Editor's Notes

– NOTORIETY. The February 13 issue of Esquire devoted several feature articles to the neo-conservative movement, with Irving Kristol dominating the front cover. The articles are not very enlightening for anyone generally familiar with current intellectual trends (though the readers of Esquire may like this carnival-style treatment of ideas and intellects).

One thing we must note in passing is that in the magazine's "Neoconservative Establishment Chart" a place was made for two extremes that supposedly flank the neoconservative middle on either side, namely, "The New Right" and "The New Left." Somehow, by "new right" Esquire apparently meant the libertarian intellectual community. Accordingly, we found ourselves (Poole, Machan, Klausner) listed, along with REASON contributors such as James Davidson, Joe Cobb, Yale Brozen, Murray Rothbard, David Friedman, Robert Nozick, Thomas Szasz, Ed Crane, Roy Childs, and Charles Koch. The chart also listed as "Libertarian Elders" Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, and F.A. Hayek. Somehow, poor William F. Buckley, Jr., was dropped into the middle of this gaggle of infidels, as "The Last Tory."

– AWARD. Speaking of Hayek, the good professor has just been awarded a $1,000 prize for distinguished scholarship in law and economics. The award is given annually by the University of Miami's Law and Economics Center, headed by contributing editor Henry G. Manne. It was presented to Professor Hayek at a meeting in Miami on February 15. Now affiliated with the University of Freiburg, Austria, Hayek held a chair at the University of Chicago for 12 years and has also taught at the London School of Economics. He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974 and is presently completing the third volume of his Law, Legislation and Liberty. He was the founder and president for 12 years of the Mont Pelerin Society.

– IN PRINT. Readers may be interested to learn of a new version of an old friend now back in print. R.W. Grant's now-classic poem, "Tom Smith and His Incredible Bread Machine," originally included in Grant's 1966 volume The Incredible Bread Machine (which, in turn, was the inspiration for World Research, Inc.'s book and movie of the same name), is now available by itself in a handsome, illustrated hardcover volume. It's available at $5.95 from Quandary House, Box 773, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. Tell them REASON sent you.

– INTERNSHIPS. The Reason Foundation will have available one or more summer internships for qualified students, preferably students engaged in journalism. If you are such a student, and would like to learn first-hand about the editorial, circulation, advertising, and promotional aspects of putting out a variety of publications, please send us a letter outlining your qualifications and explaining why you'd like to spend from 4 to 12 weeks (your choice) at the Reason Foundation in Santa Barbara this summer. Internships carry no stipend but will provide much valuable learning experience in an intellectually stimulating environment.

– BOOKSTORES, NEWSSTANDS. People often ask why REASON is not available in more retail locations. We have had neither the time nor the personnel, to date, to set up a large-scale distribution program. One of the projects we are now considering, however, is doing just that. And you may be able to assist us. If you have a favorite bookstore or newsstand that doesn't carry REASON, why not show the proprietor a few copies and assess his interest? If he is interested, let us know and we'll get in touch with him. Thanks very much.

– POSTAL BLUES. The General Accounting Office has published some amazing figures on the government's postal service. From 1970 to 1977 the number of postal employees declined 11.6 percent. In this same seven-year period total salary and benefit payments went up 100.6 percent'"meaning the average postal worker gained a 127.3 percent increase in pay in just seven years. Think about that the next time you lick a 15 cent stamp and hear the line about a postal monopoly being necessary to keep prices low and prevent consumer rip-offs.

– ACKNOWLEDGMENT. The cover illustration on last month's issue'"showing an orbiting solar power satellite under construction'"was used with permission of the Boeing Company.