DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CORPORATIONS 91
panies know at all times just what service every
customer is receiving in the form of light, and
know that the light is of the same -brilliancy in
every home in the city. The officers of a street
railway company, however, do not know what their
conductors and motormen are doing, and yet, the
public holds the officers responsible. In other words,
the people come into closer personal contact with
the street railway companies than they do with
lighting companies, a condition much more favor
able for the lighting companies.
It will also be noted that the Boston man, for
some inexplicable reason, did not care to place any
of his money in telephone stocks. He probably
had some good reason for this, for some of the
ablest New England investors are most heavily
interested in the stock of the American Telephone
& Telegraph Company. Although the supply of
telephone securities seems almost unlimited, and
although the government may some day take over
these properties, yet now that the rapid growth of
the “Independents” is reported to have been
checked, the highest grade telephone securities
should be attractive investments during periods of
low prices.
As a good illustration of the principle of con
centrating the risk upon one locality and one class
°f business and then watching the same, one may
refer to the holdings of a well-known former United
States Senator. Although this man must be very
wealthy, yet he is reported to have his money
Wholly in the stock of three large corporations,