The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-08-30
cess profits last year were from Il tc
400 Pc cent.
Coal Men Pile Up Wealth.

The Pennsylvania and West Vir.
ginia soft coal mining companies made
enormous excess profits In 1917, ac-
cording TO the report. The large COM
panies all made profits In 1916 ranging
from % to $50 per cent.
In 1917 all OF the large bituminous
operators, the report shows, made un-
usual profits. One mine, made 1925
per cent on its capital In 1916 and 4,337
per cent In 1917. Another made 1872
per cent In 1916 and 1888 per cent in
1917.
Profits of the midcontinent bitumi-
nous operators were smaller, averag-
ing so per cent.
The big oil producing companies of
Illinois, Indiana, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and
West Virginia made from % to 396
per cent In 1915 and enormous excess
profits In 1917. The Texas, Oklahoma
and Kansas oil companies showed
similar profits for both years.
All OF the garment manufacturers
made gigantic profits In 1916. those for
the larger companies ranging from 70
to rs per cent that year. They showed
excess profits In 1917 of from 5 to 90
per cent.
Small dealers In flour and grain,
with capital stock Of from $1,000 TO
$1,000, made excess profits that ranged
as high as $40 per cent.
The report also shows that the small
dealers In furniture and other house
hold goods made enormous profits last
year, with excess profits as high as 35O
per cent
Retail dealers In tobacco made enor-
nous profits off the smokers OF the
country, the highest being 3,176 per
cent, and the average approximately
80 per cent In 1915. These profits
were doubled during 1917.
Auto Builders Wax Fat.
Most of the automobile companies
hit high marks In earnings In 1916. but
they went still higher In 1917. The
largest listed, however. did not show
any extraordinary increase In profits
over those Of 1915 One company with
$31 ,OOO, 900 capital In 1915 earned ST.
600 200. then boosted It's capital stock
to $96OOO,O 900 and then earned $685.
100000. A $4,000, 900 concern which
earned $4,6OS, 900 in 1915 made $5,25S.-
600 In 1917. A S16,000.0O0 company
made $4,713,OO0 In 1917, against $4,-
100000 In 1915.
A tin plate mill with $40, 900, 900 cap
ital made S54,OOO,OO0 net profit In 1917,
against $4,000, 900 In 1915, or an In
crease Of 72 per cent on Its capital
stock.
Transportation, public utilities, and
light and power companies, with very
few exceptions, Jared exceedingly well
during 1915 and 1917. Their profits
in 1915 generally ranged from 8 to SO
per cent on their capital stock, while
they nearly all made excess profits In
1917 of from to 35 per cent. Profits
Of the large public utilities companies
in 1916 and 1917 ranged from IL to rs
per cent.
Steam and electric railroads In 1915
made from II to POT per cent profits
while In 1917 they made profits In
excess Of 1915 that ranged between 1c
and 20 per cent, according to the re-
port.
Marine, fire, and life insurance con
Germs enjoyed unusually large in
creases In profits. One company
earned 493 per cent more on It's cap
ital stock In 1917 than In 1915. An.
other capitalized at 100000 increased
It's income from $324, 900 In 1918 to
$S,7780O0 In 1917.
How Dry Goods Men Fa~ed.
A list Of 2y092 clothing and dry
goods merchants, including department
stores showed profits for l917 In ex'
cess Of those ever 1915, o. high al
101.l8 per cent on the capital stock
The concerns making the enormous
profits, however, were the smaller
firms.
-RSt3ii Rfocers and provision brokers
made their ENORMOUS ''war profits
In 1919 the report shows. The gro
GERS made only small profit In 191i
In excess OF. their 1915 profits. OF the
1888 concerns listed In the report
however, only q dozen show profits Of
| less than 20 per cent or their capita
stock in 1919. the year before the Unit
ed States entered the war, and thu
profits Of some concerns that yeal
were as high as 1913 per cent. Mos
of the grocers. both large and small
| concerns, the report shows. made av
erage profits In 1915 Of from 30 to 20t
per cent.