<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 12/31/97
000 C000000 0000091847
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0.a
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 SOURCE CAPITAL, INC
001 B000000 811-1731
001 C000000 3109965429
002 A000000 11400 WEST OLYMPIC BOULEVARD, SUITE 1200
002 B000000 LOS ANGELES
002 C000000 CA
002 D010000 90064
002 D020000 1507
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
007 C011100 11
007 C011200 12
007 C011300 13
007 C011400 14
007 C011500 15
007 C011600 16
007 C011700 17
007 C011800 18
007 C011900 19
007 C012000 20
008 A000001 FIRST PACIFIC ADVISORS, INC
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-39512
008 D010001 LOS ANGELES
008 D020001 CA
008 D030001 90064
008 D040001 1507
012 A000001 CHASEMELLON SHAREHOLDER SERVICES L.L.C.
<PAGE> PAGE 2
012 B000001 85-0005005
012 C010001 RIDGEFIELD PARK
012 C020001 NJ
012 C030001 07660
013 A000001 ERNST & YOUNG LLP
013 B010001 LOS ANGELES
013 B020001 CA
013 B030001 90071
015 A000001 STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 BOSTON
015 C020001 MA
015 C030001 02105
015 E010001 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 N
019 B000000 0
020 A000001 RUSSELL (FRANK) SECURITIES, INCORPORATED
020 B000001 91-0604934
020 C000001 25
020 A000002 LIPPER ANALYTICAL SECURITIES CORPORATION
020 B000002 13-2792478
020 C000002 18
020 A000003 STANDARD & POOR'S SECURITIES INC
020 B000003 13-2671951
020 C000003 14
020 A000004 BLAIR (WILLIAM) & COMPANY LLC
020 B000004 36-2214610
020 C000004 14
020 A000005 MIDWEST RESOURCES
020 B000005 39-1605225
020 C000005 12
020 A000006 SCHRODER WERTHEIM & CO. INCORPORATED
020 B000006 13-2697272
020 C000006 11
020 A000007 MORGAN (J.P.) SECURITIES INC
020 B000007 13-3224016
020 C000007 7
020 A000008 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO., INC.
020 B000008 13-5108880
020 C000008 7
020 A000009 LYNCH, JONES & RYAN, INC
020 B000009 13-3356934
020 C000009 6
020 A000010 MCDONALD & COMPANY SECURITIES, INC
020 B000010 34-0642435
020 C000010 6
021 000000 194
022 A000001 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE, FENNER AND SMITH, INC.
022 B000001 13-5674085
022 C000001 281387
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 D000001 31497
022 A000002 STATE STREET BANK & TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
022 B000002 04-1867445
022 C000002 243380
022 D000002 0
022 A000003 JEFFRIES & COMPANY, INC
022 B000003 95-2622900
022 C000003 9783
022 D000003 1277
022 A000004 DONALDSON LUFKIN & JENRETTE SECURITIES CORP.
022 B000004 13-2741729
022 C000004 4119
022 D000004 6264
022 A000005 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO., INC
022 B000005 13-5108880
022 C000005 8435
022 D000005 1643
022 A000006 FORUM CAPITAL MARKETS, L.P.
022 B000006 06-1351111
022 C000006 2799
022 D000006 7123
022 A000007 LEHMAN BROTHERS INC
022 B000007 13-2518466
022 C000007 5333
022 D000007 0
022 A000008 RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, INC
022 B000008 59-1237041
022 C000008 5020
022 D000008 0
022 A000009 FURMAN, SELZ, LLC
022 B000009 13-3856626
022 C000009 5000
022 D000009 0
022 A000010 FIRST ALBANY CORPORATION
022 B000010 14-1391446
022 C000010 2476
022 D000010 2489
023 C000000 587435
023 D000000 64117
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 4
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 Y
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 N
028 A010000 0
028 A020000 0
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 0
028 B010000 0
028 B020000 0
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 0
028 C010000 0
028 C020000 0
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 0
028 D010000 0
028 D020000 0
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 0
028 E010000 0
028 E020000 0
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 0
028 F010000 0
028 F020000 0
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 0
028 G010000 0
028 G020000 0
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 0
028 H000000 0
030 A000000 0
030 B000000 0.00
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 0
031 B000000 0
032 000000 0
033 000000 0
035 000000 0
036 B000000 0
038 000000 0
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
042 C000000 0
042 D000000 0
042 E000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 5
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 0
044 000000 0
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.000
048 A010000 100000
048 A020000 0.725
048 B010000 100000
048 B020000 0.700
048 C010000 0
048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
048 D020000 0.000
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 200000
048 K020000 0.675
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
051 000000 N
052 000000 N
053 A000000 Y
053 B000000 Y
053 C000000 N
054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 Y
054 C000000 Y
054 D000000 N
054 E000000 N
054 F000000 N
054 G000000 Y
054 H000000 N
054 I000000 N
054 J000000 Y
054 K000000 N
054 L000000 N
054 M000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 6
054 N000000 N
054 O000000 N
055 A000000 N
055 B000000 N
056 000000 Y
057 000000 N
058 A000000 N
059 000000 Y
060 A000000 Y
060 B000000 Y
061 000000 0
062 A000000 N
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 0.0
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.0
062 M000000 0.0
062 N000000 0.0
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 0.0
062 Q000000 0.0
062 R000000 0.0
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 0.0
066 A000000 Y
066 B000000 N
066 C000000 N
066 D000000 N
066 E000000 N
066 F000000 N
066 G000000 Y
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 N
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 Y
070 B010000 Y
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 N
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 N
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 7
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 N
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 N
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 N
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 Y
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 N
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 Y
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 104354
071 B000000 124684
071 C000000 379967
071 D000000 27
072 A000000 12
072 B000000 7320
072 C000000 4213
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 2837
072 G000000 0
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 240
072 J000000 49
072 K000000 0
072 L000000 218
072 M000000 80
072 N000000 16
072 O000000 66
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 32
072 S000000 6
072 T000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 30
072 X000000 3574
072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 7959
072AA000000 43085
072BB000000 200
072CC010000 33778
072CC020000 0
072DD010000 2330
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 42080
073 A010000 0.3200
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 5.7600
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 1
074 B000000 979
074 C000000 11952
074 D000000 69144
074 E000000 10253
074 F000000 330879
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 737
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 2067
074 M000000 0
074 N000000 426012
074 O000000 0
074 P000000 246
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 276
074 S000000 54153
074 T000000 371337
074 U010000 7397
074 U020000 0
074 V010000 50.20
074 V020000 0.00
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 20660
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 408903
076 000000 51.06
077 A000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 9
077 B000000 Y
078 000000 N
080 A000000 NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
080 C000000 5000
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 6
082 A000000 N
082 B000000 0
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 Y
085 B000000 N
086 A010000 165
086 A020000 7858
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
087 A010000 COMMON STOCK
087 A020000 836144-10
087 A030000 SOR
087 B010000 $2.40 CUMULATIVE PREFERRED STOCK
087 B020000 836144-20
087 B030000 SOR+
088 D000000 Y
SIGNATURE CHRIS THOMAS
TITLE ASST TREASURER
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000091847
<NAME> SOURCE CAPITAL INC
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 12-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1997
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 317733901
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 423207211
<RECEIVABLES> 2803910
<ASSETS-OTHER> 608
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 426011729
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 521622
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 521622
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 54153330
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 256471754
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 7397259
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 7232110
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 4224707
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 5167006
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 105473310
<NET-ASSETS> 425490107
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 4213053
<INTEREST-INCOME> 7319925
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 3574459
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 7958519
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 42884612
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 33777853
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 84620984
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 7055703
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 42080024
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 0
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 165149
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 43343680
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 3321891
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 4362418
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 2836701
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 3574459
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 408903110
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 45.35
<PER-SHARE-NII> 1.08
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 10.50
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.97
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 1.18
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 50.20
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.87
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>