The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1918-07-05
ENORMOUS PROFITS
TAKEN FROM PUBLIC
Dealers In Life's Neces-
sites Have Plundered
Numerically.

sally all the basic commodities OF li'
WAS reported to the Senate to-day by
.be Federal Trade Commission as tht
,osult Of an exhaustive Investigation
"Inordinate greed and baretaceu
fraud" as we'll as "war pressure io'
heavy production the comhiSSion
reported as the causes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS of properties were
made by great concerns when 1t pe,
came evident that the government.
nc about to put prices on a basis Oh
roturu on investment, the report says
- sa,ar;es. allowances and expenses
10 IN many instances padded to in
-.oasod cost of conducting business
The outstanding feature OF us III
..iuo,;on the commission reported
vas the evidence of tendency 10 III
.roose cost of conducting business
tbe forces of competition.
Meat Packers Scored.
OF all the big profits disclosed oy
ebe investigation the report says INC
,roets of the meat packers and those
a1lied with them and by the hour
,nillers. stand foremost, despite inc
Sxing of prices by the government
6Ianipulation of the market by the
6ve great meat packers-Armour
Swift. Morris, Wilson and Cudahy-
every device that is useful to them
without regard to law
The report charges that the hve
concerns have monopolistic control Oh
the meat industry and "are reaching
for like dominion in other products.
During 1915, 1916 and1917, the re-
sort says, these companies pocket
ed" $140,000,000.
THE experience with steel, flour
and coal" says the report, referring
20 price fixing, shows that high
stimulating fixed price, while stabiliz-
ing an ascending market, produces an
economic situation which is fraught
with hardship to the consuming pub
tic and with ultimate peril to the high
cost companies through increasing
power of their low cost competitors
Where the government has fixed
prices on the basis of fair return on
net investment, the report hints at
padded depreciations, increased salar-
les charged off as repairs, fictitious
values on raw materials and manipu-
lated inventories.
illustrating high remuneratives
charged off to expense account, the
report cites the following payments
shown to officials of the American
Metal Company, of New York, which
ietll chiefly in zinc:
b. HOrschild, chairman of the
Board, $179,663.
C. NJ. Loeb, president, $S24,326.
Otto Sussman, vice president,
s221,596.
}. Loeb, vice president, $147,93O.
soE Rous, manager, st. Louis,
s14S,59O.
NJ. Schott, manager, Denver, $780,
g2s.
In the steel industry, the report
says, profits increased from AT per
cent in 1912 to more than "a per cent
III 1917 One of the small mills
showed profit of more than 800 per
rent.
Instances Are Cited. |
I'm the meat industry, the report !
SAWS, Morris & Co. realized more than
s62 per cent on three millions OF
capital stock outstanding and during |
1916 Armour & Co. raised their capt.
iaI stock from 2O,OO0,OOO to $780,
900 900 without receiving a dollar
IN cash"
independent packers, meanwhile IN
1914, 1915 and 1916 earned higher
rate az profit than the large concerns
In the leather industry the profits
az one concern jumped from S644,OOO
IN 1914 to $3,576,O00 in 1917. The
shoe business meanwhile showed
large profits, and the report says III
appears that the retailer has prohted
wore in proportion than the whole
safer"
70 show the manner in which IL Is
charged big concerns reappralsed
shair assets when government pric-
,trIng appeared imminent the commits
zion included in its report a copy OF
letter in which it was proposed by
Swift G. Co. to reappraise six tanning
companies in which it ownes fifty per
cent.
4 approve, if done quietly and
promptly" was the memorandum Ed
ward f. Swift placed upon the recon-
nendation.
In the -four industry the report
says the millers for 1917 will show a
profit of SO cents on a barrel, or near
- a