Masters of the Wilderness. By Charles Bert Reed, M. D. (Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1914. Pp. 144.)
This beautifully printed and illustrated little book should find many readers among those who care for the beginnings of American history. Its scope and purpose are well revealed by the brief table of contents as follows: The Masters of the Wilderness, a study of the Hudson's Bay Company from its origin to modern times; The Beaver Club, some social aspects of the fur trade; A Dream of Empire, the adventures of Tonty in old Louisiana.
Dr. Reed has assembled his material in very readable and entertaining fashion. For the benefit of those who wish to pursue the subjects further he appends a brief but serviceable bibliography. The book is one of the Chicago Historical Society's Fort Dearborn Series.
Edmond S. Meany.
The United States Federal Internal Tax History from 1861 to 1871. By Harry Edwin Smith, Ph. D., Instructor in Economics, Cornell University. (Boston, and New York; Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914. Pp. XIX, 357.)
This useful and valuable volume is one in the series which owes its existence to the generosity of Hart, Schaffner and Marx, of Chicago, and the one which received the first prize of $1,000 for the year 1912. Dr. Smith came to the University of Washington this fall to take up work in connection with the newly established courses in commerce. His book is a carefully worked out and scholarly presentation of a difficult and involved subject. The treatment of the subject by Dr. Smith has made easy for the student to get access to the facts for they are all grouped about the separate and single phases of the subject. Following an introduction a chapter is devoted to each subject, as for example the "Direct Tax," "The Income Tax," "The Inheritance Tax," and "Stamp Taxes."
The closing chapters, XI and XII, present concretely "The Influence of Internal Taxes on the Import Duties," and the "Administration" of the whole system. Students interested in these subjects owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Smith for the masterly and painstaking way he has made available a world of badly scattered material. Nineteen statistical tables give in graphic way the statistical side of the study. An exhaustive bibliography and an adequate index complete the volume.
Edward McMahon.