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Warner Winslow Gardner's notes on The Institutional Theory of John R. Commons (1933) are published here for the first time, as far as the present editors can determine. The typewritten manuscript was found among the Robert Lee Hale papers at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University.² Gardner (1909–2003) was born in Richmond, Indiana. He went to Westtown School, a Quaker preparatory school in Pennsylvania for five years, and then to Swarthmore College, graduating in 1930. To escape unemployment, as he stated in his recorded reminiscences, Gardner took graduate work on a fellowship at Rutgers University, receiving a Master of Arts Degree in economics in 1931.³ From there he went to Columbia Law School, graduating in 1934. Quite significantly, Gardner attributed his decision of shifting from economics to law to his reading of Commons’ Legal Foundation of Capitalism:It would be 1930–31 and, in the course of that year, I read and was much impressed by a book by John R. Commons at the University of Wisconsin in which he tried to weave together economics and law. I thought, “aha,” here is a field that had real attraction and real potentiality. I ended up with an MA at the end of that year. Instead of going for a Ph.D. in economics, I thought I’d go to law school, study law and try to weave the two disciplines together into a meaningful structure. (Gardner, 1972, p. 16).

IN REPLY to Clive Bingley's oblique enquiry (NLW May 1978) I can tell him that I am not Ken Hornsby, the author of a forthcoming Robert Hale ‘pot‐boiler’ entitled Is that the library speaking? Clive's well‐known aversion to the Post Office and his determination to deny it, except in extreme circumstances, the sale of a stamp or two minutes local telephone time, must be hardening with the years. However, inter‐columnar correspondence, though a little slower, is surer—and it does help to fill a few inches.

The first issue that requires examination is the question of how we got to this point to begin with. The answer to this question, of course, is a function of who “we” happens to be. The lawyers can blame Oliver Wendell Holmes (1897, p. 469), who made “the man of the future … the man of statistics and the master of economics.” The future, it would seem, is now. Legal Realist/Institutionalist lawyer-economists such as Walton Hamilton and Robert Lee Hale, who were economists on law school faculties before that tradition got started at Chicago, had something to do with this too, although neither they nor law-minded economists such as John R. Commons can be given credit or blame for the economic analysis of law – at least not directly.³ The birth of the economic analysis of law is very much a Chicago story – Coase, Becker, and Posner – although we must allow that Guido Calabresi also had more than a bit to do with these things.⁴

This case study was stimulated by involvement in a teacher‐internship programme in which the induction of beginning teachers into the profession was very inadequately guided. Their easy acceptance of simplistic approaches to teaching, with minimal accountability for results led the researchers to an appraisal of the process of teacher preparation from the vantage point of cultural induction, known to anthropologists as rites of passage. The study concluded that the inadequacies as well as the possibilities for improving teacher induction were highlighted by such a frame of reference.

The shortage of grain, reflected by an increase in the rate of extraction in milling and then by the rationing of bread, has fully aroused the attention which it warrants. Avoidance of wastage, always important, now becomes imperative. In view of this, notes in connection with the occurrence of “rope” in bread which were recently made available to members of the baking industry by the Ministry of Food may be even more important than the warnings issued in previous years. The disease is associated with warm weather and develops most rapidly at about 100°F. The first of the symptoms is usually the development in the bread of a faint fruity odour, resembling that of an over‐ripe pineapple, which becomes more intense as the bread gets older. Discolouration and softening of the crumb next occurs, so that on attempting to cut the bread it tends to stick to the knife. When the crumb is pulled apart, fine gelatinous threads may be formed. Although an outbreak of “rope” is unpleasant, there is fortunately little or no evidence that such an occurrence is dangerous to health. The disease can of course occur in cakes and similar bakery products, but outbreaks are practically always confined to bread. The comparative immunity of cakes is probably due to a generally lower moisture content, which does not encourage development of the disease. Another possibility is that fruit, where present, may cause the development of a certain amount of acid, and acid conditions discourage the activity of the organism responsible for the trouble. “Rope” in bread is caused by the spore‐forming bacterium B. mesentericus. It has been suggested the disease is due to the decomposition of the starch by amylase, in which the organism is rich. There are several strains of this bacterium, which is of widespread occurrence—it is found, for example, in the soil. All kinds of flour, whether of high or of low extraction, and including those derived from cereals other than wheat, are possible carriers of the disease. However, carefully‐conducted experiments have shown that the “rope” spore content of the flour, unless particularly high, is of minor significance when outbreaks of “rope” occur. Far more important are the conditions under which the bread is made and under which it is treated after baking. It has been found that “rope” formation is more likely to develop in the dense crumb associated with under‐fermentation than in loaves in which the crumb is well‐developed. Use of sufficient yeast to cause the fermentation to be vigorous has also been found to be beneficial. The initial development of the organism appears to be at the expense of the soluble nitrogen compounds, sugars, etc., present in the bread. When these materials are exhausted, attack upon the protein of the loaf proceeds. A possibility is that prolonged fermentation causes a partial transformation of the gluten into nitrogenous substances which are more easily assimilated by the bacteria, whereas in a short, vigorous fermentation the formation of such substances may not occur to the same extent. Occurrences of the disease may be expected to be more severe with high extraction flours or whole‐meals, since higher extraction gives a medium which is better suited for the growth of the “rope”‐causing organism. All the members of the mesentericus group are characterised by the formation of spores which are extremely difficult to destroy by heating. For example, the spores can resist the temperature of boiling water for hours on end. Since the interior of a loaf probably does not exceed this temperature whilst in the oven, many of the spores will escape destruction. The spores will thus pass through the operation of baking and, if conditions are favourable, the development of the disease will start at or near the middle of the loaf. Since the damp, soggy crumb associated with an under‐baked loaf is conducive to the development of “rope,” thorough baking is a definite advantage. Owing to the fact that the “rope” organism requires warmth for its growth, rapid and thorough cooling of the bread in well‐ventilated cooling rooms is an important preventative factor. Spacing upon the racks should be such that the loaves do not touch, and the latter should not be packed whilst warm into delivery vans. Cleanliness is also of vital importance. Odd scraps of bread, dried dough, etc., may contain the spores of the organism and contact of the loaves with such material will lead to contamination which may bring to nought the preventative efforts made in other directions. Since the “rope” organism does not like acidity, addition to the bread dough of acidic substances is a useful deterrent. Acetic acid and acid calcium phosphate are particularly useful in this connection, since the requisite concentrations of these substances do not cause deterioration in bread quality. Bakeries with sackages below 100 per week may obtain without permit acetic acid solution of strength suitable for immediate addition. For larger users, the acid is supplied in a more concentrated form against a permit obtainable from the Directorate of Molasses and Industrial Alcohol, and is diluted before adding to the mixing. Though acetic acid or acid calcium phosphate may be used to suppress outbreaks or as preventatives during exceptional conditions, supplies of these agents are insufficient to enable them to be used continually as general preventatives during hot weather. For this purpose, the “acid dough” process of the British Arkady Co. Ltd., which requires no special materials, is recommended by the Ministry of Food. A small batch of “starter” dough is first prepared and is then incorporated into a larger mixing of “acid dough.” Portions of the latter are then added to the main mixing of bread dough, no alteration in the other constituents of the latter being required. Once the “acid dough” has been prepared, daily supplies may be kept up for months. A portion of the dough from the previous day is used as a starter for the new mixing, and from the second day onwards the “acid dough” becomes a fairly‐stabilised producer of acid.

X = multiple interpretations