The Carlisle independent., 1918-03-21
MR. S!MPKINS PAYS
 z HIS INCOME TAX
By ROBERT McBLAIR.


 Colonel Simpkins, who had four times been promoted for valor during the Civil War and had died bravely on the field of action. Mir Simpkins' throat ached now for two reasons: First, he revereneed and adored the memory of his father; secondly, his age and h.s eyes and his game leg wouldn't let him 70 10 Wifi himself And as he observed the martial bearing and uncompromis ing gaze of Colonel Simpkins he saw. Tn imagina tion, the khaki clad lads of the new generation marching forth and crossing three thousand miles of sea to fight, maybe die. for liberty.
 Mir. Simpkins peered around to make sure that neither Bess nor John (who were at the teasing ages of sixteen and seventeen) were where they could see him, then he straightened and threw his right arm up for d salute. But his gouty shoulder twinged. and he groaned. He couldn't even salute.
 Damn p said MF. Simpkins, and with his other hand f1erceIy twirled his white mustachios.
 He turned and limped into the H. brary and sat down creakily before the mahogany desk on which were lying the blanks for his income tax state ment, 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.
 MT. Simpkins' income for 1917 had amounted to just about S15,000, and he had been rather snappy on the sub ject of taxes ever since he had discov- cred that the more income a man has the greater the percentage of it he pays In taxes. He could think of sev 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 gloomily drew the blank nearer and began filling in the information that 1t asked for
 AS Mir Simpkins' income was S15,0 ,000 he had to figure out the amounts pay able on each of the successive smaller classes of incomes in order to arrive at the total due from himself He passed over the first class who must pay taxes. that is, single men making over 1000. His calculation for mar ried men then showed up as follows:
 First, they pay per cent. (under the 1916 law on all income over S4.00o, dedueting s200 for each of their children under eighteen years. In Mir .l-y~ -s 4l,g .I, l. put down in the payable" column.
 He saw next that, under the 1917 law, married men pay an additional ? per cent. on all over s2,000-with the same allowance for children. This added S2j2 to his payable" column.
 He then observed that for every $2,500 jump in his income over 5000 he had to pay Surtax. the percentage growing larger with each jump. This was S250 more added to his burden. And on top of all this came an "Ex- cess Profits" tax of per cent. on all "occupa tion" income over $6000, mak- ing S720 more.
 The total, then, he must pay was four. teen hundred and thirty-four dollars.
 "Whewi :" exclaimed Mir. Simpkins angrily "There's young Henry Will kins, who married Jake Johnson's girl he makes S2000 and he doesn't pay cent. of taxes guess this is his war as we'll as mine v
 Thinking of young Henry Wilkins, he remembered that Mrs. Wilkins went every afternoon to make bandages for the Red Cross and that Henry, who was a lawyer, was aiding the Local Draft Board with its questionnaires.
 Well" he admitted to himself that makes a difference"
 He thought next of Judge Willough- by, whose income was about $3,O00
 He only pays S20," commented Mir Simpkins, not quite so angrily this time; and then thought struck him and he sat up rigidly in his chair
 Judge Willoughbys son had been drowned on the Tuscania when it was submarined with the loss of two hun- dred soldiers.
 Judge Willoughby gave his son to America" muttered Mir. Simpkins
 He leaned forward suddenly and put his face in his hands
 For a long time Mir. Simpkins sat very still in that position. There was no sound in the library except the ticking of the tall clock and an occa- sional trill of laughter from the chil- dren skylarking upstairs. The square of light on the carpet gradually with drew itself through the window, and first twilight and then darkness settled in about the quiet. white haired, some times irascible old man.
 Mir. Simpkins was thinking things which he would never afterward speak of, he was thinking things that were too sacred ever to be put into words. But some inkling of his thoughts may be found in his reioinder to Mrs. Simpkins when that placid lady came in and turned on the lights, and asked him whether he was ready for dinner.
 .Judpe WiIlouphhV'S only son WAS