Publisher's Notes
• MONEY COLUMN: This month REASON inaugurates another new feature: a column of advice and commentary on personal, national, and international monetary matters. The author is Davis Keeler, formerly editor and publisher of RESEARCH REVIEW, a respected financial advisory letter. Mr. Keeler is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, and practiced law in Chicago while publishing RESEARCH REVIEW. He is currently on a fellowship at the Institute for Humane Studies in Menlo Park, CA, where he is working on IHS's Liberty and Law project. REASON is proud to present Mr. Keeler's bimonthly column to our readers.
• REASON ASSOCIATES WELCOME: REASON is delighted to welcome the new members of Reason Associates. We plan to publish the names of all new Reason Associates in this column next month. So far, we have received responses from such diverse places as Alaska and Canada in addition to many from California and New York, with points in between.
• REASON ASSOCIATES TOURS: Planning is now under way to lay the groundwork for the initial Reason Associates social events. In order to assist in planning these events, we ask the reaction of all of our readers to the following ideas. Which, if any, of the following activities would you be interested in participating in with a group of other libertarians?
1) Floating Seminar: an overnight cruise from Los Angeles to San Francisco on a Pacific ocean cruise liner, with cocktails, meals, and several featured speakers. Follow up by a day of shopping and/or touring in San Francisco and a flight back to Los Angeles.
2) Princess Party Cruise: a luxury cruise down the Baja California coast from Los Angeles, leaving Friday at 8 PM and returning Monday at 8 AM. Dancing, dining, and partying all weekend long.
3) Catalina Weekend: cruise from Los Angeles to beautiful unspoiled Catalina Island, 26 miles out in the Pacific. Rent bikes or a jeep and tour the island. Leave Saturday morning, return Sunday night.
4) Ten Days in Mexico: tour Mexico City, Acapulco, and Puerto Vallarta for only $250, including air fare, ground travel, and hotels (except meals).
5) Meet European Libertarians: a ten-day tour to London, Paris, and Rome. Air fare, ground transportation, and hotel for about $400.
Send your reactions—and suggestions—to Reason Associates, Box 6151, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. And while you're at it, why not become a Reason Associate yourself. Regular membership is only $25, which will go towards increase REASON promotional activity. See last month's issue for full details on membership benefits.
• LIBERTARIAN PARTY ELECTION RESULTS: The vote count for Libertarian Party candidates in California—all write-in candidates—was not completed in time for inclusion in our Libertarian Correspondent report last month. Semi-official returns from the California Secretary of State's office list the Hospers-Nathan ticket as having received 980 votes. The Libertarian Party slate ran far ahead of other better-financed and more experienced write-in campaigns put on by the Socialist Workers Party (574 votes), the Communist Party (373 votes), the Socialist Labor Party (197 votes) and the Universal Party (21 votes).
The only other Libertarian Party candidate in California was REASON editor, Manuel Klausner, who ran for Congress in the 30th Congressional District.
Because he did not pay the fee ($425) necessary for the votes to be counted, the exact number of the multitude of votes which Klausner received will forever remain a mystery.
To help defray the costs of Klausner's campaign, REASON is offering copies of Klausner's unique campaign brochure at $1 apiece. The supply of these brochures is limited—send in your dollar now, and receive this real collector's item!
• GOLD PRESS CONFERENCE: The National Committee to Legalize Gold held two press conferences on October 24, one in Los Angeles and the other in New York. Both news conferences were well attended by the press and NCLG ideas quite well received. At the Los Angeles press conference, the United States gold regulations were openly challenged by the display of an illegal foreign gold coin. (See the front page story in the Nov. 15 issue of COIN WORLD, the world's largest coin publication.) Authorities were informed of the action in advance but failed to take any action. This marked the fourth time NCLG has challenged the government to enforce the gold regulations by publically displaying illegal gold bullion or coin. NCLG will continue to sponsor public gold displays in an attempt to bring the matter to the courts. If government authorities continue to allow public displays of gold bullion the American people may soon begin to assume the government has no intention of enforcing the gold regulations. The question is: Do government authorities fear that criminal penalties for gold ownership would be declared unconstitutional if the issue was taken to court? NCLG believes the answer is yes. The fact that government authorities have failed to take any action in four NCLG public gold displays tends to bear out their case.
The October 28 New York press conference, held at the Plaza Club, was particularly well covered by the news media. (Some forty members of the press were in attendance.) NCLG advisory board member, Professor Murray Rothbard, made an excellent talk on behalf of gold and economic freedom in general. A display of gold bullion was planned but due to an unfortunate set of circumstances the bar of gold arrived too late to be a part of the press conference. This was particularly disappointing to the directors of NCLG because of the good turnout from the press and because two U.S. Treasury agents were in attendance.
• REASON IN LIBRARIES: The following libraries currently carry REASON.
UNIVERSITIES: Boston University; Duke University; Arizona State University; Columbia University; University of Michigan; University of Oregon; University of Iowa; Western Illinois University; University of California, Santa Barbara; Hunter College, New York; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Idaho State University; University of Wisconsin, Madison; Saddleback Junior College, Mission Viejo, CA; University of San Francisco; University of Chicago Law School; Temple University; LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas; Colorado State University; University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; University of Minnesota; Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA; University of California, Los Angeles; Harvard University; Northeastern University; University of Miami; Kalamazoo College; University of Southern California; Los Angeles City College; University of Toronto, Canada; University of Illinois, Urbana; UCLA Bio-Med Library; Washington University; California State San Jose University Library; Eisenhower College, Seneca Falls, NY.
PUBLIC: California State Library; Los Angeles Public Library; Gordon Nash Library, New Hampton, NH; Denver, Colorado Public Library; Iowa State Traveling Library; McIntire Public (2 branches)—Charlottesville, VA; Brooks Memorial Library—Brattleboro, VT; Salt Lake City Public Library; Fairview Park Public Library, Fairview Park, OH; San Jose, CA Public Library.
If your alma mater's or hometown's library is not included on these lists, why isn't it? A library subscription would make an excellent gift! The next twelve issues of REASON can be sent to the library of your choice at the special gift rate of $8. To take advantage of this special rate, please send your check to REASON before March 1, 1973.
• LIBRARY GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS: The preceding list of library subscribers has recently been enlarged by the gift subscriptions from the following individuals: Warren Vining, III: Westmont College, Santa Barbara; Bruce Lagasse: University of California at Los Angeles; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lindsay: Harvard University, Northeastern University, University of Miami.
• COMING NEXT MONTH: Next month, REASON is publishing a significant article by Murray Rothbard discussing how the free market can provide court systems and police protection—free of coercive taxation. The article is based on a chapter from Rothbard's forthcoming book, FOR A NEW LIBERTY, which will be published by The MacMillan Company this spring. FOR A NEW LIBERTY sets forth a comprehensive, systematic application of libertarian analysis to current problems, ranging from education and highways, to police and the courts, to foreign policy, and welfare, conservation, ecology and more! You won't want to miss REASON's March issue—so if you are not already a REASON subscriber, send in $9 now for the next twelve issues of REASON.