Year: 1878

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1t can not be compelled TO fulfill its obligations,
and the safety OF it's bonds depends upon the
integrity OF the people Of the State. Cn-
fortunately some OF the thirty eight brilIants
in our national escutcheon are ethicslly very
dim, The same necessity for discrimination
holds with greater emphasis with respect TO
cities counties, and towns: for though there
is power OF enforcement applicable to them
a resort 10 it for redress is tedious and expen-
sive. While bonds of this sort have been in
some cases diseracefully scaled or repudiated
the greater proportion OF them are unqueston-
ably good. The State OF Massachusetts,, by
adherlng to the gold basis, has maintained the
equality OF her bonds with those OF the United
States. Even more than this may be truly
said of the credit Of Massachusetts bonds
command a higher price locally than those of
the United States.


Having invested your money In good bonds.
the question Of their custody becomes one of
great importance. Will you hide them in some
nook where the mice may appropriate them :.
or between the beds where in fright OF fire
they might be left to burn or be thrown into
the streets ? or in some secret drawer, whose
secret is we'll Known or easily suspected? Or,
what is better, would you deposit them in the
vault of some safe-deposit company or bank
(not at Northampton) Or would you not
prefer that which Is better than either, namely
have all your bonds registered that is, your
name entered upon the bond and recorded on
the books of the iseuer. The bond thus regis
tered will show that it is payable only to you
or to your written order. And then if it should
be stolen or lost irrevocably, you have only to
prove your loss aud receive another like bond
in place Of it.


TIME BONDS.


Time is an element Of value in bonds, pro-
vided there are stability and integrity in the
issuers, Long-t time bonds, absolutely safe
are especially sought for by millionaires and
such as are not 30 desirous of income as for
absolute safety and the least possible trouble.
II you can afford to hold such bonds, by all
means secure them. But people generally
need all the income winch their money will
safely earn. And when one is neceesitated to
forego the greater security OF government
bonds, it 10 comfort to know that there is
such thing as superfuous safety.


Safety you must have, but superfuous safety
you may or may not be able to afford. To
illustrate: per cent. government bond may
yield on the price paid for it 4 per cent;
per cent. State bond, per cent; per cent.
city or county bond, 6 per cent. Practically
they may be all alike safe. 1t is as il roof
were supported upon pillars of one size or OF
another size, the smaller OF which are abund
antly sufficient for safety; but when the storm
beats heavily we somehow feel more secure
with the larger pillars. This is due to timidity,
and not to good judgment.


For you. then, the bonds of your own city or
State may be preferable to United States bonds
But there are many other bonds which are
more easily obtained. though not so easily dis
posed Of, OF which we must speak. Fret of
CORPORATION BONDS AND STOCKS.



Corporations are bodies constituted by law,
and empowered to act as individuals They
are organized usually for purposes such as the
means OF individuals and copartnerships are
not adequate to accomplish. Prominent among
them are banks of discount, insurance com
panies, railroad, mining, and manufacturing
companies Such stocks are largely held by
their managing officers or others IN some way
related to them, or by business men who are
active and interested in such affairs. and are
better able than others to watch their progress.
While it is true that many OF them are managed
with great skill and prudence, and pay regular
dividends, these trying times have revealed In
others a fearful amount Of Encouragement
and breach Of trust. and it is only fit that men
Of experience and shrewdness should invest in
them. Yet il for convenience or profit a
woman should invest a part of her funds in
such securities-which we could never advise
her preference should be for some nearby
corporation, of whose managers she can have
some personal knowledge aud opportunity Of
inquiry. Even then she may find that the very
elect may be deceived In certain city where
the banks are all under superior management,
one third OF them are doing business on a
capital deeply impaired. But while, as class,
banks are quite as safe as any other corpora
tions, the liabilities of stockholders in some OF
the States involving twice the amount of the
stock held. should cause a woman to hesitate
to invest in bank stock. Railroad bonds, as a
class, are quite too well known to need men
ton. Joint stock companies, with rare ex-
ceptions. should be let severely alone.


SAVINGS BANKS.


y Among all the public benefcent institutions
OF these days there are none more widely use
ful than banks for savings. II matters not
that here and there one has failed, and that
public confidence in them Is somewhat shaken,
The failures are not the fault OF the savings
bank system, Lor have they often been caused
by fraud and mismanagement; but they are
the result 10 most cases OF the shnnkage OF