Poor Richard's Reasons For Buying United States Securities

Tlio otlier day wo lieard a ricli heighs bnr gay lio luid ralhor have railroad stocks than the U. 8. stocks, for Ihuy ]aid higher iniere'st. Just theri Poor Riobard camc up, and said thttt lic had just siinc of Uncle Saitt's threo years' notes, pajiiïg fcvcn aod tliroctentli- por coul. interest. My rich tricad ixlaimed, "You ! I thought you had i Tio moncy to Luy witli." " Yis," aid Richard, ''I luid a üttle lnid u[) against a wet day, ai d I have kept n littlc of my camings by me." Now Pooi' llichard is kiiown to all the countiy round, to bc a very prudent and iiidiislriout, ard wil hal, wise man : for Richard ik ver le; ned aiiythirg he dulii't know liow to w.:'ic usc of, and liis wisdom and pruder ce had become a proverb. So, wIkii he toik out h'ssav':r;? and bought tlio rióte?, moro thíiii oue was surprised, and it was no wonder rich Mr. Sinitli ásked why. So Poor itiehartJ, in a very quiet humblc wa}' - for ho never assunnd anytlifng - replied, ''I suppose, Mr. Smith. you know a great deal bclter than I do what to do with moncy, nnd how to in vest ; for I never had mueh. mikI sil I got I had to work hard for. Hut I have looked aróún3 a gnod deal upon my neighbors, and seen what they ditl witli thcir uoney aud I will teil you sorae 1 1 1 i n p;s I ?aw, and what I tbought of it. Ono v;ry rieh mau was always dealing in rr.oney, and lic made a great d.al, hut was never satisficd without Itigh interest. So he ent ;: est of liis money tf Sonto peip!c who he thought were very ricli, nt a very high rate , and he ofteu told how niuoh he got, till one day the peoplo he lont to weut to 8ma.-h. He got back about tuu cents on a dollar óf liis money. I ua; anothcr old gentleman, whü h;.d seme brink stock, :iud he went to the bank aud got ten per cent. dividend. The President and evürybodv.'jjd it was the best stock io the country - paid ten per cent. Hut what did ihecld mau do but scll i stock the ntxt day ! Why 't why? said everybouy. Because, it pais Pao ntuch dividend. And in six mouths the bank went to smash. Now, ilml I know to be a faet. Well, Mr. juii.h, you say railroad s'oeka are b st, because they pay high divideoda ? Can you teil how long they will pay them 'i I likc railroads, I helped to build onp, and I go in for usd'ul things. ]3ut I teil you what I know about them. Ouc-third of the railroads don't pay any dividend, and two thirds, (and some of them cracked up, too) do tioL pay as much as Government stocks. Now th at brings me to the Government seeuritics, aud .1 will. teil you why I prefer tliem. I tuke it you will adniit, Jlr. Smith, that iu the long run the invesiment which is best sliould have theso qualiiies : First, it should bc pcrjeclïy secure ; secoudly, that the ineome should be uniform and permanent - noi i;p one yea.r and down the next ; and thirdly, that it should be marketahle, so when your wet dny comes, and you want your money, you can get it back. And I thiuk these uotcs or bonds have got these quaüiios moro than any otlicr kind of personal property you can name. Try il "First, thcn, I have Leen looking inlo that great book you cali tho Census Statietics. I used to think it waso't wotth much ; but since I Legan to study it, I teil you, I fouud out a good mauv tliings very useful for me to know. I fouud out, by looking at tho crops, and the factories and shippiug, &c., thnt we (I don't mean the Ilebel States) are ir.a king a thousi'.ud niülioug ol dollars a ycar more thnn vo spend. So you seo Uut (since the inercase of debt isn't half that) we are growing riek instcad of .poorer, as John Buil aad the croakers would have us ihiuk. ïhen the deLt will be paid, anybow, no matter how long the war is. Besidcs, did you ever hear of a GoverDment that broke bcfore the pcople did ? Look into your big histories, Mi. Smith, aud you will find the people break bjforc the Governmont8. Well, then, I eall that stock perfeclly secure. "Seoondly, ynu want tho inoomo uniform and permanent. Well, 1 want you to take up a list of banks, railroads, mines, insur:inco nopanies - -any tliinoyou choose - and to'l uie (honor bright, now !) how many have paid a uniform iiicomo for ten or Iwonty years Not one in a handred, Mr. .Smidi. and you koow it. "Nowheru is I.he Government will pay you without varying a tittle. Now I likc something that givus iu3 my income crory year, Thirdly, yoa want something wliicli is ma-hetable any day in the year. Now, ifyouask any bank President, he will teil you that Government stocks are the only Umi of proper -ty ihat is always saleable, bcc:iuse they will seü amjwhsre in the icorld. "Now, Mr. Siuiih, this is xohj I put iuy little savings ia Govet-Biweut stocks. I confesi, too, tbat I wantedto help that deur old country, which is my home and my country." " I couiess," said Mr. Smith, "I'hadn't thought of this. Tlujre is a good deal of sonso in what you s:iy, and I will go so far as to put' two or threo thou8cind dollars in Uuiied States stocks, lt can do no harm." We left Mr. Sir.ith going towards the bink, aad l'oor lüclinrd retumiug home, with lhiitc;ili aiij phieid air, viAi ind'cated tho soreinity of h'u dÍ6poPi-on, and tho oonsciousucGs of d&ing right to wa'rdi his ojiuitry : n'l l: ï 3 f '. ■ f . , H)ftr - Br.