e employed in one of three ways: They may be used as
capital by the owner; or they may be put out in investments--that is,
used or utilized as capital in the business of another; or, third, they
may be wasted in gambling or speculation. As a matter of course, the
employment as additional capital in one's own enterprise is generally
the most desirable wherever applicable, but this is a use of limited
scope, relating to but few of the people engaged in productive activity
who earn and save a surplus. The main resource for such accumulations
is in safe investments, in the bonds and securities of our own country
and those of well established enterprises. Not many among our embryo
capitalists possess the experience or skill requisite for the safe and
proper investment of their funds, they must rely upon the advice of
others. But whom can they trust? The demand for investment advice has
not failed to call forth a supply of advisers, and elaborate are the
schemes designed to lure the unwary. But, generally speaking, the man
who falls into the clutches of these birds of prey has himself to
blame, for the reason that the temptations they offer are appeals to
the illegitimate desire to get something for nothing or to the foolish
notion that one can get-rich-quick in some way whispered about by a
stranger, and out of sheer benevolence. The fact is that the wise man
will dismiss all thought of making money out of his investments; he
will seek only the moderate return which alone is consistent with
safety; and with this policy, will turn a deaf ear to any so-called
opportunity which promises big profits. We can summarize the matter by
saying that concentration upon one's business and service implies that
one should not attempt to make money elsewhere.

This concentration on one's affairs therefore grows into a sort of
practical system in which each member of the business community is
looking after some function or activity to the exclusion of other
things. And so the world's work is carried on to the best advantage,
each function being filled by those particular men who have become
relatively expert therein. From this system arises a business habit or
method not always understood by the young and inexperienced, by the
non-business person. We refer to the practice in trade of leaving to
each individual, to each enterprise, to each organization, the
responsibility for looking out for its own interests when having
dealings with others.