by General Smedley D. Butler
Published 1935 in the United States of America
This is a first edition printing of one of the most interesting, rare and little known, books of 20th century America. More information about this book and its author can be found on this website here:
Company | Average profits in the last pre-war year | Average profits during the four years of war |
|---|---|---|
U. S. Steel | $105,331,000 | $259,653,000 |
Du Pont | $6,092,000 | $58,076,000 |
Bethlehem Steel | $6,840,000 | $49,427,000 |
Anaconda Copper | $10,649,000 | $34,549,000 |
Utah Copper | $5,776,000 | $21,622,000 |
American Smelting | $11,566,000 | $18,602,000 |
Republic Iron and Steel | $4,177,000 | $17,548,000 |
International Mercantile | $6,690,00 | $14,229,000 |
Atlas Powder | $485,000 | $2,374,000 |
American and British Man. | $172,000 | $325,000 |
Canadian Car & Foundry | $1,335,000 | $2,201,000 |
Crocker Wheeler | $206,000 | $666,000 |
Hercules Powder | $1,271,000 | $7,430,000 |
Niles, Bement Pond | $656,000 | $6,146,000 |
Scovill Mfg. Co. | $655,000 | $7,678,000 |
General Motors | $6,954,000 | $21,700,000 |
WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives...
In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows...
Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill...
And what is this bill?
This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations...
...a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and mentally unbalanced men.
Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit – fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.
Yes, they are getting ready for another war. Why shouldn't they? It pays high dividends...
The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it...
Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket – and are safely pocketed.
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