Evening star., 1948-05-04
Green, Murray Seen
Following Party Line
On Corporate Profits
AFL Head Coils Returns
'Swus';; OIds Replies
For United Stutes Steel
By David La,Crence

By David La,crence
Three addresses delivered on the
same day on somewhat the same
subject illustrate what confusing
time the average person must have
nowadays trying to find truth amid
a barrage of propaganda.
Philip Murray, head of the CIO,
gave an address on wages and prices
in the steel industry, while William
Green, president of the AFL, dis
cussed corporate profits as a whole.
Irving Olds. chairman of the board
of the United States Steel Corp.
evidently noting similar argument
made by Mr.. Murray in other
speeches, undertook to give a re-
buttal
Mr.. Green's speech was the least
temperate Of all-or maybe that
was the way it was prepared for
him by his propaganda bureau He
says:
According to official Government
figures, corporate profits reached a
record peak of S17,000000,0O in
l947. We all thought that business
was reaping heavy profits during the
war. But the l947 peacetime figure
was II per cent higher than the
sl0,000,000,000 in profits which
American industry gained during
the war year of 1914. Just think of
1.-THE postwar profiteers have
almost doubled the swag which the
war profiteers raked in"
Murray Hits Profits. Too.
It's a bit severe, even for Mr.
Green, to call all the profits OF
American industry by the little
word "swag" In that 17-billion
figure are all kinds of businesses,
and 1t comes little hard to have
Mr.. Green, who denounceS Com
munists on one day and uses their
lingo the next, to call all profits
"sWag"
Anyway, whoever prepared the
speech for gentle Mr.. Green went
on to say that the $l7,000,00O 900 of
corporate profits after taxes in 1947
represent an increase Of 35 per cent
In corporate buying power over
l944." Did the prices of goods and
materials bought by industry really
decline by 35 per cent since 1914?
Weren't Mr.. Green's economic ex-
pertS mixing numerical increase
in profits with buying power" per
dollar?
Turning to the Murray speech, one
finds the head of the CIO also
crltlcizing profits as if they were
something sinful. He says:
The United States Steel Corp.
the so-called 'bellwether of the in
du5try, enjoyed staggering profits
last year of approximately $244 OOO,-
600 before Federal income taxes,
and $l53,000,000 after such taxes.
This corporations profits in the
year 1947 increased 70 per cent over
1916
Return Same, Olds Says.
On the same day, Mr.. Olds of
United States Steel was telling his
stockholders that profits were the
same in l947 as for l946-namely, 6
cents on dollar of sales. This. he
says, Is "the@oWest for any peace
time year in the history of United
States Steel during which steel op-
erations were at level approaching
full capacity" He adds:
Such return on sales is only
slightly more than half of the cor
porationS average return on sales
in 1920, 1923. 1926, 1923 or 1910.
1t is interesting to note that United
States Steel's profit in l947 from all
operations was approximately $70.-
100000 less than in 1929. although in
l947 its sales in dollar amount were
twice those of 1929.
These relatively lower earnings
In l947 reflect the effect of higher
costs which have continuously de-
veloped over recent years -
L should like to call attention to
the fact that although shipments
OF steel products in the first quarter
OF l948 were approximately 100000
tons larger than in the correspond
ing quarter of last year, the profit
OF United States Steel for the first
quarter of this year was approx
matcly $5,300,000 less than in the
first quarter of l947.
Higher Costs Cited.
This diminution in earning
power OF the corporation is pri-
marily occaSioned by higher costs.
BY way of illustration. employment
costs in the first quarter of l948
were up $3l 100000 over the similar
quarter year ago; and the cost of
purchased goods and services for the
quarter was $55 ,300,0 900 higher than
for the same quarter last year"
On top of this, while the coal
strike deprived the United States
Steel Corp. of 100000 tons of coal
and 100000 tons of pig iron and
100000 tons of steel ingots, the
left wingers' are criticizing the
steel industry for not building more
plants and facilities. At the same
time the labor bosses are saying. in
effect, that profits must be less and
less and that there must not be
money set aside to finance expansion
or to encourage investors. to lend
money needed for such expansion.
Strangely enough, the labor union
bosses decry communism, but they
follow the party line" when it
comes to disparaging the American
profit-and-loSs system
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