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Show MR. SIMPUNS PAYS I HIS INCOME TAX By ROBERT McBLAIR. Mr. Simpklns gazed at the portrait on the wall till his eyes filled with tears. It was a portrait i his father, Colonel Simpklns, who had four times : been promoted for valor during the j Civil War and had died bravely on the field of action. Mr. Simpklns' throat ached now for two reasons: First, he reverenced and adored the memory of his father; secondly, his age and his eyes and his game leg wouldn't let him to wf.r himself. And as he observed the martial bearing and uncompromising uncompromis-ing gaze of Colonel Simpklns he saw, in imagination, the khaki clad lads of the new generation marching forth anil crossing three thousand miles of sea to fight, maybe die, for liberty. M: Simpkins peered around to make sure that neither Bess nor John (who were at the teasing ages of sateen and seventeen) were where they could see him, then he straightened and threw his right arm up for a salute. But his gouty shoulder twinged, and he groaned. He couldn't even salute. "Damn !" said Mr. Simpklns. and with his other hand fiercely twirled hi white mustachlos. He turned and limped Into the library li-brary and sat down reakly before the mahogany desk on ivhich were lying the blanks for his income tax statement, state-ment, blanks which he had rather grumpily got from the Internal Revenue Reve-nue officer only that day after luncheon lunch-eon on his way home from the club. Mr. Simpklns' income for 1917 had amounted to just about $15,000. and he had been rather snappy on the subject sub-ject of tares ever since he had discovered discov-ered that the more income a man has the greater the percentage of it he pays in taxes. He could think of several sev-eral men who, like himself, were married mar-ried and had two children, and yet, although their incomes were nearly half of his, they would pay only a small fraction of the amount he paid. He gloomily drew the blank nearer and began filling In the information that it asked for. As Mr. Simpklns' income was $15,000 he had to figure out the amounts payable pay-able on each of the successive smaller classes of incomes In order to arrive at the total due from himself. He passed over the first class who must pay taxes, that is, single men making over 1,000. His calculation for married mar-ried men then showed up as follows: First, they pay 2 per cent, (under the 1918 law) on all Income over $4,000, deducting $200 for each of their children under eighteen years. In Mr. Simpklns' case this was $212, which he put down in the "payable" column. He saw next that, under the 1917 law, married men pay an additional 2 per cent, on all over $2.000 with the same allowance for children. This added $252 to his "payable" column. He then observed that for every $2,500 jump in his income over $5,000 he had to pay a Surtax, the percentage growing larger with each jump. This was $250 more added to his burden. And on top of ..all this came an "Excess "Ex-cess Profits" tax of 8 per cent, on all ""occupation" Income over $6,000, making mak-ing $720 more. The total, then, he must pay was fourteen four-teen hundred and thirty-four dollars. "Whew I" exclaimed Mr. Simpklns angrily. "There's young Henry WI1-kins, WI1-kins, who married Jake Johnson's gli'l, he makes $2,000 and he doesn't pay a cent, of taxes I guess this Is his war : as well as mine I" Thinking of young Henry Wllklns, he remembered-that Mrs. Wllkins went every afternoonto make bandages for the Red Cross and that Henry, who was a lawyer, was aiding the Local Draft Board with its questionnaires. "Well," he admitted to himself, "that 'makes a difference." He thought next of Judge Wlllough-by, Wlllough-by, whose income was about $3,000. "He only pays $20," commented Mr. Simpklns, not quite so angrily this time: and then a thought struck him and he sat up rigidly In his chair. Judge Wtlloughby's son had been drowned on the Tuscanla when It was submarined with the loss of two hundred hun-dred soldiers. 7 "Judge Wllloughby gave his son to America," muttered Mr. Simpklns. He leaned forward suddenly and put his face In his hands. For a long time Mr Simpklns sat very still in that position. There was no sound in the library except the ticking of the tall clock and an occasional occa-sional trill of laughter from the children chil-dren skylarking upstairs. The square of light on the carpet gradually withdrew with-drew Itself through the window, and first twilight and then darkness settled In about the quiet, white haired, sometimes some-times irascible old man. j Mr. Simpkins was thinking things ! which he would never afterward speak i of, he was thinking things thar were ! too sacred ever to be put Into words. ! But some inkling of his thoughts may j be found in his rejoinder to Mrs. Simpkins when that placid lady came In and turned on the lights, and asked him whether he was ready for dinner, j "Judge Wtlloughby's only son was ; worth as much as fourteen hundred j and thirty-four dollars, wasn't he?" ' Mr. Simpkins demanded of her. As his wife, who was not unused to i his superficial irritations, watched him in mild astonishment. Mr. Simpkins ' limped out to the hall and took his old felt hat and silver-headed cane from the hat rack. letting himself out Into the foggy evening, he tapped his way down to the corner and mailed his Income tax statement and check with his own hands. "Now, God be thanked," said Mr. Simpklns as the lid clanked shut over his missive, "I can do this much for mj country, anyhow." Watch .lilford Grow. |
