[Letter] Jan.6,1888,Smith College [to F.H. Giddings]

Jan. 6, 1888, Smith College.

Dear Mr. Giddings,
          I will give what
data I have on the
question of rates. Tutoring
of students by resident
graduates is done at 75
per hour. Miss Hersey gave
some private lessons at
$2.00 per hour. Your work
will be
by mere market standards
amply worth that
latter am't. If you were to make
it $l.00 per hour you
would be throwing off 50%
of the market value at least.
 How would it do to take
$1.00 as minimum and
$2.00 as maximum and
adopt the golden mean
say $1.50? Even then if
you have much private
study that you do not want
to do for other reasons, you
will be out of pocket. For
the mere hour of instruction
$1.50 would not be bad, would it?
 Concerning subjects I
should say that just now
happens to be a "good day
for tariff articles," and that
on a market basis they would
come first. Trusts I should
put next and Economic
legislation third.
 How would it
do again to hit on the
mean and study and write
on Trusts? That would
combine scientific work of
permanent value with
income-paying work. I should
think you plentifully
equipped for all the subjects,
but should say that relatively
to competitors, you
were best prepared for work
on Trusts. The facts concerning
them are not known, and
some one is liable to publish
the facts who has no
grounding in principles,
and does not know
how to interpret his data.
Such is my off hand
impression. I notice that
the Nov. Contemporary Review
has given me a notice
calling attention to the
meager matter
on the subject of combinations
as a special feature of the
book (Phil of W.). It gives
our inkling of the manner
in which they would regard
a fuller treatment of that
subject.

        Yours Very Truly,
              J. B. Clark