134 NATURE OF CAPITAL AND INCOME [Cmar. VIII 
A little consideration will show that if we credit the servants 
with the services of cooking and waiting, and debit them 
with wages as a distinct item, we must debit the food 
with their services of cooking and waiting. If we prefer 
to drop out these services both from the credit side of the 
servants’ account and the debit side of the food account, 
we are then at liberty to omit the category of servants 
entirely, and to leave only the charge of their wages 
against the food. There are endless admissible modifica- 
tions of the accounting here described, many of which 
have practical advantages, but the preceding is pre- 
sented as a complete and detailed record of all income and 
outgo arranged by sources. 
§ 7 
In complete accounting we must not omit the negative 
items of property, or liabilities. The same principles 
apply here as for positive items, or assets. Items which 
are negative are such because they yield negative income, 
or outgo. If the lawyer whose accounts we have followed 
is in debt, the payments on his debt (whether “interest” 
or “principal’’) which he makes during the time-interval 
considered are outgo. On the other hand, if a debt is 
contracted during the time-interval considered, its pro- 
ceeds are for that period an addition to gross income. 
Thus an income-and-outgo account may always be com- 
pletely formed by recording the values of the services and 
disservices occasioned by all the articles of capital under 
consideration. In the case of an individual these articles 
of capital are his assets and his liabilities. No other items 
than the services and disservices mentioned can properly 
find a place in the accounts. We have already warned 
the reader against the fallacy of deducting from income 
any depletion of capital; he should also be warned 
against the opposite fallacy of adding to income any sav- 
ings of capital. This fallacy is so common and so subtle