LONDON TRANSPORT PAYMENTS.
Announcement of the further payments on account of interest on London Passenger Transport " C " stock for the- years 1933-84 and 1984-35 may be said to mark the opening of the final stage of .a ,Herculean accounting task, for the most knotty accounts problem connected with the Board's establish- ment is the arrangement of suburban traffic pooling with the railways, which was only finally settled in June last. Payments now announced on the £25,000,000 of " C " stock, which represents the only " variable dividend " portion of the Board's £111,000,000 capital, are 1 per cent. on account of 1933-34 and 21 per cent. on account of the year to lune 30th last. These payments will bring the distributions for the two years to 31 per cent. and 4 per cent., respectively. The
standard " interest rate nn the " C -stock was 5 per cent. for the first two years from July 1st, 1933, and thereafter 51. per cent., with a possibility of 6 per cent. in certain circum- stances. Earnings for the first. two years thus:appear to have fallen well below the maximum, although a clearer view on this point can only be obtained when the Board's accounts are. available at the end of this month. In any case, the early operation of an undertaking of such size must be subject to many handicaps, and can hardly be taken as a criterion of earning capacity. The advantages of unification will probably show themselves far more plainly during the next few years.
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