Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-27
The HQSkin Letter BY n r s:1s
10, THE POOR MILLIONAIRE.

Washington, d. c., July 24.-The
term millionaire may mean one thing
or it may mean another. TO the aver
age person n millionaire is a man who
is the fortunate posessor of $1,000. 900.
To some of those who study the stats.
tics of income published BY the Inter
nal Revenue Bureau of the Treasury a
millionaire is not one who possesses
merely 81 600. 900 but one who has an
income of 81 100000 a year or more.
Such a man must posses a fortune of
many millions of dollars.
The vicissitudcs of these super-mil-
lionaires. most Of whom were created
by the war. is an interesting story.
There may be some fiction in it. also.
1t is difficult to determine whether the
! statistics reflect actual vicissitudes of
fortune or jugglery of figures. but the
figures must be taken at their face
value and the assumption made that
they constitute atrue report. If that
be true. the super-millionaires of the
United States came and went in the
war years as summer insects come and
go. but there are many still buzzing
around.
In 1914. the first year in which the
great war III Europe changed the face
OF the world and turned the channels
of business. there were 60 persons in
the United States who reported incomes
Of 81 900, 900 a year or more. The In
ternal Revenue Bureau has no higher
classification than this. but it is said
that if the classifications were carried
upward. it would be found that there
are incomes of $10,O0O.000 a year and
more.
BY 1915 the crop of super-million-
aires had doubled. There were 100
persons who returned income of 81 ,0OO.-
900 a year and over. In 1916 the num-
Der had reached 2OG. This was the
peak. In 1917 the figures had fallen
to 141: but in 1918 il was 81: in 1919.
65; and in 1920 there were but SO
Americans reporting incomes of 81 ,O00,-
600 n year and over.
When They DwindIed
Observers Of these matters see a Co
incidence in the fact hat the great in
comes began TO dwindle in the same
year that the United States entered the
war and laid heavy taxes and surfaces
on incomes. The figures are supposed
TO give. not the taxable income merely.
but the total net income. That is.
these mounts were returned whether
taxable or not. The point has been
made that the great incomes did not
actually fall off when the United States
entered the war so sharply as has been
indicated. but that by some mysterious
manipulation. they were kept ont of the
returns. That may be fact and it may
be that the beneficiaries Of these vast
incomes. realizing that a large proper
: -. ,-1 --1l l. l..
the income tax collector. began in 1916
10 distribute their property to heirs or
to dissipate it in other ways.
If the normal definition of n million
aire is used. the statistics are astound-
ing. Assuming that a millionaire is one
who has an estate worth 81, 1000. 900.
the numbers can be arrived at by as
Stunning that each receives an income of
10 per cent on his fortune. This would
be at the rate of 500, 900 n year. In
1914 the number Of persons having in
comes of 100000 n wear was o,2SS.
| Add the so super-millionaires and a
grand total of 2.34S is obtained. This
was the year in which the European war
broke out.
Taking this same definition Of mil
lionaires there were in 1915 some
3.704 of them. and, with the super
millionaires added, a grand total of s.
S24. The figures for 1916 show GAIT
with 206 super-millionaires to add. Civ
ing a grand total of $3.50. In 1917
the number was 6.523 and. with the SUI
ner-millionaires 1864. This was the
high tide for the combined showing.
The high tide for the super million
aires was 1916 when there were 2O6.
In 1917 there were but 141. But the
classes ranging down to the normal
singIe-millionairps reached their re-
NTH in 1917. In 1918 there were T.
Az normal m~illionaires and 67 uper-
~millionaires. or n total of 4.499: in
1919, there were 5.461 normal million
aires and 65 super-millionaires or a
total Of $500: in 1920 there we're 1916
normal millionaires and 81 super-mil-
lionaires. or a total of 3,649. This is