Publisher's Notes

• NEW POETRY DEPARTMENT: We are pleased to announce the appointment of Wendy McElroy as REASON's new poetry editor. Ms. McElroy, who is pursuing a career as a poet and literary theorist, also co-edits THE CASTILIAN with Jeff Riggenbach. THE CASTILIAN is a literary quarterly featuring such writers as Ray Bradbury, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anne Sexton, as well as work by the two editors. Subscriptions to the quarterly are available at $5 a year from P.O. Box 75182, Los Angeles, CA 90075.

Ms. McElroy's work has appeared in past issues of REASON and has been the most popular poetry we have published. Assisting Ms. McElroy as Associate Poetry Editor is Clarica Scott, manager of Rimstar Publication Services, whose poetry has also appeared in REASON.

• TO THE MEMORY OF A RESPECTED FRIEND: Libertarians throughout the world were saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Dr. F.A. Harper on April 21. Baldy Harper was a respected and tireless advocate in the cause of freedom. His efforts in establishing the Institute for Humane Studies and in participating in the significant research and educational work of I.H.S. were prime contributions to the furtherance of human liberty. Baldy was selected as a REASON PROFILE in our January 1973 issue. His sudden death from a heart attack is a tragic loss to all of us.

Following Baldy's death, the I.H.S. Board of Directors determined "to continue the work of the Institute in the spirit Baldy founded it." The Board elected Charles G. Koch as president, with K.S. Templeton, Jr., vice-president and secretary/treasurer, and George H. Pearson, vice-president. To further the purposes of the Institute, the Board has established the Floyd Arthur Harper Memorial Fund. Contributions to the Fund may be sent to the Institute at 1134 Crane Street, Menlo Park CA 94025.

• ARTICLES WANTED: The editors of REASON are seeking articles on the following topics:
(1) The commercial feasibility of space exploration: to what extent are various sorts of space-program activities (communications satellites, multispectral scanning, manned space stations, moon landings, etc.) worth their cost? We are seeking someone with appropriate technical and economic background to prepare such an analysis, in the context of critically examining NASA's role in spending taxpayers' money. Hopefully, the article would include a plan for phasing out NASA and transferring its viable functions (if any) to the marketplace.
(2) An analysis of health-care delivery as a large-scale business activity. Prepaid, group-practice medical care, along the lines of California's private Kaiser-Permanente system, has been advocated by many as the salvation of private-enterprise medicine, but opposed by others (under the HMO label) as destructive. Leaving aside the issue of government HMO subsidies, what are the pros and cons of prepaid group practice as a business enterprise? Would widespread formation of HMOs increase or decrease the likelihood of socialized medicine in America?
(3) A defense of corporate success. Recently IBM, Xerox, and Kodak have come under intensive antitrust attack. Each firm dominates its industry, apparently because of demonstrated innovation and competence. The editors seek an analysis of any (or all) of these cases by someone knowledgeable in each firm's product area, examining the firm's history and achievements, and discussing both the substance of the attacks on each, and the apparent motivations of the attackers.

Prospective authors should write first for an Author Information Sheet for details on format, submission, and remuneration.

• MACHAN SPEAKS IN INDIANA: Associate Editor Tibor Machan delivered four lectures in Indianapolis during March. Speaking to the Indiana University/Purdue University chapter of the Academic Society of Individualists, Dr. Machan spoke on "Altruist Morality vs. Individual Rights in America," and "The Powell Memorandum and the Peril of the Free Market in America." Speaking to the I.U./P.U. Philosophy Club, Machan talked on "A Libertarian View of Human Rights" and "An Introduction to Objectivism for Philosophy Students."

• GOLD INVESTMENTS 1973 was the name of a seminar held on 1 April in Chicago. Over 200 people attended the seminar, which was co-sponsored by the Libertarian Party of Illinois and the two featured speakers, Walter R. Perschke (a gold coin expert) and Donald J. Hoppe (author of books on gold coins and gold stocks). The speakers were quite pessimistic about the future of the domestic and foreign economy, and offered timely advice on gold as a means of self-protection. The Libertarian Party sold and distributed large quantities of literature, to the mostly nonlibertarian audience in attendance.

• ILS CONFERENCE: The Institute for Libertarian Studies held its annual Southern Seminar Conference April 21, at the Ramada Inn in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. A thought-provoking seminar on education in libertarianism, the conference drew approximately 130 people with representation from a number of states and the major cities in Texas. Among the speakers addressing the conference were prominent scholars Dr. W.H. Huttand Dr. John Hospers.

• IMPORT QUOTAS PAMPHLET: With the proposed Hartke-Burke bill threatening to set off a new wave of protectionism, the time is ripe for educating the public about the merits of free trade. An excellent free pamphlet on this subject, titled "Consumers Beware of Import Restrictions!" is available from the Consumer Education Council on World Trade, Suite 305, 1629 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006. The pamphlet points out that current import restrictions cost the average consumer between $200 and $300 each year, explains the basic advantages of free trade, and points out the dangers of a return to protectionism. CECWT is a joint venture of a number of organizations, including Consumers Union, the American Association of University Women, the YWCA, the National Council of Negro Women, and the National Council of Churches.

• CANADIAN SUBSCRIBERS should be advised that the Canadian postal monopoly is serious about the use of the postal zone code on second class mail. They have recently begun sending back to REASON as "undeliverable" copies of the magazine whose address labels did not include the code. Please let us know your postal zone code, to ensure delivery of REASON.

• COMING NEXT MONTH: REASON's August issue will include a thoughtful analysis of the views of the prominent psychiatrist, Thomas Szasz, authored by M.L. Zupan. Also scheduled for next month is John Zeigler's bold new proposal to cut taxes, entitled the "Pay-What-You-Want Tax Plan." Zeigler is Executive Director of SPEAK OUT! and is publishing this innovative plan in REASON on behalf of SPEAK OUT!

You can be assured of receiving the August issue by becoming a REASON subscriber. If you haven't yet entered your subscription to the most widely read libertarian publication in America, act now! To receive the next twelve issues of REASON send your check for $9 today to REASON, P.O. Box 6151, Santa Barbara, CA 93111.