Cecil Rhodes Sr. was the prime minister of the Cape Colony back then, so it is normal for the Cape Railway to have shares of the Rhodes family.

The railways built after the establishment of the Federal Government of Southern Africa also have shares in South African companies, and many railways are even jointly invested by Roque and Xiaosi, so Roque and Xiaosi really have the right to decide on this issue.

If Roque and Smalls did not agree to the nationalization of the railway, then even Philip would have nothing to do.

As Roque expected, after Roque relayed Xiao Si's opinion to Philip, Philip was also adamantly opposed.

"Set up a commercial company to run the railway, that is the same as before, Locke, don't think that I want to nationalize the railway for my own political achievement, I am clearing the way for you, Alfred and I are old, and the future of Southern Africa belongs to you young people." Philip spoke earnestly and was ready to be scolded.

It's an amazing fact that in Southern Africa, if a big company does something wrong, people are often used to it.

And if this kind of thing happens in a government agency, then people will definitely get to the bottom of it and hold them accountable.

It's the same with railroads, which are run by commercial companies, are inefficient, poor, and expensive, and it's unacceptable for the same thing to happen on federally operated railroads.

The Palace of Justice had just undergone a renovation, and in Philip's office, in addition to the portrait of King George V, there were also pictures of Ade and Philip, and Roque felt that Philip's picture seemed to be larger than Ade's.

Probably a delusion.

"Philip, there is no need for this, in fact, if the federal government wants to increase revenue and participate in dividends, it will be better than the government to lead the effect." Roque's biggest concern was that if the railroads were nationalized, not only would they fail Philip's goals, but would make the federal government even more embarrassing.

Relatively speaking, Roque still prefers Xiaosi's plan, the federal government can pay dividends, but does not participate in the operation, in which case, the railroad company can even set a minimum standard to ensure the federal government's revenue.

"If we set up a national railroad company, we can hire professional managers to run the railroad in full accordance with the rules of the market, and the federal government can get a percentage of dividends every year, which is good for all of us." Roque is not worried about the loss of passengers' interests, and if the price of train tickets is too high, people will naturally choose a more suitable way to travel.

Unlike the railways in Roque's memory, the railways in southern Africa are more responsible for freight functions, and people rarely choose railways for travel.

This is also related to the actual situation in southern Africa, where there is no annual wave of migrant workers, and most of the factory workers come from neighboring countries and regions, and they can only go home once every few years, so they do not occupy too much public resources.

"Locke, I know what you're worried about, the nationalization of the railroad will not affect your position in Nyasaland." Philip was in a bad mood, and Roque's reaction was unexpected by Philip.

"No, no, no, it has nothing to do with Nyasaland." Roque disagreed with Philip's words.

Compared to Philip, Roque is clear about the advantages and disadvantages of government dominance, Philip only imagined, but Roque has already tested it in Nyasaland.

Nyasaland's rail system was originally led by the Nyasaland government and was not Roque's private property.

As a result, with the development of the Nyasaland Railway, various problems arose, and the organization was bloated, costly, inefficient, and passengers complained.

Subsequently, the Government of Nyasaland established a commercial company to carry out commercial operations of railways in Nyasaland.

After the rectification of the railway company, the effect was immediate, the service level was significantly improved, the efficiency was gradually improved, the cost was continuously reduced, and the loss was turned into a profit that year.

However, the situation in Nyasaland is different from that of the federal government, where Roque has absolute authority and makes every statement, while the federal government is full of contradictions, and it is difficult to reconcile the interests of all parties, and new problems will arise at that time.

"So what exactly are you worried about?" Philip was also helpless, if Roque did not agree, this proposal would definitely not pass in Congress.

"There's a lot to worry about, Philip, you may not know that even the Nyasaland Railway, in fact, is not profitable." Roque admits that this is normal, Roque has never made money on public utilities related to people's livelihood, not only transportation, medical care, education, electricity, and postal services, Roque and the government of Nyasaland, in fact, do not make money.

Nyasaland has developed heavy industry and has great advantages in the fields of military industry, automobiles, aviation, shipbuilding, etc., so Roque has no requirement for the profitability of public utilities, and even if it is a small profit, it will continue to invest in later construction, which is a unique advantage of Nyasaland, and other states cannot do it.

In fact, the railways in southern African states can really make profits, in fact, there are only a few states such as Cape, Rhodesia, and Dias, and the railways in other states are not profitable, and the railway companies even operate at a loss.

It can't be said that it loses money, the policy of southern Africa to the railway company is very good, the railway company builds the railway, and automatically obtains the right to operate the land within ten kilometers on both sides of the railway, which is a huge benefit in itself, but the railway company will often strip the land and the railway after getting the land on both sides of the railway, and set up a separate company to operate, so it seems that the railway is not profitable.

This benefit Roque did not actually enjoy, and all the land in Nyasaland was originally Roque's.

"I know, and I know, why the Transvaal Railway isn't profitable." Philip's face was ugly, he had been governor of the Transvaal for ten years and was well aware of the situation in the Transvaal.

The reason why the Transvaal railway is not profitable is also because of the big enterprises such as Favart Steel and South African Corporation, which are obstructive, and the Transvaal train ticket has not increased in price for more than 20 years, which is similar to the end of the Boer War, but the price has risen year after year in recent years, and it is strange that the Transvaal Railway can make money.

"So, does Henry agree with your decision?" Roque was curious, and Henry probably didn't have Roque's big picture.

"Hmph, if he doesn't agree, he has to agree." Philip presumably had communicated with Henry, and the results didn't seem to be good.

Roark ignored Henry, Hamilton and Vincent had arrived in Pretoria and gathered at Small's house in the evening.

"The key to setting up a railroad company is profit sharing, and the federal government wants as much as it wants each year, too much is not enough." Hamilton is an old fellow from the time of Cecil Rhodes Sr., and now he is in his seventies, and he is old.

"The federal government wants 20 percent, or 25 percent, and I'd prefer 10 percent—" Xiao Si sharpened his knife, and the difference was a bit big.

"Twenty percent is absolutely not good, and then all the profits are taken by the federal government." Vincent is not yet fifty years old this year, and he is a rich second generation like Xiao Si.

Cecil Rhodes Sr.'s generation was actually the pioneers of southern Africa, and Si and Vincent largely enjoyed it.

"After the establishment of the United Railroad Company, the railways of the states can be integrated, and the profits will be further increased." Roque preferred to form a United Railroad Company, but like Small, he did not want the federal government to interfere too much.

As for profits, although Roque can make a slight concession, it is not the same for Hamilton and Vincent.

Roque didn't make money from the railroads, but Hamilton and Vincent didn't have much money, and it was difficult for them to give up that part of their profits unless they could be compensated by something else.

"Locke, how much do you hope?" Xiao Si took the initiative, Hamilton and Vincent had no say in Roque, and only Xiao Si was qualified to talk to Roque.

"How about fifteen percent?" Roque compromised, this is equivalent to a nationwide railway company, the federal government in the Transvaal, Orange, Dias, and Victorian railways, only 15 percent, the federal government actually suffers.

Of course, this is not the case, the railway network in Diaz and Victoria is not perfect, and the next step is definitely to continue to invest.

The railroads in the Transvaal and Orange are not profitable, and the establishment of the United Railroad Company is equivalent to the federal government getting rid of non-performing assets, which is also good for the federal government.

Xiao Si secretly weighed that Hamilton and Vincent made eye contact, Hamilton was worried, and the greed in Vincent's eyes was fleeting.

"I think so, if the federal government commits not to interfere with the operation of the United Railroad." Xiao Si can still take care of the overall situation, he actually doesn't rely on the railway company to make money, selling canned food, selling dried mangoes, bananas or something, in fact, he doesn't have to make less money.

Compared with heavy industry, the investment in agricultural products is small, the return is large, the risk is low, and the economic returns are still quite good.

During the economic crisis that has just passed, the profits of South African companies have not been affected much and have maintained stable income.

Now that countries are recovering from the economic crisis, demand for agricultural products is increasing, and South African companies are rising in revenue.

Relatively speaking, the military industry in southern Africa has been greatly affected, and the arsenal under the Nyasaland military industry has been seriously underrun in the past two years, and it is actually a loss every year, and Roque has to work hard to promote the transformation of the arsenal, preserve its strength as much as possible, and wait for the next world war.

"So, how should the shares be divided between us?" Vincent asked the most crucial question, and the federal government said that the interests of their gang would also be guaranteed.

"Of course, according to the actual capital-" Xiao Si was polite and conceded to the federal government, that was for the sake of Roque's face, Hamilton and Vincent left it alone.

They have no face here.