New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-08-23
cess profits last year were from Il
400 per cent.
Coal Men Pile Up Wealth.

CoaI men F|e Op WesItn.
The Pennsylvania and West Vir'
g'nia 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 I'M
usual profits. One mine made 1,626
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 80 per cent.
The big oil producing companies Of
Illinois, Indiana. New York. Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio. Kentucky, Tennessee. and
West Virginia made from % to 39t
per cent in 1916 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 20
to Is per cent that year. They showed
excess profits In 1917 Of from 8 to 30
per cent.
Small dealers In flour and grain,
with capital stock Of from $1,000 10
$1,000, made excess profits that ranged
Nc high MS $40 Der 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 mad enor-
nous profits off the smokers of the
country, the highest being 3,l76 per
cent, and the average approximately
50 per cent in 1916. 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 pronts
over those of 1916. One company with
S31, OOO, 600 capital in 1915 earned ST.
600, OOO, then boosted its capital stock
to 500, 900, 900 and then earned $23,-
900, 900. A $10,OOO,OOO concern which
earned $4,6OS,O 900 in 1916 made $685.
900 in 1917. A $16,OOO,OOO company
made $4.713,OOU In 1917, against a.
10000 in 1916.
A tin plate mill with $4,000, 900 cap
ital made $54, 100000 net profit In 1917,
against $10,OOO,OOO in 1915, or an in
crease Of u per cent on its capital
stock.
TRANSFORMATION, public utilities, and
light and power companies, with very
few exceptions, Jared exceedingly well
during 1916 and 1917. Their profits
in 1915 generally ranged from 6 to 80
per cent on their capital stock, while
they nearly all made excess profits in
1917 of from 3 to IS per cent. Profits
of the large public utilities companies
in 1915 and 1917 ranged from II to 20
per cent.
Steam and electric railroads In 1916
made from II to POI per cent profits,
while in 1917 they made profits In
excess Of 1916 that ranged between 10
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 its cap
ital stock In 1917 than in 1916. An
other capitalized at 100000 increased
its income from $324,OO0 in 1915 to
{, 77S,OOO in 1917.
How Dry Goods Men Jared.
A list Of 1902 clothing and dry
goods merchants, including department
stores, showed profits for 1917 in ex-
cess of those over 1916, as high as
1913 per cent on the capital stock.
The concerns making the enormous
profits, however. were the smaller
firms.
Retail grocers and provision brokers
made their enormous "war profits"
in 1915. the report shows. The gro
GERS made only a small profit in 1917
In excess Of their 1915 profits. OF the
1853 Ger listed in the report,
however, only a dozen show profits Of
less than 20 per cent on their capital
stock in 1916, the year before the Unit
ed States entered the war, and the
profits Of some concerns that year
were as high as 1873 per cent. Most
Of the grocers, both large and small
concerns, the report shows, made av-
erage profits in 1916 Of from so to 200
per cent.