There have been many rumours during the week, but not
apparently on any good authority, to the effect that there will be great difficulty in obtaining the money required to float the Combine. .To these the prima facie conclusive answer has been given that no money will be required, as it has all been pro- vided long ago, and that none of the shares in the Combine will be offered to the public. We presume, however, that later and gradually the shares will be sold to the public by those who now bold them. As to the Combine's prospects of profit, it is, of course, far too early to speak with any certainty either way. As the Times points out in a very sane and reasonable leader on the subject in its Friday's issue, it would appear that some two millions sterling a year is the sum expected in the way of profit. That is about the annual sum which the capital created seems to anticipate. It remains to be seen whether these anticipations will be justified. Hitherto the Atlantic trade has not been very remunera- tive, but it may be that Mr. Morgan's power to feed his ships by his railways, and his talent for sound organisa- tion, which means the stopping of waste, will create new sources of profit. In any ease, and whether the Trust succeeds or not commercially, we see no sort of ground for panic, or even depression. The publics interests will, we believe, be as well served as ever, there will be no fewer British officers or seamen employed, and there will be as many ships available for hire in case of war. That the Americans will have obtained the share in Atlantic transport which the facts made it inevitable that they must obtain sooner or later is not a matter for reasonable regret, since it was bound to come. It may be, indeed, that their obtaining such an interest will prove a blessing, and may at some future time act as an insurance in regard to our food supplies.
Previous page
