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Investingto theBest AdvantageDiscriminating investors at the presenttime are buying Municipal Bondsbecause Municipal Bonds areFree fromAll Federal Income TaxesIt is therefore an immense advantagefor every investor to have at least aportion of his funds in MunicipalBonds. In addition, this prime securityhas all the advantages offered byany other equally sound investment.Write for Booklet S-7, "Bonds ThatAlways Pay," and our latest list ofissuesYielding from4.70% to 5^%Kauffman-Smith-Emert Co.Security Building St. Louis, Mo.TheInvestment AdvantagesofMunicipal BondsIn the Herrick 6k Bennett seriesof pamphlets on the elements ofbond investment, this month'sissue presents "THE INVEST­MENT ADVANTAGES OFMUNICIPAL BONDS"Upon request a copy of thiapamphlet will be sent, accompaniedby a selected list of currentmunicipal bond offerings.Other pamphlets now available are"Basic Elements of Bond Investment""United States Government Bonds""Foreign Government Bonds."HERRICK & BENNETTMembers New York StoekExchange66 Broadway, New yorkFinancial Situation, continued from page 68no further than the Stock Exchange speculationin American "industrials." Mr. Vanderlip, ofthe National City Bank, returning from a visitto Europe, gave as his conclusion that, financiallyand industrially, "Europe can be saved," butthat "it is up to America to do it." If Americarises to her duty, he professed himself optimisticover the prospect for success.Mr. Davison, of the house of Morgan, similarlyarriving from European conferences, intimatedthat the American banking community will takeup the problem of financing Europe, probably inconcert with the English financiers and the neutralmarkets, and possibly through an internationalcommission. "The greatest factor in that work,his judgment was, "will be labor, and Europe willfind its own labor. Our part of it—the supplyingof bricks and mortar, so to speak—will notbe as large as many persons believe."Still, it will unquestionably be very great.Europe is at the moment in a state of industrialand economic prostration. The horsemen of theApocalypse have swept over the Continent; wetoo have had the red horse bringing war, the blackhorse bringing famine, the pale horse bringinganarchy and pestilence; all this occurring alongwith the flight of "the kings of the earth and thegreat men and the chief captains and the mightymen and every bondman and every free man,"as it has not perhaps occurred in history sincethe sixth chapter of the Revelation was written.t0 reconstruct industrial Europe (and with itpolitical Europe) immense sums will beneeded, and the providing of much of them willfall on the shoulders of our country. Whatevermay be the attitude of American banking houses,there necessarily arises the questionof the willingness and capacity ofthe American investing community.What is to be looked for in thatdirection? Will the American investor,his interest long absorbed exclusivelyin the securities of his own home enterprises,consent to this diversion of his capital?If he will, then is he capable of so immense atask, coming on top of the huge financial burdensof our own war loans, war taxes, and warexpenditure? If the capacity is proved, thenwhat will be the longer result in our own financialsituation ?The question of capacity may be measured inseveral ways. First and foremost, we have thefact that, through advances by our government andloans by our investors, the country has alreadysince the war broke out loaned upwards of$11,000,000,000 to foreign countries. This mightmean that after such an achievement the UnitedStates would now have less capacity, not more,for further loans of capital. If that were so, itwould be shown by the action of our markets;but that action has provided overwhelming evidenceto the contrary.Of the two notable incidents which occurredFinancial Situation, continued on page 72America'sPart inReconstructingEurope70