Book review; [News items];

              Bulletin HASKINS & SELLS 55
.
Book Review
Edie, Lionel D., and others. The Stabil­ization
of Business. (New York, The
Macmillan Company, 1923. 400 p.)
This is a timely book which is worthy
of engaging the attention of every busi­ness
man and of every individual who
attempts to serve business men. Wesley
C. Mitchell first states the problem of
controlling business cycles in a very clear
and readable way. Some of the factors
which affect the cycle, such as labor,
production, marketing, transportation and
money, are then discussed in their rela­tion
to the cycle by several well known
economists, among whom are Fisher, Com­mons,
Seligman, and Andrews. What they
say, call it theory if you will, is made
understandable to the man of average
intelligence. The crowning glory of the
book is found quite appropriately in the
last chapter, where that apostle of good
common sense, Henry S. Dennison, shows
how some of the theory has been applied
in the business enterprise of which he is
the head.
The chapter by Edie, on co-ordination
of production and marketing, is of particu­lar
interest to cost men. Full acknowledg­ment
is accorded therein to cost data as a
basic element in planning, controlling,
and administering. But as the author
points out, "To the extent that business
informs itself ahead of time of the price
turns, it is possible to retard or accelerate
production in such a manner as to stabilize
its profit margins."
The watchword of Dennison's discus­sion
of the applied technique of stabiliza­tion
is, "In time of peace prepare for
war." Save your advertising money when
times are booming; spend it when the
decline begins. Check credits severely
when the demand is heavy; be more
lenient when business begins to tighten.
Take something out of wages and profits
when they are high to provide for un­employment
when it comes. These are
but a few of the practical suggestions
which have the authority of successful
use.
It may be truthfully said that the book
is full of red meat from cover to cover.
The contents are as intriguingly interesting
as they are timely.
Our office at Saint Louis will remove
on or about July 1, 1923, to the Planters
Building, Saint Louis, Missouri, where
larger and better space will facilitate the
conduct of our practice in that city.