New-York tribune., 1920-09-14
Packers Complain
Of Lowest Profits
I'm u. S. Business
20 Corporations Credited
With 500 Million Net
Earnings, Against Only
"a Million for Meat Mem

ATLANTIC CITY, Sept 13.-Thomas
r. Wilson, of Chicago, president OF the
institute of American Meat Packers,
made public the record of sales and
profits OF eighty-one of the principal
American corporations to-day at the
convention of the institute here. The
annual sales recorded aggregated about
$9,25O,000,000 and their annual net
profits nearly $6Oo,oOo,Ooo, of which
Mr. Wilson says the packers share was
little more than $34,Ooo,00O.
None of the members Of the "Big
Five" In the packing industry got as
much as cent and a half profit on
each dollar of its sales in 1919, he
declared. His address, in part, follows:
For purposes of comparison the in
stltute has recently compiled figures
on the profits of eighty-one of the lead
ing corporations of the country. both
on each dollar of sales and on invested
capital. The list includes eleven man
ufacturers of machinery, ten retail
chain stores, eight manufacturers of
motor cars, five manufacturers of rub
ber tires, eight manufacturers of cloth
ing, shoes, hosiery, cotton goods, etc.;
five manufacturers of steel, four sugar
refiners, four refners of petroleum,
four public utility corporations (tele-
phone, telegraph. gas), five meat pack
ers, three copper mining concerns, two
coal mine operators, two mail order
houses, two manufacturers of leather,
two manufacturers of explosives and
one concern in each of the following
| lines: Soap, tobacco, sulphur, asphalt,
candy, retail coal, milk, coal products
and beverages.
Nearly $500, ,o00, 600 Profits
"These eighty-one corporations, with
an invested capital and surplus of about
five and two-thirds billions of dollars.
handled about nine and a quarter bill
lions of dollars worth of business dur
ing 1919, which netted nearly six hun
dred millions of dollars in profits. The
combined business of the five packers
was about three and one-half billion
dollars, with an aggregate net profit
OF little more than thirty-four million
dollars. The combined business of the
other seventy-six corporations was
about six billions, or double that of the
five packers, on which they received
aggregate net profits OF S500,550 900.
as compared with $34,329,471 for the
five packers. None of the packers re-
ceived as much as a cent and a half Of
profit on each dollar of sales that year.
One packer earned only an eighth of a
cent per dollar Of sales, while the av-
erage Of the five was less than a cent
| (0.83). '''
"Of the other seventy-six CORPORA
tlons three received 80 cents or more
on each dollar of goods sold. five re-
ceived 20 cents or more; eighteen re-
celved Is cents, thirty-seven received
10 cents, only twelve received less than
!, cents, none showed q profit Of less
than cents, and at least 60 per cent
OF them had profits ten times as bio
as the average profit of the five pack.
ers. The average profit of the seventv-
SIX concerns was 11.25 cents on each
dollar Of sales, or about thirteen and
naIt times greater than the average
of the five packers (o.8S).
Returns ON Capital Low
The five packers had about S57G,-
100000 of invested capital. The
packer with the highest return received
slightly more than 7 cents on each
dollar invested. The average for the
five was sos cents per dollar.
The other seventy-six corporations
had about S5,144,0 100000 of invested
capital. They earned on an average
more than two and half times as much
as did the packers, 1901 cents COM
pared to sos cents. OF the seventy
SIX concerns, five earned profits of 26
cents or more on each dollar invested;
thirteen earned 20 cents; thirty-six
earned IL cents; all but five earned
cents or more, and half of them showed
returns on investment twice as big as
the average Of each Of the five
packers"