STILTS 



555-4 



STOCK 



black upper parts and bright red legs. It builds 

 its nest by lining a slight depression in the 

 ground with grasses. The eggs are three or 

 four in number and are of an olive or buffy 

 color, thickly spotted with chocolate tones. 

 The bird frequents shallow ponds in fresh and 

 salt marshes, and feeds on water insects. 



STILTS. Every one is familiar with the 

 long walking sticks with foot rests, used by 

 boys in their play, which enable them to cover 

 the ground with very long steps. It is inter- 

 esting to know that in some sections of Europe, 

 particularly in Belgium and France, the peas- 

 ants use stilts regularly when the lands are 

 flooded. These practical stilts are strapped 

 securely about the leg below the knee, and the 

 walker uses a long pole to help him maintain 

 his balance. 



STING RAY, a group of ray fish whose 

 most striking characteristic is the possession of 

 a long, flexible tail with sharp spines near the 

 base, which have cutting teeth along the edges. 

 With this tail, which is a veritable dagger, pain- 

 ful wounds can be inflicted. The sting ray has 

 a flat, disklike body, and large specimens are 

 sometimes ten or twelve feet long. There are 

 about fifty species; the fish occur most abun- 

 dantly in tropical seas. 



STOCK, CAPITAL. What is known in the 

 business world as capital is the money, lands, 

 buildings, equipment, etc., invested in a com- 

 mercial enterprise. If only two or three people 

 share in such an ^investment the company is 

 usually a partnership, and the evidence of each 

 partner's share in the business is contained in 

 a partnership agreement. If, however, the 

 business is large and the capital is a sum so 

 great that many partners are required, an ar- 

 rangement so simple is not possible. In such 

 event a corporation is formed, and the capital 

 is divided into small sums called shares. 



Each share may be in face value any sum 

 determined upon $10, $25, $50, $100, or even 

 more. The usual amount in great enterprises 

 is $100. Since 1916 some states, notably New 

 York, permit corporations to issue stock with- 

 out assigned value. Each investor, when he 

 puts money into the enterprise, receives a cer- 

 tificate from the company. This states that 

 he is a stockholder to the extent of the number 

 of shares named in the certificate; naturally, 

 this paper is called a certificate of stock, or a 

 stock certificate. 



A certificate of stock does not specify what 

 the owner pays for it. One share whose face 

 value is $100 may have cost just that sum; if 



so, it was bought at par. Just to the degree 

 that the corporation is prosperous or is a losing 

 concern the stock sells at prices above or below 

 par. Many people with faith in the future of a 

 somewhat discredited enterprise will buy stock 

 when it is quoted far below par, and will hold 

 it for a long time, confident that changes of 

 fortune will make it a highly valuable invest- 

 ment. 



Dividends are sums distributed to stockhold- 

 ers from the profits of the enterprise, and are 

 always based on the par value of the shares. 

 A dividend on stock may be compared to in- 

 terest on a loan, except that the former is un- 

 certain, while interest is always a fixed sum. 

 If stock pays six per cent in a certain year, the 

 dividend is $6 on each $100 share; if some 

 holders purchased their stock at 50 (one-half 

 par value), the return on their investment is 

 twelve per cent; if they paid 120 (one-fifth 

 above par), the actual income from their stock 

 is five per cent. 



Capital stock in most companies is not as- 

 sessable to meet losses which the business may 

 incur; in others the shareholders may be as- 

 sessed when the board of directors considers it 

 necessary. An assessment adds to the original 

 cost of the stock to the holder. 



Every stockholder is a partner in the busi- 

 ness, though he is not so called. As a partner 

 he has the right to vote for those men, also 

 shareholders, who shall give of their trme to 

 the oversight of the enterprise. Such managers 

 form the board of directors. This board is di- 

 rectly responsible to the investors for the con- 

 duct of affairs, and it is given the privilege of 

 choosing the officers in whose -hands responsi- 

 bility of management rests. The officers 

 president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, 

 etc. are responsible to the board. In elections 

 to the board of directors each man's voting 

 power is proportionate to the number of shares 

 he owns. If one man owns fifty-one per cent 

 of the stock he can outvote all other members 

 combined and control elections; this is fair to 

 all, as his investment is largest and he has most 

 at stake. Any stockholder who objects thus to 

 the power of one man need not remain a mem- 

 ber of the corporation; he may dispose of his 

 stock as soon as a buyer can be found. E.D.F. 



Consult Cook's Treatise on the Law of Cor- 

 porations. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Commerce Partnership 



Corporation Stock Exchange 



