104 
respect ; but investors should always remember 
that the sooner they get into a really sound 
investment position the better it naturally is for 
them. 
It frequently happens that investors delay 
the re-arranging of their investments because 
their own investments have fallen in value and 
they prefer to wait for a recovery in prices. It 
is, of course, most unsatisfactory to sell at a 
loss ; yet, in many cases, the first loss is the 
best. 
Waiting for a recovery in prices means 
speculating on a future event. There is really 
no difference between a man waiting for a 
stock to recover and another buying this same 
stock in a speculative way with a view to its 
rising in price. It is from this standpoint that 
all investors who are reluctant to face a loss 
should consider the matter, and if they are 
content to speculate as to the future, they can 
then delay their reconstruction of investment. 
There is, however, another way in which 
the contingency of selling at a loss may be 
met. In almost every Geographical Division 
there are some stocks to be found which at 
some time or another have commanded higher 
prices than those at which they can be bought 
when a reconstruction is contemplated. By 
exchanging the investments which show a loss