The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1942-12-17
Behind The Scenes In
American Business
By John Croddock

BY John Crdddock
TAXES: Two out of every
five Americans - some SO, OOO,-
600 persons - will pay direct
taxes next year in contrast to
one out of twenty not many
years ago. Although there are
few, If any, complaints to foot
ing the biggest tax bill in his
tory, the payments will be
staggering to many perosns. "A
stenographer making 500 a
month will pay $3.50 = one and
one-half months salary. A
mechanic earning $50 a week
will owe $3.50 - nine weeks pay
If single, or, if married, more
than $500 - six weeks pay. A
single individual earning IS 5000
a year will turn over better
than a fourth of it. In other
words, from January l to April
l he'll work to pay what he
owes the government. And for
the average American family of
four, If annual income Is S $500,
the tax will be about $3.50. On
top of all this is a five per cent
Victory tax on all earnings over
1924 which will come out of the
pay envelope. What's worrying
some tax experts is that very
few persons will have saved
enough money to meet the tax
burden and that defaults will
be many One means of cor
recting such hardships, they
argue, is deduction at the
source so that the taxpayer can
pay as he goes" Adoption of
the Ruml plan, they insist, is
the way out without upsetting
this years tax schedules. That's
the plan that would skip one
years taxes so that next years
levieS would be paid out of next
years incomes. AS Americans
dig deeper, sentiment is certain
to increase so that tax pay
mentS can be made while one
has the money.
RAILROADS: Modern war is
essentially a war of transpor-
tation and the railroads., haul
ing more freight and passen-
gers than ever before, are doing
a real job. One reason why steel
mills are working at more than
theoretical capacity is the speed
with which iron ore is being
mined and transported from
the northwest to Lake Superior
docks where it is loaded aboard
carriers for the trip to the
mills. And its up to one rail-
road, the Duluth, Mesabi g.
Iron Range railway, to get much
OF the record-breaking quota
of $4,000, 900 tons of iron ore to
the Duluth-Superior docks be-
fore the lakes freeze. This
means thousands of hoppers-
dump cars which are half
the length of an ordinary
freight car but carry half
again as much tonnage-are
needed for such a tremendous
undertaking. Only recently 500
of these hoppers, built by the
streamlined train pioneer, Pull
man-Standard Car Manufacture
ing company, were added to the
railways fleet of carS-the first
completed delivery of an order
for 1900 placed with three car
builders. These iron men," ply
ing between the mines and the
docks, show how important an
adequate, well-equipped rail
transport system is to the wal
effort.
RATION BANKING: An ex-
pertinent which got underway
recently in New York state is
being watched with interest by
the nations commercial banks.
That is ration banking" an
OPA plan whereby banks would
handle the millions of sugar,
gasoline and other ration cou-
pons and certificates turned in
to retailers and wholesalers.
Thirty-three banks in the Al
bany = Troy = Schenectady area
are cooperating in a six-weekS'
trial of the plan. It's aim Is to
ease the burden of under staff
ed price and rationing boards
and to make the rationing sys-