Evening star., 1937-01-30


North Carolina PreSs.)
And thus q century Of human folly
IS set down according to Philip Cue
dalla-but century not more foolish
than any other, a ridiculous show. to
change the figure, but not worse than
customary and by no means devoid
Of interest. Thus, in other words,
the way Of the world.
It is a book full of promise Of
to the philosophic, and,
withal, so studded with the worth
while" that it must also please and
aatter the merely serious. One looks
for it to appear on the best seller
lists with the shortest possible delay.
1t seems likely to please every sort Of
customer.
INSURANCE AND BANKING+EX-
AMINAT1ONS AND ACCOUNT
ING. By Herbert L. Davis. Bos-
ton: Christopher Publishing
House.
WRITTEN for bankers, attorneys
and accountants, this treatise
stresses the duties and obligations
incident to trusteeship, suretyship
and other vital problems relating to
insurance and banking. The author
considers investment and speculation,
sound life insurance, fraudulent
claims, codes, valuation Of securities,
gambling with other peoples money,
dishonest financing, self awarded
contracts, collusive appraisals and
rules for fair market value of realty.
In a most comprehensive manner
Herbert L. Davis takes up insurance
accounting, amortization of securities,
real estate transaction relating to
mortgages, as we'll as receivership
proceedings and flduciary relation
ships. It Is not light reading and is
not intended to be, but every page
reflects its value to attorneys, ac-
countants and examiners who meet
these problems almost daily.
Interest in Insurance and Bank
ing Is intensified by the fact that
the author is a Washingtonian very
widely known In the legal profession
and the insurance field. He rendered
service in support Of the life
insurance code which was passed by
Congress and approved by President
Roosevelt while Mr. Davis was SUPER
lntendent OF insurance in the District
Of Columbia. The code has since
been adopted by many States.
A former referee and court auditor
for the Supreme Court of the Dis
trict Of Columbia, Mr.. Davis has had
unusual legal training and expert
ence with banking, insurance and
accounting. As a member of the
faculty of the National University
School Of Law. he has taught many
Of the subjects about which he writes
30 lnformatively. Much of his ac-
tive legal work had to do with ex-
posing dishonest practices. About
such cases, he speaks most vigorously.
citing many United States Supreme
Court controlling decisions and guild
ing precedents.
His work Is certain to be widely
read by bankers engaged especially
n trust service, by insurance leaders.
and by accountants in their efforts
oetter to protect the investing public
'nd insurance policy holders. AS Sec.
'etary Of Commerce Daniel c. Roper
says In letter to the author. the
book covers a field which has been
only inadeQuately treated in the past.
e. C. s.
The RECOVERY PROBLEM IN THE
UNITED STATES. Washington:
The BrookingS Institution.
The worst depression in the history
OF the modern world is about
'ver-at least psychologically. Ger
'ainly its trough has been passed, and
his Nation, together with the world
1t large, Is a long way on the up-
turn Of the economic curve.
Perhaps 1t still Is too early to I'm.
angle the complex causes which
brought 1t about-economic, political,
psychological and spiritual-or to put
nnger definitely on what Is bringing
about recovery. In q series of publica-
lions which already are classics in the
history Of economic thought, the
Brookings Institution specialists have
attempted to appraise on q wholly OBJ
Iective basis the economic forces which
plunged the Nation into the depths Of
despair. They have gathered masses
of fundamental statistics and digested
them, and in these statistics the
trends clearly are discernible.
Probably there will be economic de-
pressions in the future. If they are
70 be prevented the forces causing
them must be gotten under control,
and the only way to do this is by the
same method that other forces of ma
ture have been brought under control
Tor the benefit Of man. This has been
BY the patient gathering and classif1-
cation Of facts and the synthesis Of
conclusions from them. Economic
forces are fundamentally no different
han physical forces-only probably
more complicated.
The primitive magician made little
'S0A PASeASoO 06o&AAoV 4A0Vu4S Wy W6te
ing his wand and saying "boo-boo" at
dood and wind. Neither will the pol
tician, following essentially the same
accomplish much by boo
,ooing economic winds and floods in
IN effort to scare away the evil spirits
which cause them.
Whether their immediate conclu-
ions are right or wrong, the Brook
ngs specialists have laid the founda-
ion for Q much sounder attack. Now
hey apply the same methods to the
current problem Of recovery. What Is
for It and what will accel.
rate It?
THEY find, in the first place, that
= recovery Is far from complete and
bat than - slsne1ts q tnlsahilit1