The Annual General Meeting:
Houses to Be Built for Mill Hands The annual general meeting of the Shanghai Cotton Manufacturing Ca., Ld. (The Shanghai Boshoku Kabushiki Kwaisha) was held on Thursday at 49 Szechuen Road, Mr. M. Nodaira presiding, supported by Mr. J. Prentice, Mr. H. KO, Morviss, Mr. W. J. N. Dyer and Mr. K. Otani (directors), and Mr. K. Kuroda (secretary). The attendance represented—49,035 shares, In his speech, the Chairman said The result of the year's working has, in our opinion, been on the whole satisfactory, though not as bright as the two preceding years.
The early part of the year under review was as good as could be wished for, but the nearer approach to the close of the year, the worse the market became. The margin of profit was reduced to almost a minimum, and had it not been the case with mills of superior productive power, the balance at credit of the profit and loss account would have been much smaller. © The opening of the new year, likewise, does not warrant an optimistic view, and I earnestly hope that the general condition of the market, etc., may soon improve and so enable our mills to continue to be run without restricting. their output.
Buildings, machinery and equipment in your mills have received very careful attention and apart from sundry additions and improvements that were made, as much as Tls. 226,319.40 was spent for their renewal and repair, which amount, as usual, was charged direct to the working account.
In order to meet the ever increasing pay vell on Jabiour, the management are assiduously endeavouring to reduce other items in production cost, and with sundry up-to-date modern equipments such as water, plants, ete. and other improvements om conveyance of coal and other matters, satisfactory result are anticipated.
Some of the old buildings are,. however, not up to the mark, as reported before, bit after having been temporarily repaired, they may be able to stand for use for a further period.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.