The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-07-01
INVESTIGATING
PROF |TE { RING
WAR INDUSTRIES
Per-. ers Taking Advant-
Of Var Times.
UNPRECEDENTED PROFITS
Federal Trade Commission Sends Re-
part to Senate in Response to
Resolution.

Washington, ID. c. June 80. In,
vestigations carefully conducted have
led to the conclusion that proiiteering
exists among American industries, due
in part to advantage being taken OF
War pressure for heavy production"
and in part to "inordinate greed and
bare-faced fraud" the federal trade
commission announced today in a re-
port sent to the Senate. The report
vas submitted in response to reso-
luton asking the commission to furn.
ish the Senate with all figures and in
formation relative to profteering In
order that steps might be taken 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 millers.
The trade tendency to increase and
maintain prices agdinst the forces OF
conscription.
The report is based on cost finds for
the commission of war industries
board, the food administration, the
fuel administration, and other legis-
lative departments, on industrial sur
yeys, and through enforcement of
laws against unfair methods OF CON
acription The products investigated
and which the report covers are steel,
copper, zinc, nickel sulphur lumber,
hour, canned milk, and canned sal
men, Salaries and bonuses paid high
officials were also the subject of in
quire.
Price fixing by the government the
report says, has tended TO prevent the
market from running away but at the
same time i slrengthens tha stronger
factors in industries in their positions
and cnriches them by profits which
are without precedent"
While the price OF flour has been
stabilized by fixing a price for wheat
ana maximum margin of profit for
Hour the report shows that profits
increase from an average 10 per cent
on the investment for the four years
ending June 80 1916 to nearly 1888 per
cent in the year ending June 30 1917.
Ihese profits,' it is stated, ARE in
defenslble considering that an aver.
age pront OF one mill for six months
OF the year shows as high as So bar
rel. Many millers exceeded the
government for profits and TO that ex.
tent the profits were large and in
general, IN fact. were very great"
/ The report declares that unprece.
dented profits are shown in a survey
OF the packing industry In this con,
nection. II is said:
Five meat packers Armour. Swift
Morris, Wilson and Cudahy. and their
subsidiaries and affiliated compan,
les nave monopilized control of meat
industry and are looking out for like
domination in other products. Their
manipulation OF the market embraces
every device that is useful to them
without regard to law. Their reward
expressed in terms of profit, reveals
tnat lOur OF these concerns have
pocKeted in 1915, 1916, 1917. SI40
OVV00o. However delicate de6ni
tion is framed for "protiteering these
PACKERS nave preyed upon the people
Internationally.
investigation in the coal MINING IN.
uustry reveals that despite govern.
nlent prices fixing large margins nro
nus nave been made. Ranges in the
COST OF production in field having the
same maximum prices has cause5
some operators to make small margins
ol pro1t and others large margins tbf
large margin. '"'
III me OIL Industry large profits arc
no" Delng made in fuel oil and gaso
iine, the industry being one where IN,
law OF supply and demand sim onor
ates. The operation of this law :,
held TO be in part responsible for IN,
heaVy profits, but portion of III,
blame is laid to the SPREADING ~
false reports regarding supnlies V
steel companies made abnormo
profits before the government fixed
price for the product, and it is show,
That some have since made unusua
returns. Profits OF the United STATE
steer Corporation are estimated n
2l.g per cent in 1917, as campare,
with 1916 per cent in 1916, and SO ne
cent in 1915.
: In virtually every one of the otbe
industries covered by the report, II /
t SHOWN unusually heavy profits hay
Y neen made in the hast few year,
{ abnormal salaries are also shown /
j. nave been paid executive officers.