121
is inclined to purchase. Such a firm will also
inform him as necessity arises how all his
stocks are valued on those Stock Exchanges
on which they are principally dealt in.
If the question of what people think of
stocks and what they consider safe is analysed,
we come again to a point of geography pure
and simple. A Swede will consider Swedish
the safest National Loans, and an American
will entertain a preference for those of the
United States. The Scotchman will prefer the
British Linen Company Bank to the London &
Westminster, the Londoner vice versa. If an
Englishman were told to buy the Austrian
North Railway Debentures he would hesitate,
while an Austrian might consider London
& North Western Debentures to be highly
speculative. As a matter of fact, both these
debentures are equally safe, as can be proved
by statistics ; therefore, why should an investor
allow local feeling to interfere with his
obtaining investment safety ?
When the various Stock Exchanges of the
world are reviewed, and when we consider that
each Stock Exchange deals in quite a number
of stocks which have only a very limited, if
any, market in other countries, yet which stand
high in the estimation of local investors, wß see
more clearly how wide may become the area of