186 COCONUTS AS AN INVESTMENT 



foreign repudiation, maladministration, or such 

 ruinous disorder as that fomented in Mexico during 

 the recent revolution. 



At no moment in recent history has such an 

 opportunity for investment occurred, when the 

 increasing needs of civilisation, combined with the 

 inventive genius of man, are expediting the develop- 

 ment of vast sources of tropical wealth which have 

 hitherto been neglected or only superficially culti- 

 vated by natives. To-day the coconut industry 

 presents illimitable possibilities for the profitable 

 employment of capital, but it only needs the advent 

 of the boom to put an entirely different complexion 

 upon its monetary aspect, and already, as we have 

 previously pointed out, there are indications of 

 activity in this direction in the highest financial 

 circles. The present investment opportunity cannot 

 possibly extend beyond a limited period, for the 

 very simple reason that every commodity under 

 the sun is worth precisely what it fetches in the 

 open market ; therefore shares in sound pioneer 

 companies, which may be obtained to-day at 

 reasonable prices by moderate investors may be 

 quite beyond their reach when booming markets 

 begin to tell their tale. It must be remembered, 

 too, that such companies owe their existence to 

 the enterprise and foresight of their founders, who, 

 being first in the field, were able to secure the best 

 estates in the most favoured localities at bed-rock 



