Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-10-17
M INCOMES EQUAL
THOSE OF MANY MEN
Daily Letter by Frederic }. Haskin

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14.-More
than half a million single women in
the United States paid income taxes
in 1920 n many of them paid on
incomes of fabulous size. The pre-
else number is 503,690 and the ag-
gregate of their incomes reached the
astounding total of 81, 264, 955,727.
These are all in the class which
statisticians of society would class
ordinarily as dependent females:
that is they are not rich wives nor
heads of families. For the full total
of women taxpayers the others must
be added. Women heads of families,
that is, widows with children or
daughters supporting parents. paid
tax to the number of 1S2,1S1 and
heir aggregate net income amounted
to 88,364,5 $50.
In cases where wives have estates
g earnings separate from their hus-
lands they frequently make separate
returns. Those doing so in 1920
numbered 1859 and their aggre-
gate income $534,S40,4 05. These
figures reveal that the single women
were the richest of all by many mil
lions. All of the fair sex combined
paid taxes to the government on net
incomes a~ggregating $2,1SS,160,662,
but the wives and widows together
only showed three-quarters as much
income as the girls.
The year 1920 is the latest for
which income statistics are avail
able. The government in issuing
these statistics is compelled to put
them in such form hat the identity
of the rich recipients of the great in
comes is not revealed. Under the
law. income tax returns are deeply
confidential.
Nevertheless, the statistics can be
| studied to bring interesting facts to
light. They indicate that the rich
est woman in the United States, or
at least, the woman who received the
greatest net income. was single. The
statistics do not reveal whether h
was young or beautiful, or a forbid
ding old maid. What they do re-
veal is that she had an income
somewhere between 50 10000 and
SO, 900, 900 a year. This does not
mean that she merely was worth be-
tween $4,000 900 and $4,000 900; but
that each year added that vast for
tune to her estate.
The next richest are two Women
who are married but who make re-
turns separate from their husbands
Purposely the figures are combined
so that the income of each cannot
be ascertained. but each of them has
an income somewhere between ST.
900, 900 and S1,500.000 a year. In
the same class is a single woman.
The next in line are two women
classified as heads of families; which
means either widows with children,
or daughters supporting parents,
brothers, sisters or other relatives.
These W ladies each receive in
comes of from one-half to three
quarters of a million dollars a year.
Who Are They?
Now comes a fascinating group!
There are Is single women in n
classification each of whom has from
half to three quarters of a million
dollars income a year with no n 10
support and, apparently, not a care
IN the world. Who are they? The
printed column of stastics reveals
nothing. Are they actresses? Are
they stars of the movies? Are they
onlv daughters of fond, deceased pa
rents? There are Is of them some
where in the United States. You
may be run over by ones automobile.
There seems to be no lack OF nil
lionaires among the women. In TINS
group, that is a class of women who
have approximately ~$1,0O0,0OO, n
single ladies predominant. Million
aires usually have incomes OF about
500, 900 a year. There are ISL OF
these single women who ave such
incomes. Wives making separate
returns rank next. They NUMBER
ia. The way in which a family I
down ones opportunities to amass a
fortune is strongly exempliied in n
fact that there are only 30 women
heads of families who can lay claim
to the millionaire class.
Here Is a curious fact which the
income statistics reveal. The term
millionaire has become a popular
one in the United States. 1t has a
certain glamour. Apparently both
men and women have striven parti-
cularly hard to attain this classifca-
ton. They have bent every effort to
reach it and, having done so, have
not been 50 eager to go higher. This
is revealed by the fact that the mum.
bers of millionaires are out OF ali
proportion to the income class either
imme diately below or Immediately
above. This would indicate that the
million mark has become a standard.
Take the single girls. for instance.
There are 81 in the class just under