The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-04-05

4 ctlbt uS BtItcIuuSty uuu o" SmP'S 49,
umbrella could cover an anthill: 81.
"What were your profits, in 1907, from
any trade, business or vocation, wherever
carried onE N,
And that inquiry was backed up by
thirteen others Of IN equally searching
nature the most modest Of which required
information as 10 whether ! had commit.
ted any burglary or highway robbery, or
by any arson or other secret source Of
emolument had acquired property which
was not enumerated In my statement Of
income us set opposite to inquiry No. J..
1t was plain that the stranger had enabl-
led me to make an ass Of myself. II was
very, very plain, and l went out and hired
another artist. BY working on my vanity
the stranger had seduce(l me into declar-
ing an income Of S214,OO0. BY law, 81 900
OF this was exempt from income taX-tlle
only relief l could see, and II was only o
drop in the ocean. At the legal five per
cent must pay over 10 the Government
the appalling sum Of ten thousand six
hundred and fifty dellarSS income tax.
II may remark, IN tlis place, That did
moi, do It l,l-5 ~ it+ p I {
1 am acquainted with q very opulent
man, whose house iS q palace, whose table
is regal, whose OUTLAWS are enormous, yet
man who has no income, as l have often
noticed by the revenue returns; and to him
| went for advice in my distress He took
my dreadful exhibition nfrcceIpts. he put
on his glasses, he took his pen, and presto
| I was a pauper 1t was tho neatest thing
that ever was. He did II simply by deity
manipulating the bill Of Deductions.
He set down my Estate, natiohNl and Hiu.
nicipal taxes" at so much; my "lOsses By
shipwrcck, fire, ctc,"-at SO much;s my
"losscs on sales Of real estate"-On "livc
stock sold"-on payments for rent on
homcstead"-on "repairs, Improvements,
interestp--on previously taxed salary as
IN officer Of tho United States army, navy,
revenue service" and other things lie
got astonishing deductions" out Of each
md every one Of these mattcrs-eaCh and
every ono OF them. And when no was
done he handed me the paper, and ! saw
at a glance that during the year lSG9 my
income, in the way Of profits, had been
ono thousand tItO kindred and J.tty dollars
and forty cents. r.g, s....
NNow," said he, "thc thousand dollars
Is exempt by law. What you want to do
i to 70 and swear thlb document In and
nav tax on the two hundred and flty dol
lars" .4qg l.r.-
while be was making this speech his
little boy Willy lifted o two dollar green:
back out o. his vest pocket and vanished
with It, and / would bet anything that II
my stranger were to call on that little boy
tomorrow, he, would make a false return
Of his income. r.y--..s,.... =, I'd. s,
"Doyou," said I, 'Do you always work
up the deductions after this fashion In
your case, SIRE r., III ~ W.. q y, III
ssWeIl,II should soy SO! TT weren't
for those eleven saving clauses under the
head Of Deductions I should be beggared
every year to- support this hateful and
wicked, this extortiOnatc and tyrannical
government" fa,. .s.a, r,,-l4-.
This gentleman stands away up among
the yery best Of the solid men Of Buffalo
the men Of moral weight, Of CONNER.
cial integrity, Of unimpcacEable social
spOtIessness- 50 / bowed to his OK
ample. | went down to the revenue
office, aud under tlie accusing eyes OF my
old visitor l stood up and lswore to lie
after lie, fraud after fraud, villainy after
villainy, till my immortal soul was coat
cd inches and inches thick with perjury,
and my selErcspect was gone forever and
ever.
But what of II? II is nothing more
than thousands Of the highest, md richest,
md proudcst, and most respected, honorcd
and cOurtcd men in America do every
year. And so I don't care. l am not
ASHAMED, shall simply, for the present,
talk little and wear flrO-proOr gloves, lest
I fall into certain habits irrcvocably.-
BUfaio Erpress - M. j. t-.a1.L