Evening star., 1949-08-28

In the hearings before the Steel Wage
Board the union spokesnen never mentioned
the principal figure-the stockholder. Robert
Nathan wrote two reports totaling more than
100 pages containing 81 charts and SIS tables.
But nowhere does he mention the vast num-
ber of stockholders equaling or exceeding
workers. their distribution among the lower
income groups. the declining return on their
investment and the dearth Of dividends
during the decade 1930-1939.
Messrs. Murray and Nathan talk as If the
steel companies were owned by few tycoons.
Corporations do not publish regularly the
distribution of their stockholdings. However,
in October, 1947. U. 8. Steel News, the en-
ployes' magazine. showed that 80 per cent Of
its stockholders held less than 10 shares, 66
per cent held less than rs shares. 88 per cent
held less than so shares, leaving IL per cent
owning over so shares. The average holding
was about 20 shares. The market price in
October. 1947. averaged about SIS.
Who Owns Steel Stock.
AS against 286.000 employees at that time.
there were $4,000 individual stockholders,
1,408 educational and charitable institutions.
1913 insurance companies, 1,789 other COM
panies. However, $50 brokers and 300 banks
hold, as nominees, about 100000 shares, or
1874 per cent, of the total common stock actu-
ally owned by many tens of thousands of
holders
The increase in the number of U. S. Steel
stockholders shows continuous public diffu-
sion of stock ownership. Heavy inheritance
taxes are breaking up the large holdings and
steep income taxes are drying up the old
sources of equity capital. From 1906 to 1947
the stockholders increased from $4,000 to
$4,000. or about 4.6 times. But the number
nf ayon1ovoc o11v from C0C IN,
or IA times.
It Is these small investors who put up the
money for the machinery which now gives
the steel workers the highest wage in history
and places them among the highest ranked
wage groups. The stockholder. who is the
employer, is indeed Americas forgotten
man." How did the employer fare compared
to the employe?
Stockholders are also people. Their divi-
dends have risen less than the cost of living
since 1910 and from 1881 to 1889 were zero,
except for 81 in 1887. AS for needs" the
Stockholder has needs as well as the employe.
MIR. Nathan relates wages and profits But
profits and wages cannot be compared.
Paper profits are not cash to the stockholder,
but only an accounting concept on corporate
books. But dividends and wages are truly
comparable. Both are definite, concrete
cash figures available for spending by the
recipient.
The ratio Of U. s. Steel common
dividends to wages fell steadily over the long
term and was per cent in 1948, as COM
pared with rs per cent in 1910; IL per cent
in 1927 and 1872 per cent in 1918. For the
entire AZ years of life Of the corporation,
common dividends were 7 per cent Of its
wage costs. The record for intervening pc
riods are even more impressive. AS q per
cent Of wages. dividends declined from 11.6
per cent in l906-l913, 10.6 per cent in 1921
1881, 4.6 per cent in 1940-l945, ST. per
cent in 1946-l948, 81 per cent in 1932-1948
and SO per cent in 1932-1939.
Mr.. Murray and Free Enterprise.
These figures speak so loudly that one can
not hear the words of the union spokesman
No system can survive under such relation
of wages to dividends. Mr.. Murray's practice
does not square with his professions of be-
lief in free enterprise. His is the soft voice
Of Jacob but the rough hand Of Esau. Phil
Murray may sign an anti-Communist affl-
davit but he is driving us away from freedom.
economic and political, toward statism and
totalitarianism.
The u. s. Steel common stockholder
subsidized the employees for the period
1931-1939 when no dividends were paid
except 81 per share In 1897. In addition,
the deficit for the period amounted to 1925
million, but the wages amounted to $2.1
billion. In other words about II per cent of
the employees receipts were subsidies at the
expense Of the stockholder. But in the