Book Reviews; Additions to the library, May, 1918;

              Bulletin HASKINS & SELLS 35
Book Reviews
Adams, Henry C , American Railway
Accounting. (New York, Henry Holt &
Company, 1918. 465 p.)
One picks up this volume with mingled
feelings of pleasure and regret. The first
that finally there has appeared a book on
railway accounting even though as the title
states it is only "a commentary." It is
with regret that one pauses to realize that
the usefulness of the book may be limited
by the ever narrowing field of interest in
railway accounting which government oper­ation
is imposing.
The author is well qualified through his
long experience (1887-1911) in charge of
the statistical and accounting work of the
Interstate Commerce Commission to pre­pare
a book on the subject of railway ac­counting.
He discusses the subject under
the following heads: The task of the rail­way
accountant; the structure of a system
of railway accounts; construction costs
prior to operation; construction accounts
subsequent to operation; operating ex­penses;
operating revenues; the income ac­count;
profit and loss accounts; general bal­ance
sheet accounts. There are in addition
three appendices reprinting the classifica­tions
promulgated by the Interstate Com­merce
Commission. The chapter on con­struction
costs prior to operation is strong
and convincing and is a distinct contribu­tion
to the discussion on capital vs. revenue
charges.
Eggleston, DeWitt C. Problems in Cost
Accounting. (New York, D. Appleton &
Company, 1918. 349 p.)
A new book, treating in a novel but prac­tical
manner that field of accounting en­deavor
which is now being stressed. The
topics discussed are the usual ones: produc­tion,
material records and costs, labor rec­ords,
costs, and wage systems; overhead
and its distribution; the application of cost
accounting in particular industries, chiefly
leather and textile.