明治期鉄道会社の経営紛争と株主の動向

-「九州鉄道改革運動」をめぐって-

抄録

The kyushu tetsudo kaikaku undo (the Movement for the Reform in the Kyushu Railroad Company) was believed to have resulted from the dispute between Mitsubishi and Mitsui over the hegemony of the Kyushu Railroad Company. Both Mitsubishi and Mitsui were seeking control over the coal industry of the Chikuho region, and to obtain hegemony of the Kyushu Railroad Company was important, for it was the leading company in the transportation of coal in the northern Kyushu region. By examining the kyushu tetsudo kaikaku undo in detail, this paper illustrates that the primary cause of this movement was not the dispute between Mitsubishi and Mitsui but was far more complex. Also, this paper shows the problems in management of the privately owned railroad companies after the Sino-Japanese War.
The aggressive policy of the Kyushu Railroad Company played an important role in the formation of the kyushu tetsudo kaikaku undo. The company was forced to take this aggressive policy because of two main reasons. First, the company was established on limited capital; and second, the industrial growth after the Sino-Japanese War placed a great demand on transportation. These forced the railroad companies to upgrade their facilities. This upgrading was supported by various companies involved in the coal industry that held stocks in the Kyushu Railroad Company, while other stockholders were not so eager to support such upgrading because of the decreasing profits. Particularly, it was the stockholders who hoped for the nationalization of the Kyushu Railroad Company and the bankers who held stocks in this company that became the main opponents for the executives of the Kyushu Railroad Company.