The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-07-22
pnnr Rich Men

stirring up some Of that class OF poor
rich men who are immensely rich
until it comes to tax paying time, and
then very suddenly relapse into abject
poverty. It first published the names
of those who paid incomes. and then
turned its attention to those who did
not. We copy few paragraphs rela-
tive to the latter class, showing how
some things can be done as well as {
others, simply adding, that similar de-
velopments, only on a smaller scale,
could very appropriately be made in
other cities than New York. Says
the Tribune:
We have a gentleman living up
town In a splendid Fifth Avenue |
house, who has never returned a dol |
lar of taxable income. He swears |
that he pays So, 900 rent for his house; |
that he is worth one and a quarter |
million dollars, mostly in real estate; |
that he received last year 50, 900 from |
rents, and paid about 81 900 for taxes
and So, 900 interest on mortgages; that
it costs him about $4,000 per annum
to live, and that he obtains the neces-
sary funds by the occasional sale of a
lot Of ground, all of which he owned
previous to the passage of the Income
| Tax Law. He AYERS that he does not
believe the Income law to be consti-
tutional, and would therefore justify
anybody in swearing to anything to
escape its provisions. He is q red
hot Democrat, yet a gentleman IN ap-
pearance. In the affidavit line he
can beat Tammany Hall canvasser
of elections, and give him odds. To
the Assessor he is exceedingly suave,
and answers questions, however prying,
with a readiness that completely
throws his questioner off his guard
He never allows his temper to become
ruf1ed, except when he spurns with
honest indignation the slightest in
situation against his patriotism.
These bursts are generally followed
by a melancholy shaking Of the head
as, with doWncast and sorrowiul eyes,
he deplores in broken voice the sad
state of his beloved country. Recov
, eriug from the effect Of his over
wrought feelings, he takes up the pen
and dashes off bold signature to the
affidavit in which be swears that he is
] too poor to pay his beloved coun-
: try Z" any income tax. He is as polite
as a dancing-master; as wordy as the
dictionary, and in figuring down his
. income TO nothing taxable can
e distance the arithmetic man Of tho
: II Grid in his happiest flights at eyolv-
ing Democratic victories out OF fg-
uTes which to the common mind
represent Democratic disaster
t Further up town we find one of the
D City Fathers of Aldermanle BOOle-
: ring fame. In 1862, when he was first
elected Alderman of the - Ward
70 he was worth about $4,000 To day
) the records Of the Registers office
n show that he holds not less than
q $800,000 worth Of solid real estate In
! this city; yet he has never returned
= in any one year since the Income Law
e took effect more than 5000 taxable in
e come Poor fellow to have the care
It of so much property and receive sc
little benefit from it'll
Then we have an ex- Mayor, who is
1t reputed to be the unfortunate owner
: of more than one million dollar:
d worth of real estate, some of which Ii
leased to the city at exceedingly re
munerative prices. But the poor mar
le never profits by it. for he has never
g had single dollar Of taxable income
n In an uptown mansion lives one o.
\ our Supervisors, who formally resi-
- ded In the Tenth Ward. but camt
5 originally from north of the Tweed,
at as may be seen by the coat of-armi
e. engraved upon certain silverwar,
90 presented by the Americas Club. Ii
- 1860 he could hardly pay the rent o
u a very plain house in which he lived
Since then he has been engaged II
Mt | the business of running the Tamman.
"a Hall Machine, together with tn
y offices of Senator, Supervisor, Deput
ia Street Commissioner, and Othe
Id pleasant positions too numerous t
T. mention. According to the return
he which he has made to the Assesso
= since 1862. he is in point of incom
still a very poor man. 1t is eurrentl
he reported, indeed, that within the pas
", year be has purchased over SS0O,O0
no worth of real estate; and he has tn
:: reputation of being a millionaire
lis But with all this property, the III
elr fortunate owner had no taxable IN
of come for the past year.
he A gentleman living in Forty mint
- Street, reputed to be worth half
''0 million in real estate, and living in
&c. house worth 100000, has not bee
able to pay any income tax during tn
x past two years. Since 1862 10 elias
of men are supposed to have bee
Ely more generally successful than build
ut. ers and spectators In real estate. "
{ a many of the most prominent of theS
lite return no income, which proves,
of course, that the inquisitlve publ
n greatly over estimate the wealth an
profits of their neighbOrs.