290 NATURE OF CAPITAL AND INCOME [Cmar. XVI

of wealth exist, in fact, simply for the sake of meeting
 sudden unforeseen emergencies. This is true, for
instance, of fire engines, fire extinguishers, safety appliances
on railways, safety valves, and other devices connected
with steam engines and machinery, burglar alarms, safety
deposit vaults, etc. To a large extent this risk-meeting
function applies to almost every stock of wealth. Food
in a pantry usually exists beyond certain wants in
order to provide for uncertain wants, and when sources
of supply are distant, such stores of food need to be large.
Especially is this true in the case of armies. Again, a
factory will usually have a large reserve stock, both of
raw materials and finished products, in order to meet unexpected
 demands. In like manner, jobbers, wholesalers,
and retailers maintain a sufficient stock of goods to meet
not only the foreseen, but some of the unforeseen demands
of their customers. The function of speculators in grain or
other commodities consists largely in conserving the stock
of a community as a safeguard against future scarcity.
Almost all of what is called the reserve of a bank is used as a
safety fund to meet the unforeseen demands of note-holders
and depositors, and, in particular, to meet a special “run.”
These reserves often remain as idle as a fire extinguisher for
years or even decades against the hour of need. It is said
that there are bars of precious metals in the Bank of England
which have lain there undisturbed for two centuries. A
large part of the cash carried by an ordinary individual is
quite analogous to a bank reserve, being held to meet special
emergencies. Some individuals even keep in a separate
pocket a special gold piece, lest some day they should become
“stranded.” It may be said that this risk-meeting function
of pocket cash is the chief compensation for the so-called
“loss of interest” on the money thus carried. The convenience
 and security obtained by having an adequate
supply is a species of income replacing the income which
might be earned were the sum invested. The same prin-