New Britain herald., 1918-08-17
TREASURY ANALYSIS
 OF WAR BROTHERS
Meat Packers, MilleTS and CaD-
 ners Head List, Records Show
BASED ON INCOME RETURNS

Wide Discrepancies in Net Shown by IntinvnduaIS in Same Industries Enormous Profits Made by Oil Pro- Washington, Aug. 17.-War prof. | teerS in 1917 were most numerous in businesses devoted to food production and distribution, cotton and woolen manufacturing and dealing, coal min ing, iron. copper, aluminium and other metal production and oil pro auction and distribution, according to treasury analysis of income tax re- turns. In addition, thousands of small concerns in a great variety of indus trial and commercial classifc cations made profits ranging from 100 to B. 900 per cent above their normal profits for pre-war years, which even then were considered I;igh. Detailed information on the extent of war protiteering has been given congress recently in compliance with a, resolution requesting it and the Federal Trade Commission is under stood to have obtained consderab ble information from the income reports
 
 meat packing industry.
 In citing certain industry or com merce classifcatiOns as containing the largest percentage of protiteers, the treasury has made it clear that not all individual businesses in these groups have gathered in swollen earn ings. This is true particularly of coal operators, some of whom made enor- nous profits, often several hundred per cent higher than good earnings of former years, while others made barely enough to pay justified divi- dends.
 With few exceptions manufacturers of clothing and shoes reported big profits. This was true of most concerns holding government contracts, many of which were let early in the war when the government felt compelled to stimulate production of the vast quantities of supplies needed by the army. Scores of income reports from suit, shirt, underclOthing and shoe manufacturers showed earnings of from 30 to 100 per cent. on invested capital
 Lumber production stimulated by the sudden enormous demand from cantonments and other government operations, melted forest and sawmiII owners as we'll as distri buters profits several times above those of normal years.
 Enormous Profits of Oil Producers.
 Oil producers made enormous profits, which they claimed justified by the rapid depreciation of property and the extra financial hazard of their business
 Despite high cost of labor and other factors entering into mining, the treasury analysis shows that very few iron, copper or aluminium mines failed to make tremendous profits for their owners, under the government policy of stimulating production. Prducers of silver, gold, platinum and other precious metals profited to a lesser extent.
 AutmObile and motor truck manu- facturering was highly profitable, al though income returns show that earn ings of different plants were far from uniform, some making high as 50 per cent of investments and others less than 10 per cent,
 Meat packers, flour millers and canners apparently stood at the top of the list of food profit takers. accord ing to income returns. Farmers also made money heavily last year, but not enough of their returns have been analysed to justify general statement of their profits, officials say.
 Prof1teerinS was by no means con- fined to big business interests. Small scale producers in thousands of cases reported profits equal to the aggre- gate of from five to 10 years earnings before the United States entered the war.
 More than 300 clerks of the inter nal revenue bureau have been em- ployed in tabulating income returns for the last six weeks and transmit ting these in weekly or bi-WeeIly in stallments to the senate, where the reports now are being prepared for eX~ animation by the senate finance com mittee in connection with it's con sideratiOn of the new revenue bill.
 1-ameS of individual companies are 1 not reported since these by law must I be considered confidential unless the ! president specifically authorizes pub ! C9