These bonds are secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on all the property of the corporation they represent. To redeem these bonds, when due, the company annually sets apart a sum, known as a "Sinking fund," for their redemption. Such bonds are far safer than any form of the company's stock, for they bear interest that must be met, whether or not dividends are declared. As with a real estate mortgage, the property pledged in the bond should be defined. RAILROAD BONDS Every railroad in the country has been built and equipped by the sale of its bonds. In such cases amounts of stock of the same, or approximately the face value of the bond, have been given to the purchaser as a bonus or inducement. Of course, the controlling stock is always retained by the promoters; and it is through the representation of this stock that all the business of the corporation is carried on. The cases are few where any money was paid directly for the original issue of any railroad stock. Bonds sold to build a road are usually known as "construction" bonds. There may be another bond issue for equipment--with a stock bonus--and still other bonds, each series stating the property pledged and the purpose for which the money from sales is to be used. The _Christian Herald_, in one of its recent financial articles, clearly defines this species of bonds, as follows: "Railroad bonds are usually pledged by the President and Treasurer of the railroad and by the Trustees, to whom the bonds are made out, and who must defend the rights of bondholders, should the company fail to meet any of the obligations it undertook in the mortgage deed. "In other words, a bond is the Corporation's promissory note for the money originally paid by the investor, with interest for the same, to be paid to the investor in stated amounts at stated intervals; and to guarantee its good faith in the matter, the Company pledges the bondholder an interest in certain property in its possession. It follows that a bond has a first call upon the property rights of the corporation; that it represents something tangible; that it pays a definite amount of interest, and that it may be reduced at its full value at a certain time." BUYING BONDS Bonds, like wheat, have their selling prices quoted from day to day, and they are equally a thing of purchase and sale. There are banks and brokerage firms that make a specialty of bonds, and most of these houses are entirely reliable; still, the novice in such things would do well to investigate for himself before investing in any bond recommended by any seller. It is the purpose of the seller to sell; it should be equally the purpose of the buyer not to be "sold." Our government, state and municipal bonds speak for themselves, and in the main require no examination as to the security, though there have been cities and even states that have defaulted in their payments.