Evening star., 1925-11-10
ARTICLE III.

[ Big money was made by American
corporations in 1928, the Government s
tax publicity figures show. The total
net income of those who made money
ran to more than $3.50, 100000. Big
money also was lost, the total deficits
of non-dividend-pa paying concerns
mounting to S2050 900. 600. The net
profit, standing at about S. 800, ,000, 900
| for the year, represents the surplus
| of gains over losses.
| But there Is something just be-
! meath the surface of the Government S
| recent showing far more significant
! than these breath-taking figures. And
in 1t lies at once the beauty and the
ugliness OF tax publicity. Here It is
| A little group of 16S corporations,
! less than one-twentieth of / per cent
of the country's 100000. made $2,294,
| 000,0 900 in total net profits, or about SO
| per cent of all the money made by
| all the corporations in the country.
| And
Another group of S5S corpora.
| tions, or about one-tifth of l per cent
| of the total, made profits totaling
| 81. .695 900 900, or upward of 26 per cent
| of the total net profits.
Taking these groups together, the
| showing discloses this remarkable
state of affairs in American business:
Out of net profits of $1,000. .000, 900
made by all the 100000 corporations
| in the United States in 1928, a pros
| porous year, nearly 63 per cent, or
| 1890 900 900 represents net profits
| of ,026 companies, or about one
| fourth of / per cent of all the com
| panies in business.
The other 99% per cent of the
! corporations divided the remaining
81 per cent of the net profits.
Big business certainly hogged the
profits, even though it may have been
benevolent as we'll as big. A thou
sand companies, with a handful to
spare, averaged the handsome net
income of more than $3.50, 900 apiece
during the year. Three hundred and
ninety-seven thousand smaller com
panies averaged the small net income
of about $500 apiece. And there
you are.
Analyzing that highly profitable
group of 1925 corporations, one finds
| that the smaller group of 16S aver
aged profits during the year
amounting TO about S13, 700, 900 each;
and that the remaining S5S corpora
tions averaged net incomes OF little
less than $1,000, 900.
X
The record of those 16S companies
as subdivided by the Federal Treas
ury, reads as follows:
One company, engaged in agriCul-
tural work, made S3S.735, ,391.
Three companies, engaged in min
ing and quarrying. made net profit
totaling S35,109,662.
Ninety eight big manufacturing
companies made net profits totaling
! sl,354, 733. .lG6. or more than 80 per
cent of all the profits made by all the
50 900 corporations engaged in this
line of enterprise.
One big construction company made
! S5.132 .9l3.
Forty-five railroad and other trans
portation companies ran up net
profits totalinE S706 .S35,3l4 or nearly
so per cent OF the net profits made by
more than q 900 concerns engaged
! in the business.
Fifteen companies engaged in
| trade reported net profits totaling
S125, ,639,766. That sum was about
| IL per cent of all the profits made in
| trade by more than 100000 corpora
| tionS.
Two great companies engaged in
| finance - banking, brokerage, insur-
| ance. etc.-reported net income of
s15,657,1O3. Zach of these companies
| averaged l per cent of all the profit
made by all the corpOrtions in the
| business, and the total number of
| such corporations was nearly $1,000.
Two other large corporattons-re-
! ported as combinations whose pre-
! dominant industry was not aScer-
| tainable"-nade net profits of $l3,-