RAILWAY SHAREHOLDERS' PLIGHT.
Space will not permit my making more than a brief reference to another matter, which is of some concern to investors in EngliSh Railway stocks, who have suffered so greatly from the collapse in prices during the past decade, and especially during the past year. Only during last week holders of prior charge stocks of the L.M.S. Railway received a fresh shock from the announcement that the Directors were unable to declare any interest for the current half-year on the 4 per cent. Preference stock of 1923, while the general 4 per cent. Preference issue only receives half of the usual interim distribution, and still more striking was the fact that on the 5 per cent. Redeemable Preference stock issued-only a few years ago at par (it now stands at 44) the directors were only able to declare half of the interim distribution - now due. This deplorable state of affairs in the English Railway market is, of course, primarily attributable to continued trade depression and the growth of road competition. How far it may be also connected with imperfect management it would be difficult to say, but that the situation from the stockholders' point of view has been gravely affected - by the sheltered character of the industry in the matter of wages there can be no question, and despite some drastic economies of recent years the fact remains that while gross revenues have fallen in an appalling fashion (notwithstanding the raising of passenger and goods rates) working charges have not been reduced in anything like the same proportion.
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