ABSTRACT
State bonds, like National Government bonds, usually are simply promises to pay. State bonds usually are payable out of public taxes or other revenues, or sometimes out of public property. There have been certain cases of State bonds in default being presented by the holder to another State for the express purpose of having that State bring suit against the defaulting State. The United States is passing from being principally a producer of food and raw materials to being predominantly a producer of manufactured goods, and an increasing, if not dominating, factor in the world’s foreign commerce. In trying to form a judgment as to the safety and desirability of State bonds, there remains one other broad class of considerations. “These are what we will call general considerations, such as the size of the State in territory, the amount of developed and undeveloped resources, the location of the State as regards water and rail facilities, and other similar considerations.
