The Clio messenger., 1918-08-30
cess profits last year were from IL to
400 per cent.
Coal Men Pile Up Wealth.

L wal WCU TuS Op WSattU.
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 % 10 $50 per cent.
In 1917 all of the large btuminous
operators, the report shows, made un-
usual profits. One mine made 1,628
per cent on it's 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 2S to 800
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 1915. those for
the larger companies ranging from 20
to rs per cent that year. They showed
excess profits In 1917 Of from to 50
per cent.
Small dealers in -four 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 $50
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 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 profits
over those of 1916. One company with
$31 100000 capital in 1915 earned SlI,-
100000, then boosted It's capital stock
to $96,OOO,00O and then earned $23,-
100000. A S19,0O0OO0 concern which
earned $4,60S, 900 in 1916 made $5,25S,-
900 In 1917. A $16,OO0OOO company
made $4,713,OOO In 1917, against $4,-
100000 In 1916.
A tin plate mill with 100000 cap
ital made $54,000,OOO net profit In 1917,
against S19OO0,OO0 in 1916, or an in.
crease of II per cent on Its capital
stock.
Transportation, public utilities, and
| light and power companies, with very
few exceptions, Jared exceedingly we'll
during 1916 and 1917. Their profits
in 1915 generally ranged from to 80
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 25
! 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 1916 that ranged between 15
and 20 per cent, according to the re-
port.
Marine, fire, and life insurance con-
Germs enjoyed unusually lapge In
creases in profits. One company
earned 493 per cent more on It's cap
itAl stock in 1917 than in 1916. An
other capitalized at 100000 increased
Its income from $324.0O In 1915 to
$S,77S,OOO In 1917.
How Dry Goods Men Fared.
A list Of 2,O92 clothing and dry
| goods merchants, including department
stores, showed profits for 1917 in ex-
| cess Of those over 1915, 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 1918 profits. OF the
1888 concerns listed In the report,
however, only a dozen show proflts Of
less than 20 per cent on their capital
stock in 1915. the year before the Unit
| ed States entered the war. and the
profits Of some concerns that year
| were as high as 1913 per cent. Most
| Of the grocers, both large and small