Excerpt from Selected Readings in Economics This volume aims to supply the collateral reading needed for a general course of study in economics. It makes no efiort to present selections upon all the topics treated in such a course, but endeavors merely to provide supplementary material, histor ical, descriptive, and theoretical, Which will enrich the instruo tion ofiered. The footnotes to the several selections disclose the extent of the editor's indebtedness to various authors Who have consented to the reproduction of passages from their works. In this place, however, acknowledgment should be made of the helpful advice and criticism received from the editor's col league, Professor F. W. Taussig, of Harvard University. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.