Evening star., 1924-11-30
Any OLD LINE WILL Make MONEY
IF ONE BELIEVES TAX RETURNS
Near Beer, Floating Soap, Stage, Banking, Liter
ature, Even Criticism Pays, Peep Into
American Pockets Reveals.

, for public inspection so far) from the
tax figures. And, naturally, the ac-
| tual total made will in practically
| every case be considerable above the
minimum
| Exemptions and deductions are not
| to be judged from the figures made
public. And only a very few instances
need be cited to show that they must
have made a tremendous difference In
some of the tax figures.
! \ banker. like Mr.. Morgan, for in
| stance. who knows all about secur-
| tiles and investments that are tax
| free. might well be expected to put
some considerable share into them.
thereby reducing the total of the tax
! he reported by quite a sum. The
| elder Mr.. Baker Is known to have
made vast gifts to educational IN
stitutions during 1928, so that 1T Is
| hardly possible TO tell what he made
| from his figures.
And just take your own case There
was that S52 deduction for 81 week
dropped into the collection plate at
| church. There were those other little
| items that were deducted, to say moth
| ing of the exemption allowance on your
| eleven children.
Still this much can be told. You can
| figure a mans minimum earnings from
| the figures published.
"A man might have large investments
! in Government and city bonds, which
are exempt and upon which, therefore,
he would not be compelled to pay cent
| of tax" is the way Frank K Bowers.
| collector for the second district, New
York, richest in the Nation, puts 1t.
But, If the tax paid was $1,000, the
! income of the man who paid 1t would
be at least $4,000. On this basis, the
least income of a man could be COM
puted as follows:
| If the tax Is $4,000, the income is
at least $4,000; II the tax is 100000.
then the income Is at least $685. II
the tax Is $4,000, the income must be
$4,000; tax $4,000. income at least
| 100000. If tho tax is 100000, or
| more, then the tax amounts to so per
cent, or more. Therefore. II the tax
is 100000. then the income is at least
100000, and If the tax Is $1,000,000,
then the income is at least $2,00t,0 600.
Gov. Smith Pays &3I.
Would you like to be a figure in the
public eye? You might be making
Smith. for instance. paid the huge
tax of s31. Mayor Hylan didn't pay
a cent, because all his income came
from a. municipal salary, which is not
taxable by the Federal Government.
Senator Norris paid S512, which prob
ably accounts for his Willingness to
let everybody see what everybody
else made. Still, his brother Senator
from Nebraska, Senator G.. NJ. Hitch
cock, paid S42,12s.
Here are a few figures paid by
prominent persons: President Cool
lidge, $6,643; Chief Justice Taft, $2,7ls;
Attorney Geneal Stone, $6,722; Gov.
A. F.. Smith, $31; Senator Copeland,
$1,311; Ogden G.. Mills, s257.450; II.
NJ. Daugherty. sl01; Samuel Gompers,
sSsS; Senator Borah, 1894: Senator
La Toilette, $641; Senator Norris,
s412; Senator Hitchcock. s42,1 Jane
Adams, s4s.
How Bankers Fare.
Bankers are always near money and
ought to know how TO make a lot
W ell, great many Of them evidently
do, judging from the taxes they pay.
How much their clerks pay--tn other
words, how embryo bankers fare
while they are learning the business
cannot be determined from the tax
returns. Here are a few bankers
figures: Andrew w. Mellon. $l,173,9s7;
r. Il. Mellon, s34s,64S: Charles E.
Mitchell. s237.3s5; George F. Baker,
9oop,5t L, george r. BAKER, Jr., $6IS,-
66i; Otto H. Kahn. s1S4,9s3; James
A. Stillman, s233,067; Charles G.
Dawes, $1S,26a; Rufus c. Dawes, s3,-
l2l; J. P. Morgan, ses.643; Eugene
Meyer, jr., sl52.466: Thomas w. La
mont. s47,s20: George BlumenthaI,
-s327,s27
From financial standpoint. bank
ing has 1t on ministering. Prominent
clersymen reported very small taxes,
even those. such as Cardinal Hayes,
who were generally considered to be
quite wealthy in their own right. Here
are a few interesting cIergymen's
taxes: Bishop William T. Manning,
s1.1O5; Patrick, Cardinal Hayes, s346:
the Rev. John Roach Straton, 500: DR.,
S. Parks Cadman. s1,s1s; the Rev.
Percy Stickney Grant, $14S; Bishop
Frederick Burgess, $521: Bishop
Thomas E. Molloy. ss4; DR.. Newell
Dwight Hills. s51; the Rev. William
N. Guthrie. 1853.
Lawyers Do Better.
Lawyers do better than that In a
nnanclai way. Oh, my. yes, Some of
the lawyers paid quite considerable
taxes. And they're getting better
and better in this money-mak1ne
business. Elihu Root, who has built
up for himself quite a reputation as a
lawyer, paid an income tax Of s1o.242.