Evening star., 1924-11-30

More than a few, probably, OF the
inuuisitive persons who have been
peeking into other peoples pocket
books during the last few days via
rhe income tax returns Just maae
public have been doing little light
3nusinE.
What should / have done, was
probably the inSistent thought that
wouldn't go away, ITO have made a
f'ock of money!
Well fascinating as the columns
and columns of figures are they oon I
rell. They tell only that you can
make money at almost anything II
you're a top-notcher-except in the
clergy. But. in the clergy making
money doesn't interest so much. So
the statement holds.
Near-Beer VS.. Gin.
No one. for instance. would think
there was any money in the manu-
sacture of .near-beer as against the
manufacture of real gin. But George
Thret reported a tax assessment OF
ti03s55 and George f. Rupert, re-
norted ss2,IS1. And the Gordon Dry
rim Company, Ltd, paid tax or just
sos.
]. r. Morgan. whose name is one
II the first that comes to mlnu "neH
money matters are mentioned re-
rorted only s9S.643 Does that mean
.bere aren't vast fortunes in banking !!
Hardly. Andrew W. Mellon. despite
the fact that he can have virtually
no time. to devote to his private pahh-
ing interests with all his work in the
Treasury Department, reported d taN
If s1,173,9sl. ,. !,
t.'l,ine ,ban in manufacturing?
We'll George f. Baker reported q tax
# s6sO,371, and his son, George r;
ECKER ir. both bankers, reported
.;-s664 Henry Ford. who does
little rnanufa cturing, reported s1'Ao''
a16 and his son, Edsel Ford, reported
.o467.946. William Nrigley, or., VINO
makes chewing gum, reported sl'lof'
800. Julius Fleischmann, VINO mares
,aast was taxed SS2I.3S4. Elurldse
,.IoS,n Who is president of the Vic
~ railing Machine Company, re-
ported $4,000.
,tol william Cooper Proctor ana
lanes y. Gamble, who make soap
1bat floats, reported taxes or soS''-S
nd s49.4s4 -Four Coigates, VINO are
N rho same business, more or. less
with perfumes and other allied proc,
uc-s added to soap. reperteu d 'o'"i
in excess OF Sie2,D00
Would. YOU make money by writ
,-ro Wen. Edith Wharton paid a
raT of sl6.S76. Zane Gray reported
500 11o Mary Roberts Rinehart re-
norr.d s4o 612. Montague Glass pald
= fax of SlO,1I1 and Avery Hopwood'
Dlay doctor, >2.702. Irwin :: copo
Lid a s5.762 tax and Isaac F. Mar
rosson, s2,62S.
Lo, the Poor Critic.
The critics? Do they fare as Well?
Henry I. Mencken, who has a tongue
as sbarp as any two-edged SWORD,
reported a tax of s2ST. Alexander
Woollcott. the dramatic critic, Palu
xa33. ueywood Brcun paid S2,177 and
FRANKLIN =. Adams. Sl.3o3. Chrlsto-
nher Morley good natured soul,
lacked his tax up to s4.01S, but ROD
rrt c. Renchley paid only SoI9. -
Can you play the piano! Noulu
you like to make your iortone ~, ps
tickling the worries? Irving Berlin
paid a tax of SHEA. Sergei Rach-
maninoff. come to think of il, handed
Ssl.O79 over to-the collector
would you be lawyer to be
vealthy2 A publisher? A singer!
public figure? Would you be sen
ator like George w. Norris from Ne
braska.. whose idea It was to make All
these figures known? Would you De
:. manufa cturer. an accountant.
maitre de hotel? Would you own
hotel or run oil companies or build up
a string of hotels? ,
or would you be born into d family
like that of the NanderblltS? sixteen
Vanderbilt items on the income TAX
list reached Il total OF sl.-oo' 81
.nunttns S3.1oO reported as the tax
paid by Cornelius Vanderbilt, IT, pun
Usher and railroad magnatt.
What to do to make money.
No Key Is Given.
You Just can't find out from the
income tax figures that nave peeil
made public When the Internal
Revenue Bureau took the unexpected
and unprecedented step last month OF
announcing that income tax returns
would be open to public inspection. IL
was at once popularity thought tnat
here would be a golden opportunity
of seeing Just what every one mdue,
finding out just who was rlch anu
who was only reputed to be rlch.
Here was to be a golden opportunity
80 TO speak, to peek at people in their
baths. ,
THAT wasn't the result at all,
though one might have thought II
Mas the result, from the great now
y protest that went up all over the
country from people who didn't want
their private business known. ou
amt tell what people make from the
income taxes they pay, anu lilel elci
YOU cannot compile comparative
scores of various occupations.
There Is some justice, then, in the
plants of those who say that the
figures made public do not merely
constitute an unwarranted prying
into private affairs, but do as well
rive information that is utterly mis-
Leading.
One can get only an estimate of the
minimum that a person has made Tor
+ha wear 1929 (the only year opened