Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-27
ENGLISH INVESTORS
LOSSES IN MARKET
VALUE OF SHARE HOLDINGS.
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
LONDON, May 27.-The lot Of English
shareholders at the present moment is not
happy one. They have seen the market
value of their shares shrink slowly but
steadily for ten years until the loss in that
period amounts to the stupendous total of
two billion dollars. Now worse things
threaten in the shape of a probable gen.
eral railroad strike. They have chiefly to
thank the present government for this.
Labor troubles of this nature have been
feared ever since the great liberal radical
success of sixteen months ago They be-
came inevitable when the law on which the
famous Taft Vale decision was based was
repeated and parliament passed an amazing
bill relieving trades unions of all legal re-
SponSiblity for their acts. This was all the
unions We're waiting for, and they nave
opened their campaign. Their demands as
already explained in these dispatches, are,
briefly recognition Of the unions by the
railway companies, and, in principle, eisht
hours day for all employees. They have
not definitely declared war as yet, but the
demands have been made, and nobody
knows what the next step will be until an
answer is received from the principal COM
panies
Now, the British railways as at present
managed can make only very slight finan-
cial concessions to employees without wip-
ing out the narrow margin of profits which
enables the payment of dividends on an
average of per cent of the market price
of ten years ago. Whether railway man
agement in this country has been efficient
is an open question, but the best lines boast
that they are the model railways of the
world.
In one respect, which is usually consid
cred of much Importance, they are
immensely superior to the American lines,
namely, they are safe to travel on. The in
dications are that the companies will reject
both the general demands of the labor
unions. They will remedy any grievances
they can which the employees put forward,
and every effort will be made to patch up
the dispute without an open rupture. If
the unions decide, nevertheless. on a gen
eral strike the situation would be one of
great gravity. The strikers are almost GER
tain to lose in the end, If for no other rea-
son than because public sentiment is over
whelmingly against them.
Politics in Strike Movement.
No great stike movement in this coun-
try ever succeeded without the support of
public sympathy. There is, unfortunately,
a considerable element Of politics In the
movement. 1t is more than suspected that
some Of the political leaders in the unions
have as their real object SO to cripple the
earning power of the railways that the
agitation for state ownership Will sue
coed They argue that if the dividend
earning power of the principal lines dis
appears then the chief opposition to gov
eminent control will disappear.
One would suppose that the lesson Whlch
London and other large cities learned IN
the past few years of the failure of NUM-
cipal ownership would settle this question.
So it has in the minds OF a large majority
Of Englishmen, but the socialistic labor
unions still stick to their fetish, and with
a government like the present in power.
there is always danger of extreme radical
legislation, and in this connection sober
Englishmen of both parties openly ex.
claim: THANK God for the house OF
lords.
Shareholders Aroused.
The emergency has thoroughly aroused
one class Of the community, namely, the
railway shareholder, of which there are
about half a million in the country. AL
ready there is an active movement on foot
for the organization of powerful asso-
citation of British shareholders. This has
been done before in connection with dis
putes over the management of individual
railways, hut the present scheme would be
largely political. 1t would aim to oppose
antagonistic legislation, and 1t cannot be
denied that it would be one OF the most
powerful political factors in the country
1t is proposed that it deal also with other
features of railway interests while strictly
abstaining from interference with the tech
nicalities of the railway service. 1t has as
an example the remarkably effective work
done some years ago by the British aSsocla-
ton of foreign bondholders. and it is urged
that the existence of such an association
would supply complete safeguard against
such methods of finance as have disgraced
certain American railway management in
recent years.
Much Public Resentment.
There is a good deal of public resentment
because the new reform county council has
not stopped promptly one abuse of the So
cialistic predecessors.
The latter permitted the use of many
school houses for so-called socialstic Sun
day schools. They even went SO far in one
or two instances as to grant the use of
school houses for teaching socialism on Sun
days in preference to applications by the
Church of England 'clergymen. No religion
is taught at these Sunday schools unless it
is claimed that socialism is religion.
The new education committee of the coun-
Gil at recent meeting decided not to cam
eel these permits and hence there sharp
protests throughout London. The matter
will be raised in the full council presently
and then the acton taken will perhaps be
different.