巴菲特致合伙人的信（1969年12月26日）（上）

December 26, 1969

1969年12月26日

To My Partners:

Our plans regarding the initial cash distribution have been finalized and we expect to mail to you on January 3rd a check dated January 5th, 1970 for approximately 64% of your January 1st. 1969 capital, less any distributions made to you (including monthly payments) since January 1st. 1969. If you have taken no monthly payments during 1969, there will be a small interest adjustment in your favor; if you have had loans from BPL, there will be an interest charge. I couldn't be more delighted about the action of the bond and stock markets from the standpoint of the timing of our liquidation. I believe practically all partners - whether they would have invested in bonds or stocks - will be far better off receiving the cash now than if we had liquidated at the end of last year. Those seeking income will receive about 40% more after tax on the same principal investment than they would have achieved only a year ago at what then seemed like generous yields.

致各位合伙人：

现金分配方案已最终确定。1月3日，我们会向各位邮寄一份日期为1970年1月5日的支票。扣除1969年1月1日起已经分配的金额（包括每月利息），现金分配比例占各位1969年1月1日资本的大约64%。对于1969年没选择每月获得利息的合伙人，向其分配的资金会稍微多一些，因为其中包含利息调整；对于从巴菲特合伙基金借款的合伙人，则会从向其分配的资金中扣除利息。从我们清算的时机来看，债券市场和股票市场的表现对我们十分有利，我非常高兴。今年清算比去年年末清算强多了。几乎所有合伙人，无论打算投资债券，还是股票，现在收到现金都比去年收到现金有远远更好的机会。有的人追求稳定的收入，即使按去年比较高的收益率计算，现在投资同样的本金，获得的税后收益率也要比去年高40%。

Our tax picture is virtually complete and it appears that you will have ordinary income (dividends plus interest income less ordinary loss) for Federal tax purposes of about 3 –3/4% of your January 1st. 1969 capital (item 1 in enclosed letter), no significant long-term capital gain or loss, and a short-term capital loss of about 8-1/2% of your January 1st, 1969 unrealized appreciation (item 3). These estimates are just rough approximations - definitive figures will reach you in early February.

我们的税收数据已经出来了，从现在的情况看，各位合伙人需要缴纳联邦所得税的普通所得（股息加利息减去普通亏损）占1969年1月1日资本的3.75%（详见随附信函第1项），没有金额较大的长期资本利得或亏损，有一笔短期资本亏损，占各位1969年1月1日未实现增值的8.5%（第3项）。上述仅为粗略估算值。二月初，我们会将准确纳税数据寄给各位。

The sale of our 371,400 shares of Blue Chip Stamps was not completed in 1969. When the stock went into registration, it was selling at about $24 per share. The underwriters indicated a range where they expected to offer our shares (along with others) with heavy weight placed on a comparison with Sperry & Hutchinson. Shortly before the stock was to be offered, with the Dow-Jones Industrials much lower but S & H virtually unchanged, they indicated a price below their former range. We reluctantly agreed and felt we had a deal but, on the next business day, they stated that our agreed price was not feasible. We then withdrew and a much smaller offering was done.

1969年，我们没把我们的371,400股蓝筹印花(Blue Chip Stamps)都卖出去。这只股票注册上市后，股价是每股24美元。承销商给我们报了一个发行价范围。他们在确定这个发行价范围时，主要是参照斯佩里和哈钦森印花公司(Sperry&Hutchinson Stamps)的股价。就在我们的股票很快就要上市的时候，道指大跌，斯佩里和哈钦森印花的股价几乎没变，但承销商把发行价范围调低了。我们不太情愿地答应了，以为这就定下来了，但是第二天，他们又说定好的价格不行。于是，我们就撤了，把发行规模大大缩小了。

I intend to hold our block of Blue Chip Stamps in BPL for a more advantageous disposal or eventual distribution to our partners. The odds are decent that we will do better in this manner -even if it takes a year or two - than if we had participated in a very large sale into a somewhat distressed market. Unless there is a material change in the market in the next few days, I plan to value our Blue Chip holdings at yearend at the price received by selling shareholders on the public offering after underwriting discount and expenses.

对于我们在巴菲特合伙金持有的蓝筹印花股份，我打算继续持有，等到以后价格合适时再出售，或者分配给合伙人。从概率上看，与其在行情低迷的时候把我们的大部分股票卖出去，不如像我们现在这么做，多等一两年也行。只要这几天蓝筹印花的股价不出现大幅变动，今年年末，在对它估值时，我打算采用发行价减去承销费用。

Various questions have been asked pursuant to the last letter:

1. If we are not getting a good return on the textile business of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., why do we continue to operate it?

我收到了一些关于上一封信的问题：

1.伯克希尔哈撒韦的纺织业务资本回报率低，为什么还要继续经营？

Pretty much for the reasons outlined in my letter. I don't want to liquidate a business employing 1100 people when the Management has worked hard to improve their relative industry position, with reasonable results, and as long as the business does not require substantial additional capital investment. I have no desire to trade severe human dislocations for a few percentage points additional return per annum. Obviously, if we faced material compulsory additional investment or sustained operating losses, the decision might have to be different, but I don't anticipate such alternatives.

原因我已经在信里说了。纺织业务为1100名员工提供就业岗位，管理层非常努力地争取比同行做得更好，只要它业绩还过得去，而且不必继续投入大量资本，我就不想清算。我不想为了收益率能高几个百分点，让很多人丢掉饭碗。如果我们不得不继续投入巨额资本，或者纺织业务一直亏损，我当然也没办法，只能做出不一样的决定，但是我认为不会出现这种情况。

2. How large is our investment in Sun Newspapers, etc., and do we intend to expand in the newspaper, radio and TV business?

2.我们在太阳报业(Sun Newspapers)等公司的投资有多大，是否计划在报纸、广播和电视行业加大投入？

The combined investment in Sun, Blacker Printing and Gateway Underwriters is a little over $1 per share of Berkshire Hathaway, and earns something less than 10 cent per share. We have no particular plans to expand in the communication field.

我们在太阳报业、布莱克尔印刷公司(Blacker Printing Company)以及捷威保险公司(Gateway Underwriters)的投资，加起来在每股伯克希尔哈撒韦股份中占1美元多一点，合计盈利是每股不到10美分。我们没有在传媒领域加大投资的具体计划。

3. What does Gateway Underwriters do?

3.捷威保险公司是做什么的？

Gateway Underwriters serves primarily as a General Agent for National Indemnity Company in the State of Missouri.

捷威保险公司是国民赔偿公司(National Indemnity)在密苏里州的总代理。

4. Are there good "second men" to take over from the men running the three excellent operating businesses?

4.我们有三个出色的主营业务，有没有合适的后备人选来接替这三项业务的经营者？

In any company where the founder and chief driving force behind the enterprise is still active, it is very difficult to evaluate "second men". The only real way to see how someone is going to do when running a company is to let him run it. Some of our businesses have certainly been more "one-man shows" than the typical corporation. Subject to the foregoing caveat, I think that we do have some good “second men” coming along.

在任何一家公司，只要创始人和企业的核心仍然活跃在舞台上，都很难评估接班人。要了解一个人能否经营好一家公司，只有一个办法，就是看他在实际经营中的表现。和一般公司相比，我们有的公司确实更依赖经营者的一己之力。虽说接班人很难评估，但我们确实有一些优秀的接班人。