from the sentimentalism and impulsiveness which are common traits of the French male: "The Frenchman readily becomes the slave of his fancies-the Frenchwoman never." And the normal Frenchwoman is not the volatile and decorative Parisienne, but "the business woman, the untiring ménagère, the shrewd, capable, active Frenchwoman; prudent, frank, with an unconcealed knowledge of life, the manager of men and the builder of the home." In later chapters the writer vigorously defends France and her people against familiar charges of militarism, general immorality, meanness in money matters. France's appearance of militarism is, he holds, largely a matter of masqueradea racial delight in dressing up. Frenchwomen are not more immoral than the women of other countries; their enjoy ment of a salacious theater is sheer dramatic adventure. French meanness is a defect of the virtue of thrift; and to excess of thrift also is largely due the decline of the French birth rate. To this most ominous phenomenon of modern French life the author might have given more attention. The second part of the book is given to a somewhat detailed treatment of the French political system -a system which is so little understood by the average American. The volume, one wishes to say, is beautifully printed on good paper, and the price is remarkably low. Nature By Herbert Ravenel THE WAY OF THE WILD. Sass. Illustrations by Charles Livingston Bull. Minton, Balch & Co., New York. $2.50. These stories of animal life challenge comparison with writings by Charles G. D. Roberts. The title is similar to Mr. Roberts's "Kindred of the Wild," and the illustrator is identical (a most fortunate choice, be it remarked). It would be amiable but not strictly true to say that Mr. Sass has done for the animals of South Carolina what Mr. Roberts has accomplished for the wild folk of Canada. His stories are smooth, conventional, and undistinguished, lacking the poetic fire and glamourous atmosphere of their model. But Mr. Bull has never done better drawings than the ones reproduced here in black and white. Miscellaneous THE AMERICAN YEAR BOOK. A Record of Events and Progress for the Year 1925. Edited by Albert Bushnell Hart and William M. Schuyler. The Macmillan Company, New York. $7.50. This compendium is, as usual, complete in the lines it undertakes to cover. Publication of it is now renewed, after an interruption since 1919. It is both a Compilation and a series of instructive. discourses by presumable experts on topics that have commanded interest during 1925. One is impressed with the large volume of inconclusiveness with which the year was burdened. THE LAXDAELA SAGA. Translated from the Icelandic with an Introduction by Thorstein Veblen. B. W. Huebsch, New York. $2.50. Of much interest to the scholar and student for its antiquity and the light it casts upon customs, beliefs, and manner of life in Iceland in the tenth or early eleventh century, the appeal of this saga to the general public, despite a superabundance of adventure and exciting episode, is not likely to be great. It is graphic, quaint, and picturesque, but the narrative is not imbued with the poetic quality which some other ancient sagas possess, and which so greatly helps the ordinary modern reader to understanding and appreciation. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. By Robert Granville Caldwell. Vol. I. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. $3.75. By the Professor of American History at the Rice Institute. This volume covers the period from the discovery to the beginning of the Civil War. NEGRO ORATORS AND THEIR ORATIONS. By AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF RUSSIA. THE NEW ROUND TABLE. By William Byron Forbush. The Knights of King Arthur. Boston. A handbook for leaders of the order of the Knights of King Arthur and its affiliated societies. STARSHINE AND CANDLELIGHT. By Sister Mary Angelita. D. Appleton & Co., New Devotional poems by a nun of the Church of Rome. THE FRUITS OF MORMONISM. By Franklin Stewart Harris and Newbern I. Butt. The Macmillan Company, New York. $1.75. A study pursued in Mormon communities, not of the truth or falsity of the Mormcn religion, but of its results in regard to social welfare. THE RELIGION OF THE UNDERGRADUATES. CHEMISTRY AND CIVILIZATION. By Allerton S. Cushman. $2.50. Second edition of a book first published in 1920. YOUTH AND THE EAST. By Edmund Candler. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. $6. This is called an unconventional autobiography. The author was a schoolteacher in India, a correspondent in Tibet, and a traveler in Syria and other Oriental countries. THE EARL BISHOP. By William S. ChildePemberton. 2 vols. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. $12. The life of Frederick Hervey, Bishop of Derry and Earl of Bristol. He was born in 1730. LITTLE SNOW WHITE, AND OTHER STORIES. By Ferd. Gregorovius. The Christopher Publishing House, Boston. $1.50. Stories in rhyme for children. The Church Touring Guild President: REV. S. PARKES CADMAN, D.D TOURS TO EUROPE PALESTINE, EGYPT, Etc. Arrangements handled by SIR HENRY LUNN, LTD. from $345 INCLUDING OCEAN PASSAGE AND ALL EXPENSES Apply for Illustrated Booklet No. 20 CHURCH TOURING GUILD 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City A Man With a A MAN with a thousand dollars walked into the offices of S. W. STRAUS & CO. about 20 years ago. He invested his funds in a first mortgage security, explaining that he Today, this man has more than $50,000 invested in sound, first mortgage ments must fall into one of these categories: (1) Notes secured by first mortgages on real estate at least double the value of the face of such notes; (2) deposits in New Hampshire savings banks; (3) bonds or loans of New HampshireState, county, city, or town; (4) bonds of the United States Government. Not much discretion is left to the trustee, nor is there practically any opportunity for a trust fund to grow in capital. New Hampshire's sister State, Vermont, has gone to the other extreme. Here the trustee may use good faith, diligence, and care in selecting the investments for his funds. Just at the present time this whole subject is being actively discussed in several States, New York in particular, where the legal restrictions are more strict than many prudent men consider they should be. Authorized investments for trustees in this State are practically identical with those prescribed for savings banks. They are, according to an officer of the Equitable Trust Company: "Bonds of the United States Government, bonds of the State of New York and its political subdivisions, bonds of other States and the Territory of Hawaii, bonds of cities, towns, villages, and counties in States that lie adjacent to the State of New York whose net debt does not exceed 7 per cent of valuation, bonds of cities in other States under certain restrictive conditions, bonds and mortgages on unencumbered real property in the State of New York to the extent of 66% per cent of its value, bonds of the Land Bank of the State of New York, bonds of the Federal Land Bank of the First District, bankers' acceptances and bills of exchange which are eligible for purchase by the Federal Reserve Bank, provided such paper is accepted by a bank, trust company, etc., having its principal place of business in this State and qualified by law to exercise such powers, and bonds of certain railroads under prescribed conditions." The extent to which the hands of New York trustees are tied can best be realized by considering some of the investments which ordinary, careful people hold-bonds of industrial corporations, for example, foreign government bonds, public utility bonds, prime common stocks, preferred stocks, equipment trust certificates debentures. It is always feasible to select securities of these types which will pass all the requirements of a safe investment, even though they do not happen to be included in the list prescribed by the statutes. The so-called legal investments do not always prove to be perfectly safe. Not Read What These Investors Say: A man who has invested with us for 30 years says: "For more than thirty years I have been doing business with your company and my transactions have always been handled satisfactorily. I have never lost any money on my investments with you, which is a very gratifying experience." A woman investor in South Africa writes: "The purchase of a bond from you was made quite as conveniently from this distance of about 10,000 miles via the mail route as if I had been in Washington." From an Oklahoma investor: "For a person receiving a moderate income I have found your Investment Savings Plan a most liberal and practical plan for the systematic accumulation of capital." An American in Paris says: "My own experience, both while living in the middle west of the United States and since I have been living in Paris, has demonstrated to my complete satisfaction the possibility and practicability of investing by mail." A missionary in China says: "Your long history of safety gives one a feeling of assurance that is not at all diminished by the 10,000 miles intervening between your office and my domicile. This distance is in no way a barrier to perfectly satisfactory business relations with you." Fi NIFTY-THREE years of proven safety have resulted in world-wide confidence in the First Mortgage Bonds sold by The F. H. Smith Company. Thousands of men and women, in 48 states and 33 foreign lands, have bought Smith Bonds by mail. Invest Your Savings at 7% Many of these investors have bought Smith Bonds in large amounts. Others have bought them under our Investment Savings Plan, by making an initial payment of 10% or more on a $100, $500 or $1,000 bond, and completing the purchase within 10 months. They get the full rate of bond interest on every payment. Of those who use this latter plan a great many Smith Bonds Are Safe Bonds have much or little to invest, current offerings of Smith Bonds will give you the strong security of modern, income-producing city property with the liberal yield of 7%. No matter where you live the purchase of Smith Bonds is made simple for you by an organization equipped to give you satisfactory service by mail. Send your name and address today on the form below for copies of our two booklets,""Fifty-three Years of Proven Safety" and "How to Build an Independent Income." THE F. H.SMITH CO. only do they fluctuate in market value, but at times interest is defaulted and principal is lost. Because of this and other equally obvious circumstances it is true that in most of the wills of men who have had financial experience trustees are given discretion to buy outside the legal list. Massachusetts, which is not far from the first rank among the States where immense sums are trusteed, is without similar strict legal regulation. Here the trustee must conduct himself "faithfully" and exercise "sound discretion." He may put the funds under his control into such investments as a prudent man would make for himself, having regard not to speculative enhancement, but to stability of principal and stability of income. The prudent trustee in Massachusetts (but not in New York, unless he is explicitly given the right to do so in the deed of trust) may invest in first mortgages on real estate, in corporation first mortgages, in municipal securities, and in the stocks of business corpora tions of good standing. He may also buy the notes of individuals when secured by collateral. In short, the practice in Massachusetts and the more liberal States is to permit the trustee to exercise his genius as an investor, while in New York he is hampered and restricted and limited to a very narrow field. These remarks, it should be understood, apply to trust funds in the hands. of trustees under deeds of trust, wills, and the like. They do not apply to savings bank investments, for in Massachusetts, as in New York, a legal list governs these institutions in their selection. "Trustees," says the writer above referred to, "generally are of the opinion that their situation is a little different from that of the savings banks, and that they should be allowed greater latitude in investments, for the reason that, while trusts are made primarily to secure safety and continuity of income for the beneficiary, there is always the desire that such income shall be as large as possible. Savings banks, on the other hand, have only to pay a fixed rate of interest, and it is not desirable that such rates shall be greatly increased, as then capital might be diverted from more productive employment." A "legal" investment, then, may or may not be the best investment either for a trustee or for an individual. That an investment has passed the tests required by law merely means that it has passed those tests. If those tests are good tests for you and for me, then the investment is one we should buy. But, in any event, outside the pale of the "legals" there is a vast field of investments which it is exceedingly foolish not to cultivate. W. L. S. From Inquiring Readers I T is a rule with some speculatorsinvestors to buy into reorganized companies, on the theory that the worst has already come to pass. Whether this is the actual situation or not depends on many circumstances. Here is our outline. of the situation with the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company which we sent to an inquirer: "It is really too soon after the reor ganization of this company to be able to base an estimate of its future on detailed facts. Since, however, you say you are able to take a certain amount of risk, we do not see why the risk is unusually large and why, on the other hand, the possibility of gain is not very fair. The company is established; it has been through a drastic reorganization; the probabilities are that it has seen its worst days, and that with good management it will climb back to a prosperous condition, and that with its recovery the stock will go up. You understand, of course, that this is simply our best judgment in view of information available." E XCEPT in special cases, as we have frequently said, this department does not recommend investments. The other day there was an exception-just why we shall not now explain. To this reader we said that we did not hesitate to call both the common and preferred stocks of the following corporations of investment rank: United States Steel, Allied Chemical and Dye, General Electric (common and "special"), Consolidated Gas of New York, Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, United Fruit Company. The list is by no means complete. Two gentlemen who have been active for many years in manipulating unsound "securities" have recently been lodged for a five-year term at Atlanta. This paragraph from a bulletin of the Better Business Bureau of New York City may provoke memories among some of our readers, though we hope not: "For nearly fifteen years the Van Ripers had been engaged in promotional activities based on speculative, pennyshare issues of oils and mines for which markets were created by various methods. A long procession of speculative issues were paraded before the public through numerous agencies, with the real manipulators acting as bandmasters, grand marshals, and, finally, invisible In writing to the above advertisers please mention The Outlook master minds: Arizona Silver, Silver Reef, Arizona Silver Extension, Consolidated Silver, Universal Silver, Ertell, Arkansas & Osage, Great Northern Gold Syndicate, Ranger Oil, Parco Oil, and others. In the course of this long period of operations, Lewis Van Riper was indicted once, in 1920, in the Federal Court in New York, on charges involving Ranger Oil, which indictment never came to trial. In the same year he pleaded guilty in Boston, without going to trial, to advertising stocks for sale without State sanction, paying a $1,000 fine." "W HICH is safer, Smith bonds or Straus's?" is a question which comes to us frequently. A reader in Rhode Island is puzzled: "I have no reason to believe but what they" (Smith) "are a sound and straightforward concern, but why is it necessary to pay 7 per cent on a first-class mortgage? I think a competitor of theirs might be Straus, but it is very difficult to buy bonds from Straus that will net me 61⁄2 per cent." "We would suggest," we wrote in answer, "that you ask them the questions which you ask us, and see what they say. Smith bonds offer high interest rates because the loans are made largely in the South, where interest rates are higher, whereas Straus's loans are in the lower interest areas. They ask the purchaser to buy their bonds because they can make money by so doing, and probably the reason that the banks do not purchase them all is that they have to keep their funds more liquid than they would. be if invested in securities of this type." PEOPLE who invest in bank and insur ance company stocks do so not so much because of the immediate return as because of the stability of the investment and the reasonable opportunity for appreciation. This table is a striking illustration of a year's record in Philadelphia: 1. The ample capital resources of some well-established mortgage company for which THE BALTIMORE TRUST COMPANY acts as Investment Banker. 2. First mortgages on real estate, each property conservatively appraised at 166 to 200% of the mortgage granted. (No construction loans; no single-use buildings.) 3. The guarantee of principal and interest, by the United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company (resources $46,000,000), and the guarantee of title by the New York Title & Mortgage Company (resources $29,000,000) or some other title insurance company acceptable to THE BALTIMORE TRUST COMPANY. |