Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1925-07-17

For some time past the Miller Rub
ber Company has been maintaining
what, in effect, amounts to two pay
rolls. One covers the wage earners
and salaried employees. There are
several thousand names on this roll.
The other payroll is for the tax col
lectors, of whom there are at the
present time twenty-three, each col
lecting a different kind of tax.
The first payroll presents no more
than the ordinary problem confront
ing every manufacturing company. It
is long or short as business is good
or poor. It's total rises or falls with
the tide Of prosperity.
The second payroll is inelastic.
The names on that payroll are fix
lures. What the company has to pay
out annually to the men on this pay
roll varies, naturally, with it's pros
perity, but the number of tax collec-
tors on the roll apparently cannot be
revised, except upward.
Always Adding More
From time to time, as some form of
our Government slaps new tax on
us, another name is added, but no
names are taken off 1t seems to be
a one-way payroll and it's way is
toward expansion.
During 1923 the twenty-three tax
collectors on the second payroll col
lected more than $1,000,000. During
the same year the thousands of en-
ployes on the other payroll received
a few thousands less than $7,800,0OC.
In other words, for every S10O paid
ont in hot
paid out $1340 in taxes.
While that proportion seems to me
unduly high in favor of the tax COL
lector, nevertheless it was not so
high as it had been during the two
preceding years. In 1922 the COM
pany paid the tax collectors $1760
for every $100 it paid it's wage earn
ers and in 1921 the tax collectors got
$24.20 for every 500 in wages.
Or, to put it another way, the COM
pany paid out in taxes in 1921 al
most one-fourth of the amount it paid
out in wages. In 1922, it paid out
in taxes more than one-sixth of the
amount paid out in wages and in 1923
about one-seventh. The decreased
proportion, however, was due largely
to improved business conditions.
Another Roll of Names
Now with that background, let US
for moment another roll of
names. That roll can hardly be call
ed payroll at the present time, for
It contains the names Of our common
stock holders. For the past few years
the tax collectors have jostled them
out of place at the paymaster's win
dow. Here is the record:
In 1921 holders of our common
stock (Which previously had been
paying So share in dividends) re-
ceived 81 a share; in 1922 they re-
ceived nothing; and in 1923 they re-
,eived nothing.
At the same time, taxes averaged
1854 per share of common stock in
1921; $21.70 per share in 1922; and
S20.11 per share in 1923.
Dividends that would have gone to
common stock holders in those years
vent instead to the tax collectors
With great surplus to spare.
Under these circumstances, our
common stock holders naturally are
to inquire how the benefit
md where they get off.
These common stock holders, let me
'ay, haven't any grudge against the
AK collector. They realize that taxes
must be paid to maintain the Gov
.rnment. They are fully aware of the
act that war costs money and that |
var taxes and after-war taxes are of |
necessity high. AS loyal and patriotic
Americans, they are glad to contrib
tie literally to the support of the
,arious governments whose blessings
hey enjoy.
Furthermore, they are not inclined |
o grumble over dividing their earn
ngs with the Government. In such
division they are entirely willing to
give the Government the lions share,