Show Packers' Packers Profits Are Ae Less Than 2 Cents on Dollar Sale Result Resul of Inquiry by Federal Trade frade Commission Discussed by Trade frade Journal THE THE Wall Val Street Journal in discussing the federal trade commission cornI com corn I mission report on the packing in industry says An analysts analysis of the latest report of or the federal trade commission on n the meat packing Industry discloses disclose several Interesting interestIng Inter Inter- esting element generally overlooked example tho the commission gave a a. table of the rate of or profit On capital and surplus of larger and smaller packers from Crom 1 1011 1314 to 1317 This table compares Interestingly with a passage from rom a former r report port of ot the the commission The Tho two follow excerpts 1 Rate Pate of or profit on capital and surplus surplus lurI lur- lur sur sur- plus as given In a recent report 05 63 G 5 I Great Greal 1317 1917 6 1910 16 21 21 IS 1916 1911 1914 1 83 2 Allegations of or control of or competition tion as give Ive In previous report It I appears appers that five the great eat packing concerns of or the country Swift country Swift Armour Morris Cudahy and and Wilson Wilson have have at at- at such a dominant position that they control at will wi the market In which the they the buy their supplies the markets In which thc they sell cell sel their product products and hold tho the fortunes fortunes for tor- tunes of their competitors competitor m in n theIr compe hands hands II After noting that profit figures gures re receive received received re- re from smaller packers packer In 1914 1915 and 1916 showed a a. a greater elter return than th that t of or lr larger er packers the te following sentence len len- sen sen- tence In the commissions commission's recent report Is Interesting No schedules were were- Ire re re required from the tho Independent fak packers for tor 1917 so eo no comparisons can bo Lo le made mado In that year Th Tho commission lists the tho net profits of or the tho larger packers packer for the tho years ear 1912 to 1917 In an attempt to show that profIts pro prof- Its Is In war years year cr increaser Increased as compared with profits In prewar years But In Its summary tho the commission thoughtfully Includes income taxes In faUre figures fig fig- fa- fa tires ures Ure given Ilven a M aa net nel profits for 1916 and 1917 and falls fails ais to mention menton that tho the f fIguro figure fig fIg- ure uro for 1917 one ono of or tho the war years In Includes In- In eludes cude Income tax reserves amounting to for the big packers while figures for the prewar years cars Include no such reserves Furthermore In stating net profits for publication the tho commission omits omis tho facts that sales ales especially exports In Increased increased In- In creased enormously during war years According to figures of tho the bureau of or animal Industry era a average o annual exports export of beef pork Including lard and nc mutton mut ton during tho the three year period 1912 were vere pounds as comp compared t with pounds In itt the period 1915 1915 From the manufacturers manufacturer's viewpoint or o that thu of the tho consumer It I Is n a queer account accounting nc ac- ac- ac counting count theor theory which insIsts In as does doe tho the federal trade trado commission lon that th the rate rato of earnings on j SaleM ale Is not a fa fair fairway fairway way way to measure profi profits If It 1 one packed takes a net profit prot of or G cent on a n dollars dollar's worth of oC meat ment but bu makes make only 6 per cent on capital tin and surplus which lh the commission int r r. r pres as net worth And another pd r takes taken a 0 net Det profit proW of only l I cent wh when h he sells n a dolar dollars dollar's worth of meat bu but makes a 3 net profit of or 1 12 per Jer cent on III hIs surplus and nominal capital there Is n no doubt as to which packer Is la rendering the tho greater service to the consumer consumer It I is tho ho packer pacer whose profit proC adds the fewest fewest few v est cents per dollar dolar to the price of or meat The commission also Io says The Tho ex extent extent ex- ex tent of earnings of or the great reat packers packer make makes It I evident that In HO so 1 far as th the five the companies may my be held hele tu mu no oc e a monopoly monopoly monopoly mo mo- and thus control prices they have hav held those prices so low to the producer on the one hand and so 0 hIghto hIgh to the consumer on the other that fo forthe for tho the past put generation a margin ln of prof profit has been sustained which has permitted permit permit- ted the to pay not flot only ample dividends but hut to grow ow to present enormous dimensions dimension from cran eran- turn Ings over and above a 3 reasonable re reo re- Of course coure during th the war some sonic livestock livestock live live- Jve- Jve stock prices about doubled and others almost almost at al- al most trebled And at nt present when government figures show how that wholesale meat mel prices from Crom last spring to thIs spring declined substantially while prices price of at mo most moat t other commodities continued upward upward up up- ward It I Is I a n bad moment to take a tn fling at meat ment quotations In the tho ted federal ral trade trade- commissions commission's six six- page summary of or tho press pres dealing wit with wih profits on Investment borrowings ar nr arnot aro not mentioned once It I Is queer the commission docs does no not disprove tho the claim of th the facker packers that they net les lu ithan athan 2 centon cents cent on each ench dollars dollar's dolar's worth of or product sold oll If I that claim is untrue |