"by  the  borrower  ;  but,  in  the  case  of  stocks  and
shares  of  other  types,  revenue  consists  of  the
nett  income  earned  during  a  given  period.
The  safety  of  revenue  derived  from  rates
and  taxes  is  estimated  from  officially  published
statistics  which  are  accessible  to  all.  The
earnings  of  companies  are  published  in  their
annual  balance-sheets,  copies  of  which  are  also
obtainable  in  most  cases.  In  How  to  Manage
Capital  we  explain  how  investors,  by  means
of  the  statistical  information,  can  appraise  the
income  safety  of  every  investment  almost  at  a
glance,  and  we  will,  for  this  reason,  here  simply
state  the  main  rules  for  estimating  income
probabilities  :—
1.—Income  is  safe  from  Railway  and
Industrial  Debentures  and  Preferences  when
the  Company  has  a  large  surplus  income
remaining  after  satisfying  these  obligations.
The  safety  of  income  derived  from  Government ­
  and  Corporation  Loans  mainly
depends  on  the  political  and  financial
honesty  of  the  individual  Government  or
Corporation,  and  must,  therefore,  be  gauged
by  past  records,  taken  in  conjunction  with
the  budget  and  revenue  returns.  If  a
Government  or  a  Corporation  has  met  all
its  obligations  without  failure  or  delay  for
a  period  of  ten  years  immediately  preceding