The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-11-28
LIBERTY BOND LESSONS By HOWARD STEER Of HinckS Bros. $ Go. LESSON NO. 8 Conversion Some Minor
 Points
By HOWARD STEER Of Hincks Bros. $ Co.

N0drly every CdIu SaHlO iie1o ~" trumps. The rules about playing them differ according to the game and the 1 hands one holds. Sometimes it's wise to hold them until your opponent | shows his strength and then again it's l best to lead them right out, highest ] card first and then on down, cleaning | up all you can, and trusting to luck, | your partner, and a few little ones in your own hand, to do the rest.
 Now in this little game of give and take between First and Second Liber- ! ty Bonds we have led trumps and the highest we hold-the taxation feature the joker, if you please to call it such. Ct may indeed prove to be joker to the unwary) There are few pretty fair cards left, however, in the 3 1-2 per cent. hand, and even if our first. play didn't weaken you, some of these later ones may.
 Card No. 1. Liberty 3 1-2's can't gossip. Liberty As can.
 The amount of your taxes present or future, may not be giving you any concern. But if you are the kind that likes to keep your own affairs pretty much to yourself, don't forget that you needn't whisper even to your own mother that you own any Liberty 8 1-2's. If, however, you have to ren- der an income return to the govern ment you will have to disclose your ownership of Liberty As in case you own as much as s5,000 of them, and possibly even if you own less. Inci- dentally, this is perhaps a good place
 to remind you that you will have to render such a return if you are single and get as much as $1,00O a year, or if you are married and you and your wife Cor husband) together have an- nual income amounting to $2,000 or. more. So in making that return re- member that you needn't mention
 your 12's but that, under the above conditions, you must list your As.
 Card No. 2. The superior conver- sion privilege of Liberty 3 1-2's.
 This is a much misunderstood sub ject. Here is your chance to get strengthened out on it.
 Bonds of both the First and Second Liberty Loans have a liberal conver- sion privilege. But the privilege is not the same for each kind of bonds.
 Take the case of the 4 per cent. bonds. If, before the end of the war with Germany, the United States puts forth another issue of bonds bearing more than per cent. interest, you may exchange your per cent. bond for one of the new ones. And you will have six months from the date of the new ones to make the exchange. But, if there should be something about that new issue that you don't like-some ething that makes you de-
 eide not to convert, or if you forget to convert, or if for any one of a dozen
 reasons you don't exchange your 4 per cent. bond for the new kind, then your chance is done for good. No l matter how many more issues might come out, no matter how high a rate they may bear, you cannot exchange
 your 4 per cent. bond for any one of them.
 In other words, if you want to get a chance at the later issues as they may | come along, you must exchange your per cent. bond into the next one that may bear a higher rate. You can't skip an issue and retain the privilege.
 But how about the 1-2 per cent. Liberty Bonds? We'll, as they say in | the seats of learning, the sky is the | limit! There are no restrictions on the privilege. You may exchange into | any higher rate issue that comes out during the war, taking six months, if you wish, to make up your mind, and you don't lose your privilege if you
 
 these As, for instance, and your right
 to exchange into the next one still holds good. Or you may let that third issue go by, and the fourth and the fifth and the tenth, if there are that
 many, and your privilege is still good for the eleventh.
 Now that difference in privilege is
 worth thinking about. Suppose the third Liberty bonds bear a higher rate than per cent, but also has some feature that proves to be very un- popular-something about taxation, for instance. You can't be sure that there will be fourth issue and you can't be sure that there will not be
 one. In order to get it if it does come, you must exchange your per cent. Second Liberty ond for the third is ] sue with the unpopular feature. And
 then if the fourth issue never comes l you have the unpopular bond on your | hands.
 True, you can sell it, but that wasn't your idea in buying. You
 bought for investment, and would
 really prefer to keep your bond. You understand, of course, that the 1 Unpopular feature is all a matter of l imagination so far and not likely to
 appear. Uncle Sam isn't likely to do
 anything foolish at such a time as
 this, and yet Congress has been
 known to stop short of perfect wis | domi
 So think it over between now and
 Friday when we shall spread the rest | of our cards on the table.
 l -a@r -~-N