Daily Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1918-191?, 1918-03-19
4 S. ,fgIAS PAYS
lis INCOME TAX
ey ac--rr w,eLAiR.


been promoted Tor vnlor dung the
eva wnr and hnd lied brnvely on the
feld " nriIon. NJ. Slmpklns' throat
achcd nov Tor two reasons; First. he
rcverenced md ndored the memory Of
bis father: secondly. hts age and his
eyes and his game leg wouldn't let him
so 10 war himself And MS he observed
the martial bearing and uncompromls-
ing gnsc ~ Colonel Slmrklns he saw.
IN Imagination. the khaki-clnd lads ~
the new generation marching forth and
crossing three thousand miles OF sea TO
nghi. maybe die. for liberty
Mr.. sImpklns pecred around 10 make
sure that neither Bess nor John (who
were ~ the teasing ages 81 sixteen
and sevcntecn) were whore they could
see him, then he Strengthened and
threw his right arm mp for n salute
But his equity shoulder twinged. and he
groaned. Tie couldn't even salute.
Damn 7" said AFR. slmpkins. and
with his other hand iercely twIrled his
white mustachios
lie turned and limped into the H.
brnry and sat down creakily before the
mahogany desk on which we're lying
the blanks for his Income tax state
mcnt. blanks which he had rather
grumpily got from the Internal Reve-
nue. officer only that day after lunch
con on his way home from the club.
Mr.. SlmpkIns' income for 1917 had
amounted to Just about $4,000. and he
had been rather snnppy on the sub
jcct OF taxes ever since he had discov-
cred that the more income n man has
the greater the percentage OF Il he
pays In taxes lie could think of sew
eral men who. like himself, were mar
ried and had two children, and yet.
although their incomes were nearly
half OF his, they would pay only a
small fraction Of the amount he paid.
He gloomlly drew the blank nearer
and began filling In the information
that II asked for.
As Mr.. Slmpkins' income was $4,000
he had TO figure out the amounts pay
able on each OF the successive smaller
classes Of Incomes In order 10 arrive
at the total due from himself lie
passed over the FIRST class who must
pay taxes, that IL, single men making
over 1000. HIS calculation for mar.
Red men then showed up as follows:
First. they pay per cent under
the 1916 law) on all income over
$4,000, deducting 500 for each Of their
children under eighteen years. In Mr..
simpkIns case this was s2l2. which he
put down in the payable" column.
lie saw next that. under the 1917
law. married men pay an additional 2
per cent on all over S2,OO0-with the
same allowance for children. This
added 1852 to his payable" column.
He then observed that for every
$500 jump In his Income over 5000
he had 10 pay n Surtax, the percentage
growing larger with each jump. This
was $3.50 more ADDED 10 his burden.
And on top OF all this came an "Ex-
cess Profits" tax OF 8 per cent on all
Occupation" income over $4,000. MAX
Ing S720 more.
The total. then. he must pay was four.
teen hundred and thlrty-four dollars.
"Whewi' exclaimed Mr. Slmpklns
angrily. There's young Henry WI
kins. who married Jake Johnson's girl.
he mikes 5000 and he doesn't pay a
cent Of taxes. guess this Is his war
as well as mInei"
Thinking Of young Henry wilkins.
he remembered that Mrs. wilkins went
every afternoon 20 make bandnges for
the Red Cross and that Henry, who
wns a lawyer. was aiding the Local
Draft Board with Its questionnaires.
"weil." he admitted 10 himself.
-that makes a difference"
He thought next OF Judge willough- |
by. whose income was about $1,000.
"He only pays 500" commented Mr. |
S,mpkins not quite so angrily this
time; and then a thought struck him /
and he sat up rigidly In his chair.
Judge willoughby's son had been |
drowned on the Tuscanla when II was
Summarized with the loss OF two hun
dred soldiers
"Judgc WIlloughby gave his son 10 |
America" muttored Mr.. Slmpkins.
He leaned forward suddenly and put /
his face In his hands.
For a long time Mr.. Slmpklns sat
very stlll In TINT position. There was
no sound In the library except the
ticking OF the tall clock and an occa-
sionnl trill OF laughter from the chill |
dren skylarklng upstairs The square
of light on the carpet gradually with
drew itself through the window. and |
nrst twilight and then darkness settled |
In about the quiet, white haired. some |
times lrasclble old man.
Mr.. Slmpklns was thinking things |
which be would never afterward speak |
OF. he was thinking things that we're
too sacred ever 20 be put into words
But some inkling OF his thoughts may
be found In his rejolnder 10 MrH |
slmpkins when that placid lady came /
10 and turned on the lights. aud asked
him whether he was ready for dinner.
Judge wIlloughby's only sou was
worth as much rs fourteen hundred
and thlrty-four dollars. wasn't her"