COMPANY MEETING
ANGLO-SPANISH CONSTRUCTION
WORKING OF THE RAILWAY CONDITIONS UNDER THE FRANCO ADMINISTRATION AT the twelfth annual general meeting of the Anglo-Spanish Con- struction Company, Limited, held at I London Wall Buildings, London, E.G., on July 8th, the Chairman, Mr. David McA. Eccles, said that during the year a further 5 per cent. had been distributed on the debentures outstanding, making them 65 per cent. repaid. It was not the board's intention to distribute any of the remaining cash in hand until after the civil war had given place to more settled conditions.
Weekly remittances of foreign exchange had ceased in July, 1936. The company had the undisputed right, expressed in a contract between the Currency Control Committee and itself, to export gold if and when foreign exchange was not forthcoming. In spite of strong representations, the Valencia Government had so far failed to fulfil this contract, which, if it were honoured, would do much to prove that Government's good faith.
THE SANTANDER-MEDITERRANEO RAILWAY.
Referring to the effect of recent events upon the Santander- Mediterraneo Railway, the Chairman said that 1935 was a year of increasing discontent and consequent economic stagnation, which accounted for the rise in the deficit on operations to 642,000 pesetas. In the first half of r936 things went from bad to worse. Social legisla- tion that had previously been introduced threatened to impose con- ditions under which efficient exploitation would have been impossible. Although the line was running at a loss, demands for increases in pay and other additions to costs were put forward which, had they come into operation, would have had the effect of raising the wages bill by 15o per cent., although no upward revision in tariffs could have been made to offset these changes. Conditions became so threatening in the early months of the year that special insurances had to be taken out against aggression and personal attacks upon the administration and higher categories of the staff.
In July civil war broke out. Since the first day of hostilities the whole area served by the Santander-Mediterraneo Company's railway system had remained under the control of General Franco's Government. Between July 18th and 27th of last year there were some minor interruptions in the train services ; but since the latter date the system had been regularly and efficiently operated, and the shareholders would be interested to hear that no special precautions by way of supervision had had to be taken, and that the general sympathy with the Nationalist cause in the provinces through which the line passed hdd been sufficient guarantee of peaceful and satisfac- tory working conditions.
CURRENT YEAR'S IMPROVED TRAFFIC RECEIPTS.
Traffic receipts were affected by the dislocation in trade at the beginning of hostilities, and the year closed with a deficit of approxi- mately 1,200,000 pesetas. However, in 1937, in spite of the loss of the coal traffic, which normally provided a high proportion of the total, takings had shown a vigorous recovery, and for the first four months were 3o per cent. better than those for the same period of the previous year, and 12 per cent. better than the corresponding figures in 1935. The staff was to be congratulated upon this excellent achievement, not forgetting that the administration of General Franco's Government was responsible for the conditions in which this recovery had been made.
At a general meeting of debenture-holders, held at the conclusion of the shareholders' meeting, an extraordinary resolution was passed postponing the fixed redemption date and interest payment to September 3oth, 1939.
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