Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-17
CENSUS OF income
RETURNS IS GIVEN
US. Had 1850 MiIIionaireS
in 1929-MOre Than Four
Million Pay Tax.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

DI JOAAN r pAANNGNANs
Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, March 17.-Any man
with an income of 81 900 900 year is
considered to be worth, on per cent
basis. at least s2o,0OO,OO0 In 1929 504
individuals reported incomes of 81 000,-
GOO or more. This was almost the same
number as in the preceding year-511
being in the big" class, as against 496
in 1927.
Upon the same basis of figuring a
millionaire is one who has on income OF
$4,000 a year or more. On that basis
the United States had 1850 Million
aires in 1929.
Over 1000, 900 Americans filed returns
in 1929, aggregating the net income OF
a little more than $24 500 900, 900. This
was an increase Of 1928 of 2.12 per
cent in the number filing returns and
0.62 par cent in total net income.
Distribution of Payments.
OF the 1891, 900, 900 paid in 1929 by
individuals for income tax purposes the
504 individuals having incomes of ST.
100000 end over paid 1878 per cent OF
the total. This is the largest paying
class. The 23,949 persons with incomes
of from S50,000ato 100000 year were
next, paying 1915 per cent OF the to-
tai.
The 5.26S persons that had incomes
from Sl50000 to 100000 a year paid
1894 per cent of the total, those SO. 404
who had incomes from $4,000 to $50
900 paid LA per cent OF the total.
They were followed by the 667 persons
who had an income from 5000 10
$1,000. 000 They paid 10.6 per cent.
Of the 4,034,702 individuals who filed
returns 3,065,701 who had incomes
r1f
the total, while the next largest class,
numerically, the 597,247, who had In
comes from $4,000 to $4,000, paid but
O.92 per cent of the total.
The income tax is paid by those best
able to pay. Ability to pay is the
basis CT the tax And as such, it is as
fair as can be devised.
Corporations, too, showed an increase
in 1929 over 1928, in spite of the stock
market smash. There were 226 cor
pcrations, each of which had net in
come of $4,000, 900 and over.
What of 1880? No one expects the
1880 record to equal the 1929 one, for
the big stock and business losses really
showed up in 1930-not in 1929. The
income tax receipts are expected to be
from $500, 900 to $500, 900, 900 short
Of the record attained in 1929.
Natural Gas Contract.
Louis B. C"Tip"O O'Neil, Montana
oil man, has signed contracts with the
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. and the
Montana Power Co. to deliver natural
gas from the Cutbank fields in North
ern Montana to the industrial centers
around Butte and Great Falls and to
all other cities and towns in Montana,
where those companies have franchises
for the distribution of gas. 1t means
an expenditure by Mr.. ONen OF be-
tween S10,000,000 to $12,000,000
The big construction job should be
completed by January /, 1882. AT that
time a supply Of 10,000,000.000 cubic
feet of gas per year is called for under
the contract Mr.. O'Neil will furnish
all the fuel gas for the mines around
Butte and the smelter at Anaconda.
A million dollars at least will go into
gas compressors and. another million
end half in the distribution system
around Butte alone.
This aI-Montana. enterprise is the
greatest single construction and de-
yelopment undertaken in Montana
since the building Of the transconti-
mental railroads.
"Trip" ONen, still in his 30s. comes
from a remarkable family. His father,
Pat ONeil of Los Angeles, Calf at one
time was one of the largest sheep ana
cattle ranchers in South Dakota. He
left there 20 years ago for California, to
take It easy. But he became interested
in oil He was very successful from the
start With a few others, he organized
the California Petroleum Corporation,
which later merged with the Texas Co.
His two sons, John and Tip" after
graduating from Notre Dame, went to
Wnnette Mont, With little stake their
father had given them, determined TO
make their fortune in Montana oil.
They sunk two or three wells in Cat
Greek, but found nothing. So with
their almost depleted capital, they left
the Cat Creek field and went up to
Kelvin field, in Northern Montana, and
built a small refinery. That was their
start In a few years, they sold out
their interests there for approximately
$4,000, 900. John left for California,
where his father was living, but Tip"
stayed on in Montana. He saw another
fo~tune-in the making-natural gas.
Now the father and the two sons have
large interests in gas and oil in the
Far West, the Midwest and the South
west, Another son lives in South Da-
kota, the owner of one of the largest
ranches and hotels in that State.
Tip" O'Neil makes his home at Cut
Bank. Mont, and travels almost exclu-
sively by airplane.
New Book on Banking.
Prof. Joseph S. Lawrence Of Prince
ton has just written a comprehensive
book under the title Banking Concen-
tration in the United States" It's a
breezy, well ordered and /thought-pro-
voking book-full of meat. All of the
banking and credit problems that have
been agitating thousands of rural and
city communities in the past few years
are taken up and sanely discussed.
One chapter is given over to a dis
cussion of the unit bank; "A Case for
Greater Banks and Branch Systems" is
the title of another chapter; still an
other The Economics and Cost of Con-
centration"; another Banking Con-
centration and Monopoly"
Are small banks destined to disap-
PEAR? Are the chain banks to be trans
formed at the proper time" into branch
banks? Are three or four giant insti-
tutors to cover the entire United
banks be circumspected within Fed
eral Reserve districts or within State
limits?
These and scores of other banking
problems are raised and discussed in an
intensely interesting way by Prof. Law
renee in his latest book.
In Nation where approximately 95
per cent of all business transactions
are settled by check; where the humbleSt
worker carries a bank account; where
the bank and its facilities are indispen-
sable enabling instruments by which
the pace Of modern enterprise can alone
be sustained, it Is only natural that a
profound structural change should ar
rest attention and command study,
Prof Lawrence SAYS in introducing the
subject TO his readers
Banking students and business men, too
can profit greatly by study Of this
important work dealing with a subject
which is destined 70 affect the life Of
nearly every individual in the Nation.