Editor's Notes

MAKING NEWS

Our November cover story on federal grants and the United Farm Workers union has created quite a stir. Syndicated columnist Nick Thimmesch devoted his October 25 column to the article, calling it a "first-rate piece of investigative reporting" and referring to REASON as "a little-known but valuable magazine published in Santa Barbara, California." After reviewing the many outrages documented in the article, Thimmesch concludes: "Most foundations pursuing the public interest would consider it a sacrilege to look into anything Cesar Chavez does. I imagine that if [author] Newman had gone, say, to the Fund for Investigative Journalism for a grant to pursue this story, she would have been laughed out of its offices. As it turned out, REASON paid her way and we can all be glad for it. Investigative journalism should be a tool, not a cause for those who only rake muck on one side of the street." The column appeared in 86 newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Copies of the November issue were hand-delivered to every member of the US Senate and House of Representatives. Rep. Henry Hyde (R.-Ill.) has declared: "I am asking GAO for a complete audit investigation. It is outrageous that taxpayers' money is used for a union's purposes." NBC television signed author Patty Newman to a consulting contract, to help them prepare a story on the UFW and federal grants for their news magazine "Prime Time." And Newman and Cesar Chavez faced off on a 90-minute radio talk show on Chicago's WIND late in October.

Thus, the first project of the Reason Foundation's Investigative Journalism Fund has turned out to be quite successful. Contributions of $3,500 have been received thus far for this fund; our goal is to raise $12,500—enough to finance an ongoing program in hard-hitting, investigative reports. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Also, as a result of considerable demand, we have printed up a supply of reprints of the UFW article. They are available in quantities of 1-99 for 50 cents each, 100-499 for 40 cents each, 500-999 for 30 cents each, and 1,000 or more for 25 cents each. Write Reason Reprints, Box 40105, Santa Barbara, CA 93103, enclosing payment with your order.

NEW THINK TANK

Europe is home to a new free-market-oriented think tank. Named the European Institute, it has been founded as a center for the study of issues relating to Europe's political and economic integration. Its initial brochure says it will be "dedicated to preserving and extending social and economic freedom" and that its "solutions will tend to opt for those which decrease government interventions and taxation." This is especially important, in view of the fact that there are several well-funded government research centers doing Common Market studies from an interventionist perspective.

A key organizer of the Institute is Michael van Notten, REASON's correspondent for the Netherlands. Its directors include Antony Fisher, president of England's pioneering Institute of Economic Affairs, and the advisory board includes Prof. Arthur Shenfield and Prof. Steven Littlechild, among others. The institute's inaugural meeting was held November 21. More information is available from van Notten at Avenue de la Joyeuse Entree 1-5 (b20), B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

MORE REPRINTS

A number of REASON articles have been reprinted elsewhere in recent months. William Field and Donald Boudreaux's "The Cost of Conscription" (August) was entered into the Congressional Record by Congressman Ron Paul. Tom Hazlett's "Pleading Jim Jones' Case" (July) is to be reprinted in Conservative Digest this fall. And four older articles are being reprinted in textbooks. Tibor Machan's "Deregulation Is a Moral Issue" (March 1978) is being included in a political science anthology edited by Ellen F. Paul; Robert Poole's "Legislating Unemployment" (December 1977) will be included in the second edition of Academic Press's Coursebook for Economics: Private and Public Choice. And two articles on US drug laws from our January 1978 issue—Thomas Szasz's "Drug Prohibition" and Sheldon Richman's "Rockefeller's Draconian Drug Laws"—have been included in the Social Issues Resources Series volume on drugs, a collection of readings for high school and college classes.