The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-06-29
SHARP ATTACK BY ALLIES SWEPT FOE
BACKWARD A MILE in TWO SECTORS;
MORE THAN 400 PRISONERS TAKEN
'INORDINATE GREED"
''BARE.F4CED FR4UU
IN VAR INDUSTRIES
Federal Trade Commission Announces
That Manufacturers are Taking
Advantage of "War
Pressure

Washington, ID. c., June 2o.--Investi.
cations carefully conducted have led to
the conclusion that profteering exists
among American industries, due in part
to advantage being taken of war pres
sure for heavy production" and in part
to "inordinate greed and bare faced
fraud the federal trade commission an
nounced to-day in a report sent to the
Senate. The report was submitted in
response to a resolution asking the com
mission to furnish the Senate with all
figures and information relative to prof
iteering in order that steps might be tax
EN- to remedy present conditions.
Outstanding features of the report,
each supported by extensive data, are:
The heavy profit made by the low
cost concern under a government fixed
price for the whole country.
The heavy profit made by the meat
packers and allied industries, and by
the -four milers.
The trade tendency to increase and
maintain prices against the forces of
eonscription.
The report is based on cost finds for
the commission of war industries board,
the food administration, the fuel admin
istration, aud other legislative depart
ments, on industrial surveys, and
through enforcement of laws against un-
fair methods of competition. The prod
uets investigated and which the report
covers are steel, copper, zinc, nickel, sui |
phur, lumber, -four, canned milk, and |
canned salmon. Salaries and bonuses |
paid high officials were also the subject |
of inquiries.
Price fixing by the government, the |
report says, has tended to prevent the |
market from running away, but at the |
same time it strengthens the stronger
factors in industries in their position,
and enriches them by profits (which are
without precedent"
While the price OF -four has been stab,
lized by fixing price for wheat and
, maximum margin of profit for flour,
he report shows that profits increased
rom an average II per cent on the in
for the four years ending June
%, l9i6, to nearly 1888 per cent in the
,esr ending June 80, 1917. "These prof
ts," it is stated, "are indefensible con-
idering that an average profit of one
Mill for six months of the year shows az
Ugh as 81 barrel" Many milers ex-
eeded the government maximum for
rofits and to that extent 'the profits
we're larger and in general, in fact, were
cry great"
The report declares that unprecedented
rohts are shown in a survey of the i
acking industry. In this connection, it
said:
Five meat packers, Armour, Swift,
Iorris, Wilson and Cudahy, and their I
ubsidiaries and affiliated companies q
ave monopistlis control Of meat indus !,
ry and are looking out for like domi.
alton in other products. Their mauip- !
lation of the market embraces every y
evice that is useful to them without re-
ard to law. Their reward, expressed in D
,rms of profit, reveals that four Of
lese concerns have pocketed in 1915,
]l6, l0l7, $l40,000,000. However deli n
tie definition is framed for prof q
eering" these packers have preyed Y
pom the people uneonsciously. o
Investigation in the coal mining in o.
lstry reveals that despite government b
AeNS HAAiE 1di ~ htai Sii93 pa oitn hhNE
zen made. Ranges in the cost of pro-
iction in field having the same maxi
um prices has caused some operators
make small margins OF profit and IT
hers large margins, the bulk of the =
oduction enjoying the large margin,
In the oil industry large profits are
w being made in fuel oil and gaso- -
lie, the industry being one where the na
" of supply and demand still oper 81
es. The operation of this law is held h,
be in part responsible for the heavy ar
offs, but portion of the blame is M
d to the spreading of false reports
yarding supplies.
Steel companies made abnormal profits ~
fore the government fixed a price for u
} product, and it is shown that some
We since made unusual returns. Prof
of the United States Steel corporation
! estimated at 24.9 per cent in 1917, Ge
compared with 1916 per cent in 1919,
52 per cent in 1915.
In virtually every one of the other in
stries covered by the report, it is
,wn unusually heavy profits have been
de in the last few years. Abnormal ine
aries are also shown to have been y
a axeci,f iva nfficars we