the official character of the person signing the assignment, and his authority to dispose of such bond must be verified by vote or resolution of the board of directors of the corporation or company, certified under its seal. Also, when such person is authorized, by virtue of his official position, to execute the assignment, a certificate, under seal, of this fact, and of his election to the office, and testifying that he still holds such office, must be furnished, together with a certified copy of the charter or by-laws of such corporation or company, showing the authority claimed thereunder. All evidence of authority is placed on file in the Treasury Department, and, when of a general and permanent nature, its reproduction in succeeding transactions is not necessary, provided, however, the facts are referred to. An assignment by mark (X) must be witnessed by at least one person in addition to the officer verifying the assignment.

Assignment by a married woman.-A bond issued in the maiden name of a woman who marries should be so assigned that the maiden name and married name will both appear on the assignment. Illustration: "Mary Smith, now by marriage Mary Brown." Bonds when assigned to a married woman should be to "Mrs. Mary Smith," not Mrs. John Smith."

Assignment by a minor.-Minors cannot assign registered bonds; their bonds must be assigned by a guardian or trustee authorized by the court.

Assignment by representatives and successors. When a bond owner dies, the representative of the deceased person must furnish legal evidence of the decease and of the representative s power to act. An executor or administrator can assign bonds standing in the name of the deceased person in whose place such executor or administrator shall be acting. When there are two or more legal representatives, all must unite in the assignment, unless one is legally by court decree or testamentary provision designed as having power to dispose of the bonds.

Bonds in the name of trustee.-In the event of the death of a fiduciary, or trustee bonds in his name cannot be assigned by his executors, but must be assigned by a successor regularly appointed by a court having jurisdiction. An executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or attorney cannot assign bonds to himself, unless he is authorized to do so by a court possessing jurisdiction.

Foreign successorship assignments.-When a bond owner at the time of death was a resident of a foreign country, the person claiming to direct the transfer must furnish an exemplified copy of the will or other instrument, duly certified under the hand and seal of the proper officer, attested by the certificate

of the United States minister, chargé, consul, vice-consul, or commercial agent, or if there be none such accessible (which fact must be certified), by that of a notary public, to the effect that such copy is executed and granted by the proper tribunal or officer, and is in due form and according to the laws of the country.

Assignments by attorney.-Persons entitled to assign bonds may appoint for that purpose an attorney, who by virtue of conferred authority can execute the assignment in the same manner as provided for the constituent, and can appoint one or more substitutes for that purpose; but an attorney or substitute must not assign the bonds to himself individually. No officer of the Treasury of the United States should be selected as such attorney. Powers of attorney authorizing the assignment of bonds should be sent filed record with the Register of the Treasury. When acknowledgments of assignments are not made at the Treasury Department, they must be made before an assistant treasurer of the United States, a United States judge or district attorney, a clerk of a United States court, collector of customs or internal revenue, or president or cashier of a national bank. The witnessing officer is required to append his official title, and if he has one, affix his seal of office; should he have no seal of office, he must certify such to be the fact. The president or cashier of a national bank must append the title and affix the seal of the bank. The impress of the seal must be made upon the bond.

Execution of powers.-Power of attorney for the transfer of bonds must be acknowledged in the presence of an officer authorized to take acknowledgments of assignments; where such office has a seal, it must be affixed; if he has none, he should state the fact. Power of substitution must be executed and acknowledged in the same manner as power of attorney.

Transmission of bonds.-When a registered bond is properly assigned, it should be transmitted to the Register of the Treasury for reissue, and it should be accompanied by an explicit letter of instructions, stating the amount enclosed, the loan represented by the bond, the denomination of the bond desired in exchange, and the mail address to which interest checks shall be forwarded. If bonds of different loans are forwarded in one remittance, a separate letter of instructions should accompany the bond or bonds of each loan. If coupon and registered bonds are transmitted at the same time, the coupon bonds should be sent to the Secretary of the Treasury and the registered bonds to the Register of the Treasury.

New bonds.-Registered bonds received for transfer are canceled, and new bonds in their place are issued in the name of

the assignee. They bear interest from the first day of the quarter in which the transfer is made. Generally returns are made on the same day that the bonds are received, and made by registered mail, unless instructed to forward by express or otherwise.

Interest.-Payment of interest on registered bonds is made by check drawn at the Treasury Department in favor of the registered holder. These checks are mailed to the post-office address of the owner, if it is known; if not known, they are held by the Treasurer of the United States until called for. The checks are paid, when properly endorsed, on presentation at the United States Treasury, or at the office of any assistant treasurer of the United States. Stamped endorsements are not recognized. It is advisable that holders of bonds should notify the Register of the Treasury of any change in their post-office address, at least fifteen days before the interest falls due; and in case of the appointment of an attorney to endorse the interest checks, the Register should also be notified of the fact. The holder should also transmit to the Auditor of the Treasury Department all powers of attorney authorizing the endorsement of interest checks and to advise him, in detail, at which of the offices referred to above it is desired that the interest checks under such powers shall be paid.

Closing of transfer books.-Transfer books are closed during the month immediately preceding the date of payment of the interest, with the exception of the 4 per cent. loan of 1925. The books of this loan close against transfers of bonds on the fifteenth day of the month preceding the date of payment of the interest. If bonds forwarded for transfer are not received prior to or upon the day fixed for closing the transfer books, the transfer will not be made until the books are reopened; and, furthermore, the interest for that quarter will be declared in favor of the parties whose names appear upon the face of the old bond, and to them the assignees must look for any interest claimed.

Called bonds.-United States called bonds forwarded for redemption should be directed to the Secretary of the Treasury, Division of Loans and Currency. When registered bonds are so forwarded, they should be assigned to the "Secretary of the Treasury for Redemption." Assignments must be dated and properly acknowledged as prescribed in the note printed on the back of each bond. When checks in payment of registered bonds are desired in favor of a person other than the payee, the bonds should be assigned to the "Secretary of the Treasury for redemption for account of" (insert here name of person or persons to whose order the checks should be made payable).

Bond quotations.-Government bonds are quoted daily on the New York Stock Exchange, and these quotations are printed in the daily papers, but it is estimated that 90 per cent. of the trade in these securities takes place in the offices of dealers and banks. Prices outside the Exchange, therefore, are usually closer to the market than the printed quotations of bid and asked on the Exchange.

Obsolete Confederate Bonds.-A conservative Southern daily newspaper says: "Periodically some unsophisticated Englishman rises to remark that it is high time the Government of the United States should take steps to bring about the payment of the bonds of the Southern Confederacy. A correspondent of the London Financial News directs attention to the highly interesting fact that within one hundred yards of the Mansion House' in the British metropolis are deposited over $200,000,000 of these bonds. He eagerly observes that the Southern States are prevented from paying them by Act of Congress; that the anger which prompted the destruction of the cotton deposited as security for these bonds, and the passage of an act rendering reparation to the bondholders illegal, should have been appeased by this time. Therefore it is suggested that the United States should now permit the South 'to do what it can toward an amicable settlement of the debt.' These, it should be remembered, are not the repudiated bonds of the Reconstruction period, but old Confederate bonds, which the South would surely have redeemed had the fortunes of war been on the side of Dixie. There is not the remotest possibility that they will ever have any value except to curiosity hunters. Since the war there has been some speculation in these securities; but, as our London contemporary, the Financial News, says: 'A person who bought chances for a repayment of these bonds at a cent per dollar would be guilty of a rash, hazardous speculation within the meaning of the act forbidding the taking of such chances.' The Confederate bond was born in honor; the Reconstruction bond was born in dishonor. Neither is worth the paper on which it was printed as an investment; but there will, perhaps, always be unsophisticated persons to believe that one day both will be quoted on the London and New York Stock Exchanges.”

State Bonds, Status of Repudiated.-There is pending (1904) in the United States Supreme Court at Washington a judgment in a suit so interesting in itself, so picturesque in its historic background, so vital in its bearing upon some hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of State bonds now regarded as practically

worthless, that it merits careful examination. The judgment is for $27,400; it is in favor of the State of South Dakota and against the State of North Carolina. The decree is that North Carolina must pay this amount, together with costs of suit, "on or before the first Monday of January, 1905"; and it is provided that, if North Carolina does not pay, certain property belonging to that State shall be seized, advertised, and sold at public auction, "such sale to be made at the east front door of the Capitol-building in Washington."

AN INDIVIDUAL CANNOT COLLECT.

If an individual has a claim against a State, he is utterly without redress so far as the court is concerned; but, if one State has a claim against another State, it can bring suit in the United States Court. This state of the law makes it possible for any commonwealth to evade its debts whenever it is so minded, leaving the creditor without redress. At various times eleven of the Southern States, North Carolina among the number, have taken advantage of this situation to repudiate their bonded debts to the extent of some hundreds of millions of dollars.

AMOUNT OF REPUDIATED BONDS.

It is not possible to state accurately just how many millions there are of these unpaid bonds outstanding. When the States repudiated them, they ceased to carry them on their books. Twenty years ago, the amount charged against each State was estimated as follows:

Since then, the twenty years' accumulation of interest would have doubled the sum total.

HELD BY SCORES OF SMALL INVESTORS.

These repudiated bonds were held, and are still held, by scores of small investors throughout the Northern States and in Eng