The New York herald., 1922-03-12

| field sof banking proper. A large
commercial bank has frequently ab-
sorbed a trust company, or, on the
contrary, q progressive trust COM
pany. desirious Of entering into COM
mercial banking, has at times taken
over long established bank. These
mergers have resulted in powerful
banking institutions. which have
| further extended their activities to
! include other fields of finance by
opening departments for receiving
| time deposits and also by operating
securities departments for handling
investments. A large modern bank
| is therefore able to offer its Gus
toners practically every financial
service in much the same manner
that department store places on
sale goods of every description"
As win be seen, this book concen-
trates on banking as it is at present
conducted, and there is an especially
good survey of banking methods and
laws and an explanation OF tho Fed
eral Reserve organization. Prof.
Willis was formerly secretary OF the
Federal Reserve Board.
Prof. s S. Huebner of the Whar-
ton School of Commerce and Finance
at the University of Pennsylvania
may well write on the stock marker,
as he was the first man to give
course on organized security and
produce exchange markets, and he
has embodied in his book the result
of teaching for seventeen years.
The laynan thinks of the stock
market as primarily a rather para
sitical place. little better than faro
hall Its functions a. II under
stood. II perforrs 81 9r the
ultimate produce " the
market. In genera, ii use
full functions. protecuI holder
of securities. dire ow of
capital from unpru jrofit-
able channels and discou future
business conditions. Prof. Huebner
has performed q good work in his
lucid explanation Of this misunder-
stood group OF fnanciers. He shows
that many practices of the exchange
which seem mere gambling have an
economic Justification. OF "hedg-
in for example, he says: 1T is
lily maintained by the leading
u .sJs II The market that without
the hedsing gllvilege farmers would
receive an average price at least 10
per cent. under that prevailing to-
day. Fundamentally, therefore. hedg-
ing is insurance against a real haz-
ard in business. Here. by means of
short selling. type of risk is as
sumed by spectators SO dangerous
that no private insurance company
has ever ventured to underwrite the
same"
Prof. Huebner also describes the
actual organization and operation of
the stock exchange. He next shows
us what the fundamental factors are
which govern the prices of securi-
ties. He attempts to explain finan-
cial panics and business depression.
OF more practical value to the gen.
eral reader are his final chapters, ex-
planning those legal principles and
| usages OF the stock market which
should be familiar to those who deal
with brokers.
VI.
In Foreign Trade Markets and
Methods" Clayton S. Cooper urges
US to enlarge our national influence
by trade. since we are living in an
age of, wider horizons. He says:
what years Of propaganda, literary
| and political, nave failed to accom-
plish in the way of building up a
| merchant marine the war has ac-
complished at single stroke, and
American ships again are found
upon the seven seas Our country
| through the exigencies of war has
become the creditor nation of the
world. and by reason of our char
acteristic material accomplishment
| in technical and industrial construc-
ton, together with our financial
precedence. we have become involved
resr~--sibly In organizations In