Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-29
ATTACK ON MERGER
London Press Still Criticises
the Government.
SCATHING SCARE HEADS
GERALD BALFoUR AND ]. P. NOR.
GAN CoNTRAsTED.
Liverpool Express, However, Has
Different Version of the Whole
Transaction.
SCATHING SCARE HEADS

LONDON, April 29.-The revelation OF the
terms of the agreement made between the
German lines of steamers and the shipping
combine has led to renewed newspaper at
tacks upon the British government.
w. ]. Pierrle, head Of the shipbuildlng
firm of Harland & Wolff, will meet ]. Pier
pont Morgan in London today to settle var
ious details connected with the combine
and TO prepare a circular for the share
holders Of the companies concerned.
The Daily Express In its issue of this
morning, asserts positively that the ship
ping combine has forced the Canadian Pa
cific railroad to boycott the Beaver line OF
steamers by the threat that IL the road
failed to comply with the combines de-
mand, no immigrant carried on any ship
under the control of the combine would be
allowed to travel over the Canadian Pacific.
At a hurried meeting of the directors of
the Canadian Pacific, continues the Daily
Express it was decided that it would be
useless to try to fight the combine. As a
result of this action, the British agents OF
the Canadian Pacific now refuse to issue
passages on steamers of the Beaver line.
''Soft Soap and Blarney."
Soft soap and blarney," the ship own
ers and the absent-minded government are
two scare heads" in this afternoons papers.
They are fairly representative of the gen.
eral impression created by the ministerial
replies to the questions in the house of COM
mons regarding the "Americanization of
the Atlantic
But what is Gerald Balfour (president of
the board of trade) against J. Pierpont
Morgan?" asks the Westminster Gazette
in urging the government not to accept Mr..
Balfours reassuring statement and not to
rely on the passionate assertions of the
sentimental attachment of the ship owners
to the British flag.
Referring to yesterdays statement of the
Shipping Gazette the Westminster Gazette
voices the public inquiry to the differ
ence between the sale and the transfer OF
White Star line shares to the shipping COM
bine.
Another Authoritative Statement.
Meanwhile another authoritative state
ment' in today's Liverpool Express will
serve for the subject of further guessing
on the part of both the public and the min
listers The combine" says the Express,
will prove much more favorable to Brit
ish interests than has up to the present
been suspected. There will be no sale OF
British ships to ]. Pierpont Morgan. There
will be a combination of companies regis
tered in America on the basis of nominal
capital, which will be the individual value
of each boat in the various fleets entering
the combination. Each cargo and passen-
ger boat will be valued separately. There
VIII De agreement SO dS
are concerned, and the companies pooled
will declare the gross freights carried by
each boat. These will be pooled and Will be
divided pro rata with the capital.
Separate Management Continued.
1T will thus be seen that the separate
management of each concern will be con-
tinued, and that the company which can
manage its fleet most economically will re-
ceive the larger proportion of the net
profits. Provision will be made whereby
other companies can join the combination
at any time similar terms. AS the ma
jority of the ships will be British the COM
bination cannot be managed adversely to
British interests
A shareholders meeting of the Leyland
line in London today brought together a
number of ship owners prominent in the
combine, such as Messrs. Wilding, Pierrie
and Torrey, and a representative of the
Associated Press was assured that there
was absolutely no change in the situation,
which was exactly as outlined in these dis
patches April 10.