Publisher's Notes
• NEW REASON OFFICE: We are pleased to announce that REASON has opened a new business office in the Santa Barbara area. Its telephone number is (805) 964-4310, between 9 AM and 6 PM. Please use this number for all business calls, including subscription problems and all advertising matters.
• GUATEMALA CORRESPONDENT: This month's Foreign Correspondent column marks the first appearance of Fernando Linares of Guatemala. Mr. Linares is a lawyer by profession, and is both an assistant professor of law and a member of the Board of Trustees of Francisco Marroquin University. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Center for Socio-Economic Studies (CEES), an organization which advocates a laissez-faire approach to economics. Mr. Linares has had articles published in several Guatemalan magazines and newspapers. Currently he is on leave from his University post to study economics at UCLA.
• NEW MAILING SYSTEM: As you may have noticed, we have gone to a new computer system for addressing your copies of REASON. Although the new system will give us better service, there are certain restrictions in any large-scale computer system. In particular, we must adhere to regular "closing dates" for data sent in to update the mailing list each month. All changes must be input by the 20th of the previous month. Thus, if you send in a billing or renewal payment near the 20th of the month, the next reminder may be mailed to you anyway. If this happens, just disregard the extra reminder; DON'T write us a nasty letter. If you should receive a second reminder after you have already paid, then let us know so we can trace down the problem. Another limitation is our inability to begin a subscription with a previous issue. All subscriptions begin with the next mailing after the data are entered into the system. If you wish to receive prior issues, they may be ordered from our Back Issue Department.
• UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUES: As announced last month, REASON will publish a special book issue and a double-size financial issue, both scheduled to appear this coming spring. We invite prospective advertisers to reserve space in these issues now, to take advantage of the current low rates.
• ENERGY CRISIS ANALYZED: Two of the basic causes of the current energy crisis are government controls on fuels and environmental restrictions on production facilities. These two issues are analyzed in depth in two REASON articles, "The Power Crisis" by Robert Poole, Jr. (February 1971) and "The New Anti-Science Movement" by Ronald E. Merrill (January 1973). Both of these issues are available from our Back Issue Department at $1.00 each. Quantity prices are available for organizations wishing to purchase in bulk.
Instead of currently-discussed statist proposals such as gas rationing, limiting business hours of shopping centers and gas stations and exhorting people to drive in car pools, at speeds limited to fifty miles per hour (an individual's time is a scarce resource, as well as fuel), libertarian alternatives deserve prominence: Reliance on the price system with deregulation of fuel prices and imports, and deregulation of transportation. Anyone seriously interested in conserving fuel should be familiar with the case for jitneys, as an efficient, low-cost means of public urban transportation. It is typical of government inconsistency that government officials advocate formation of voluntary car pools at the same time that government policies remain in force to fine and imprison those who—without official permission—carry passengers for hire. On the subject of jitneys, see Sandi Rosenbloom's authoritative article, "Taxis and Jitneys: The Case for Deregulation," in REASON's February 1972 issue. Only limited copies of the February 1972 issue are available, at a cost of $1.50 each.
• COMING NEXT MONTH: The February issue of REASON will feature an exclusive interview with libertarian-conservative Congressman Steven D. Symms of Idaho. Symms, the first SIL member elected to Congress, has introduced bills to legalize gold ownership, end the postal monopoly, and abolish the Cost of Living Council. In his interview with REASON, he discusses his views on the political process and the prospects for libertarian reform. In addition, the February issue will contain Professor Ralph Raico's thoughtful discussion of sex education, plus other worthwhile articles and features.