The record-union., 1895-03-20
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

! but is demand tor an Ideal monetary
unit which is to be arrived at by scientific
| treatment of the money question.
| A central thought and argument is that
| the economists go astray in treating of "a
standard unit of value" as IA fixed
| quantity or some concrete substance de-
nned by reference to the units of weight
OF space.' How ratio OF exchange
has to 90 with liked quantity OF a con-
crete substance" or how su bstance can
become standard ratio, is, the author
declares, not scientifically eXplicable. SO,
| too, he asks:
"How can "a fixed quantity of some
concrete substance represent a power
| not possessed by, nor residing in, any
su ubstance, but merely conferred upon
certain objects by human desires - a
power that varies aud tluctuates, that ap-
| pears and disappears with those desires?
! 70 my mind there Is only one way in
| which a commodity can be nationally
considered to represent unit OF Value
| l. e., purchasing power. We may select
Il given quantity OF a certain commodity,
| % $40 grains OF gold, for example, and
say that whatever the purchasing power
of this amount OF gold happens to be
! upon certain day, or at given time,
shall represent the unit of purchasing
| power. But this is d very different thin.
| from selecting % S-i0 grains of gold as a
| permanent unit of value. No fixed
gold-represents fixed quantity of pur-
| chasing power for any length OF time. 1t
! is only at any given instant that we may
consider commodity to have certain
amount OF exchange power. IL then, we
! follow the variations in the exchange re-
| lations of commodities from any given
| instant, having first priced them ali at
that time in terms of the commodity
selected as a standard, we have an abso-
lutely correct and scientific system by
| W hch fluctuations in values may be reg
istered with mathematical eXactness, and
| which will be independent ofthe tluctua-
tions in gold or any other single COM
modify"
He thinks the mistake of the econo-
mists is in emitting the element of time
| from their denuitiou of a standard unit.
| Values, he holds. are ideal creations, and
! therefore only 10 be expressed in terms
of the ideal. This ideal monetary unit is
practicable, he contends, and III chapters
| . to ne elaborates the idea. Ii is the
| credit Of the issues behind coin or other
| medium OF exchange that gives 1t pur-
| chasing power, says Mr.. hItsOn, and so
! we have an ideal unit now, since few peo-
pie who use coin token can tell what it
| represents III bullion, but they do know
| what II expresses in the matter OF its eX-
| change value for goods. AS the cause of
| general rise or fall in commodities is
| the use OF a variable denominator of
! values, he tndS remedy in the abolition
| OF the commodity Standard and tho adop-
| tlon OF an lnvariabIe value denominatOr.
| u e would not have money treated as
| commodity, for when il is SO held it
! ceases to be money. So he would have
| money per sc yalueless and the supply of
1t unrestricted. The substructure chosen
| should be so plentiful that it could not be
monopollzed, and hence not gold or sill
| yer. Just as railroad ticket mas power
to procure transportation only, but is per
Sc ralueless, so he would have money,
and thus free it from disturbing in-
| tiuences.
The treatise is very interesting. We
| do not care to discuss 1t now or to 60 be-
yond indication, in part, of the theory of
the novel book-for it is novel and its
method decidedly new and original.
''The Infectiousness of Milk" is COM
pact volume issued by the "Massa-
| chusetts Society for Promotion of Agri-
culture" Francis II. Appleton, Secre-
tary, Boston, who publishes it for the
! society. 1t is a report OF the result of
Investigations made for the Trustees of
the society. 1t is very freely illustrated
and should interest and command the
attention OF scientists aud municipa!
authorities generally. In the spring of
! 1887 the Trustees of the society decided to
! establish an experiment station at For
/
! gers to human life and health arising
from the food products of cattle. Atten-
| tlon had been pu blicly called TO this SUBJ
| ject, and the Trustees decided that il
| would lie of value to both producer
and consumer to have those dangers in
vestlgated. They appointed a special
committee to have charge of the work,
consisting of Thomas Motley, 4. f. Bow
| ditch, Jacob Z. Rogers and Francis II.
| Appleton. This committee secured the
services of leading specialists to have the
| direction OF the Investigations, and this
| volume contains the report of the work
done, and results obtained. These re-
suits were reached in the autumn OF 1890.
and were reported to the Legislature of
1891, OIL January 18th. by petition asking
| for legislation to secure an inspection OF
cattle in Massachusetts. 1t was not until
June 1lth that resolve was passed, but
with an appropriation much less than
was recommended, and so small as to
negative the purpose OF the resolve. The
! final results, however, OF the investiga-
ton made are found In this volume.
! Of Neely's Library of Choice Literature
we have Campaigns Of Curiosity; or,
| Journalistic Adventures of an merlcan
Girl in London" by Elizabeth l.. Banks.
| Miss Banks went to England for pleas
ure. Shortly after her arrival in London
appeared Mr.. Kipling's criticisms on
! America. Miss Banks replied in the
| London Times with enthusiasm, and this
drew her into notice and into English
| journalism, and her Investigations into
domestic service, into which she entered
! by going out to service herself and writ
! ing up her experiences in the ,SuR. This
| book IS her complete story Of expert
ences in service (in disguised In London.
1t goes also in amusing detail into other
| adventures Of this clever woman in tind-
| ing out how the society cbaperon charges,
as husbands to girls of wealth, etc. The
! book tells likewise of her experience as q
street-sweeper, hower-girl. laundress, etc.
| The volume is a frank, modest and alto
gether interesting look within.' l..
Tennyson Nicely, publisher, Chicago.
"a Literary History of the English
People from the Origins to the Renais-
sauce" IS by j. j. Jusseraud. author of
'English Wayfaring Life in the Middie
Ages" 1t is from the press of q. 2. Put
nam's Sons, New York. 1t is a charm
ing work, one of delightful at
trsctiveness. Profound. elaborate and
scholarly, 1t is ornate and a
ture VIII not find time wasted devoted to
this volume. The publishers in produc-
Ing this work have put an obligation of
| thanks upon the American reading pub
lie that it should discharge by making
the book one of the best of selling vol
umes.
"a Daughter of Judas" is another story
from the prolific pen of Richard Henry
Savage. 1t is from the press OF L. Tenny-
son Neely, Chicago and New York. 1t is
| fin-de-siecle I'VE hate the term for the
abuse of it of New York City life. 1t is
vivid, even lurid story, not the best
Colonel Savage has written, but one that
would make an admirable sensational
| play II drainatized by its author.
|