Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-09-18

as to the more important industries.
and particularly those engaged in
housing, warming, clothing and feed
ing the American people," are auth
entic.
Corporations Manufacturing Food
Products
Corporations manufacturing -four.
meal and feed numbered 1882. Of
whom 672 reported net incomes, az.
gregating S2l,4l1,142, upon which
they paid Federal taxes aggregating
S3,i30.235. The remaining 1858 cor
porations reported net losses, which
aggregated $21,415,619. Deducting
the Federal taxes paid By the first
group, the final net result to the mill
ing industry as a whole was about
S3,0OO,0O0 below zero. These cor
porations, moreover, did better in
1921 than in 1920, when the profit
making group had net incomes ag-
gregating sz2,654,404, upon which
they paid Federal taxes aggregating
S4,2O5,534, while the dehcit-making
group had losses aggregating $43,-
l53.l0o. In this connection we would
furthermore remind the reader of the
official audit OF the North Dakota
state-owned Touring mill, appearing
in our July letter, which showed that
from October q, 1922, to December
81, 1923, this enterprise ran behind in
the sum of S3ll, 577.54 upon its share
OF the -four business.
The milling industry, however. has
Jared better on the whole than the
meat-packing industry. The number
OF corporations reporting in this in
dustry in 1921 was sos, OF whom 3l5
reported net incomes, aggregating
$24,754,868. The remaining 1911 cor
porations reported losses, which ag-
grcgated a3,lSs,479. After paying
their Federal taxes, which aggregated
$3,68o,44l, the net incomes of the
proht-making group aggregated less
than one-third the losses of the deficit
making group. Apparently the big
packers suffered more than the small
ones, which would be the natural
result OF their larger stocks OF prod
ucts on hand.
Since the meat-packers are more
often named than possibly any other
group, as able to "gct" the public
both going and coming, it may be
we'll to add here that in 1920 the
proht-making group had net incomes
aggregating $l2,55s,3+l. while the
deficit making group had losses ag-
gregating $26,438.l4o; and that in
1910, the net incomes aggregated S2l,-
S8S,S65. while the net deficits aggre-
gated $47,70k573. Revenue statistics
are not available for any year since
1921, but everyone familiar with the
annual reports of the packing corpor-
atoms knows that the industry as
whole has not had even a modcr-
ately good year since 1918, when the
aggregate of net incomes was $780,
945,576. of which 81 l,506,0s7 went
for Federal taxes, and the aggregate
OF deficits was $l.293,055.
The mcat-packcrs, however, got of
easy in 1921 in comparison with the
sugar-makcrs. The latter, including
beet-sugar factories and cane-sugar
refineries, numbered 201. of whom
only 81 reported net incomes. These
incomes in the aggregate amounted.
to Sc, 363,403. upon which the Federal
taxes amounted to $l.304723. The
other l64 companies all had losses,
$S9,05o.00S. These fig
ures explain the great decline In the
stocks of the sugar companies. The
common stock OF the American Sugar
Refining Company, which sold in
1920 up to Sl42 per share. is selling
row at about S45, having paid no