combinations, 453; tariff and monetary problems, 455. — VI. Regional prices of international goods: as affected by foreign exchange, 456; by movement of specie or changes in purchasing power, 457; a possible reconciliation with orthodox theory, 458; price stabilization through credit policies of central banks, 459.

United States copper consumption increasing at a faster rate than production but not yet in excess of the latter, 142. — Apparent excess of consumption in 1930 due to decline in exports, 143. — Copper Exporters, Inc., organized in 1926, to regulate the foreign marketing of our copper, 145. — The Copper Institute, a trade association, formed in 1927, 146. — Prices rose to peak in April, 1929, were pegged at eighteen cents for a year, and fell below ten cents in October, 1930, 148. — Output restriction announced in November, 148. — Large potential new mine supply in next five years, 149. — Short-run outlook not bright, 151. — Long-run position sound, indicated by calculation of probable world demand in 1940 for primary copper, 152. — Conclusions as to future price, 154. — A tariff today would not help the industry, might in ten years, 155. — Real need is lower tariffs for United States and world, 156.

Reviews the book "Cost Finding for Engineers," by Charles Reitell and Clarence Van Sickle

Reviews the book "Overhead Expense," by A. Hamilton Church

The article presents views of the author on the article "Selling and Administration Expense Analysis As a Basis for Cost Reduction." I think that the title should probably have seemed more logical and orthodox than the one adopted. It is quite true that expense analysis has generally had as its object the reduction of costs, it is also quite apparent that cost reduction should object of such analysis. Why then inject this type of analysis as a basis for sales control? Just what do we mean by cost reduction? Is it merely a reduction in size as compared with previous dimensions, or should it be measured in a different way? Is it something that can be considered alone, or must it be studied as a relative thing? Should we think of costs as money and service outlay or as standards of measurement? And if we view them as standards of measurement what do they measure? I know of no cost that is not a measure of performance. In fact, a performance without cost, in business, is quite unthinkable. Performances and costs run along parallel lines. The performance creates the cost, but parallel lines may or may not be of the proper relative lengths. Even in a profitable business, viewed as a whole, where the performance line is naturally longer than the cost line, we have no assurances that either line is of the right length.

In approaching the problem of changes in monetary values of fixed assets and what the accountant's attitude should be thereto, it must be considered as affecting both the profit-and-loss statement and the balance sheet. That leads one, at once, into a very fundamental question, what is it that the accountant wants to show in the statement of profit and loss and in the balance sheet, or, what should he show, in these statements, when he is faced with the fact that properties used for the production and sale of commodities are worth more, or less, in terms of price, than the values indicated by the fixed asset accounts? To say, as some do, that the accountant should entirely ignore changes in monetary value, is the equivalent of saying that the tide rises, but the extent of its rise is of no consequence to anybody. Monetary values do change, and they are of consequence. Their consequences should be recognized, measured and expressed, because business is conducted in terms of present monetary values. There is no other way for business to express itself. Yet the orthodox accountant wants business transactions expressed in terms of both past and present monetary values, and he believes that net worth, at any time, can also be properly expressed in such variable terms.

W E are reproducing the chart of bond yields NV 7 and money rates, monthly, beginning with the decade of the nineties, last published in this REVIEW for July 1923, pp. 2I4, 2I5. The curve for money rates shows commercial paper, seasonally adjusted for the years i890-94; without seasonal adjustment for the years I9I5-22; and adjusted tentatively, on the basis of one-half the pre-war seasonal movements, for the years I923 to date. The bond-yield index is based on ten railroad bonds. For the years I890-I9I0, the index computed by Wesley C. Mitchell is presented; for the years I9Ii-i8, that index adjusted to conform to the level of our ten railroad bond index during the period I9I9-22; and, for the years I919 to date, our own index. For both commercial-paper rates and bond yields, the changes in the series are indicated by the use of slightly different legends on the chart. It will be noted that, at the end of I930, the adjusted monthly figure for commercial-paper rates was lower than at any time since the decade of the nineties; a rate appreciably lower is shown only once on the chart, namely, in the second half of i894.1 Another striking fact evident from the chart is that the peak reached in I929 is substantially below that of I920. The differing commercial credit situations of the two years are reflected in this contrast, since the stringency of the earlier period arose from business inflation to a greater degree than that of a later period. Federal reserve operations also tended to moderate the stringency in commercial rates. Despite the large cydical swings evident, moreover, a downward trend is discernible in this class of rates, especially since the establishment of the federal reserve system in I9I4. It may be mentioned in passing that time rates on collateral loans, as quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, have not shown such a trend, though present quotations are very low. Unlike commercial-paper rates, bond yields have not reached conspicuously low levels. They are still above 4 per cent, whereas they were below this figure during much of the first decade of the century. The sharp fluctuations in the bond market since last September are clearly shown by the movements of the yield index. The rise in yields toward the close of last year now appears merely as an interruption of the decline beginning late in I929, but it has not yet brought bond yields below the post-war low of this index, reached at the end of I927. The maximum divergence between the level of bond yields and ' The rise in January I93I was due entirely to the seasonal correction (shortly to be revised) which allows for a decline in this month greater than is justified by post-war experience.

SINCE publication of the monthly index chart was begun in I919, two important revisions of the money curve (C) have been made. In its original form, the curve was based on rates for two grades of commercial paper, adjusted for seasonal variation on the basis of indexes computed for the interval I890-9I6, with a horizontal normal (at 4.645 per cent).' Beginning with January I922, the seasonal correction was reduced so that allowance was made for only onehalf the pre-war seasonal variation, and in May I923, the first important revision was made, the entire curve being recalculated back to January

XATITH the revisions made in recent years, a most comprehensive body of statistics relating to currency in circulation has been built up, and placed upon a homogeneous basis for an extended period.' This article presents monthly and weekly series for the volume of currency after correction for seasonal variation, and examines such figures in relation to the business and other factors affecting them. Seasonal variation, which forms a large part of the total movement of the weekly and monthly series, was discussed by Mr. Bertrand Fox in this REVIEW, Vol. XIII, pages 26-30, where the weekly indexes of seasonal variation are presented. Monthly seasonal indexes appear on a later page. Business needs for currency determine the seasonal fluctuations of money in circulation, and are the most important cause of other-thanseasonal fluctuations. But influences not of a business nature also affect the series; and explanation for certain of the movements observed in post-war years hinges upon the method used in counting the amount of currency outstanding. The figures apply to money outside (a) the Treasury and (b) the federal reserve banks. The count thus obtained does not embrace the reserve funds of the general banking system, but it does include the till money of banks other than the reserve banks.2 Such till money accounts for something less than one-fifth of the total; the rest is made up of pocket money, merchants' till money, and hoards. Probably bank holdings are to be regarded as an intermediate step through which currency Dasses from the reserve banks into business channels or back from business into the reserve banks. Nevertheless, differences in fluctuations of vault cash and other money have at times been marked. A final point to be noted is that some of the money counted is in circulation outside the United States in Cuba and Canada, for instance, as well as in European countries which absorbed United States currency during and after the war.