486 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
the stock swindler may do him harm. If he is reckless or un-
wise, speculation in the Exchange or elsewhere may injure him
and his family. But if he pursues this business—and it must
be looked upon as a business—of investing his surplus savings
carefully and intelligently, the Exchange opens to him the
means of securing the best and most negotiable security invest-
ments in the country. And this continual investing on his
part—together with such successful speculations as he may
make—are an economic benefit, not only to himself but to the
whole community, since he provides the capital so steadily
needed for the development of our industries.
The Purchase of Income.—The ease with which modern
man can buy income is, in fact, one of the most significant
testimonials to our economic progress in the past two centuries.
In the late seventeenth century the father of the poet, Alexan-
der Pope, who had been a highly successful London merchant,
decided to retire from business. From his experience he was
fitted to know of the best existing methods of investing his
money so as to enjoy his old age comfortably and securely.
Yet the best scheme Pope pére could hit upon was to turn his
wealth into gold and take it with him into the country. It is
consequently true that the poorest and most inexperienced
rancher in New Mexico today finds it easier to invest his
money safely and profitably than a conspicuously successful
business man familiar with the international center of trade
and commerce could only two hundred years ago. Naturally,
no small part of this amazing transformation has been directly
due to the development of organized securities markets.
The Stock Exchange is naturally of increasing value and
significance to the investor in proportion to the sums of money
which he has to invest. To the man of wealth the Exchange
is as much a part of the daily machinery of business life as
the bank or the stock corporation. While he gets no greater
concessions made to him on the Exchange than the small in-
vestor, still the Exchange is to him a protector and a safe-
