Profits: How Much Is Enough?

As the second-quarter reports of U.S.

corporations rolled in last week, every thing seemed to be turning up records. The final figures may well show that businessmen have just been through the most profitable three-month period in history. General Motors set the pace, scoring its highest quarterly earnings ($464,000,000, up 13% from last year). Standard Oil of Indiana and Lockheed Aircraft had their best first half ever, and even U.S. Steel racked up its best earnings in three years.

So it ran with few exceptions throughout U.S. industry. In fact, prof its look so good that President Kennedy will find it...