s
14
MONDAY. JANUARY 31, 1921.
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL
PORTLAND. OREGON. -
PENALTIES
FACING w
FAILURE TO RETURN
oman Is Experienced Miner
t - K ' t' . t ... .' 6 :.':
Took $ 1 00,000 From Claim
OH INCOME TAXES
Danger lurka In misconception ot
the requirement of .the" federal in
come tax law, according to Milton
A- Miller, collector of .Internal reve
nue for Oregon. V In i an interview
today. Miller stated that hundreds of
people are making themselves liable
to the penalties of the Income tax
law through failure to make returns,
on the presu.mption that because
they apparently are exempt from the
payment of the tax it is unnecessary
to file returns. ' ' je '
. AH single perions whose incomes for
the-year 1920 amounted to 11000 or more
are required to file returns, on blanks J
t urnlahed by the collector of - Internal
revenue, on or before March All
married persons whose Incomes" for 1920
amounted to $2000 or more are required
to file returns and in computing incomes
married persons must take Into account
the Incomes of their wives and depend
ent minor children. : '
MARRIE0 MEN INCLUDED
... Though the law provides exemption; In
the sum of $200 for each minor child
and It may appear to the head of the
family that he will be exempt from any
payment of tax whatever, it is necessary
for", him to file a return . if his income
amounted to $2000 for the year, v
Officials of the internal revenue col
lector's office are required by law to
compute exemptions and figure out the
amount of tax. If any, the person filing
a retaxn must pay. . ,
Many'puszling points in the income tax
law were covered in a talk by Miller be
fore the retail hardware and implement
dealers during their convention at the
Imperial hotel last week.' ; He called at
tention to the fact that last year there
was collected through the Internal reve
nue office In the United States $5,410.
000.000 and of this-amount $1.466.000;000
came from miscellaneous taxes and that
$3,944,000,000 came from income and ex
cess profits tax.
COLLECTION COST 8MAIX
The question was asked : . "What is the
cost of collecting the Income tax?" Some
members of the convention, were laboring
under the Impression that It was very
exoensive to collect Miller explained to
them that the cost amounted to about 55 J
centa per $100 collected, tor, me couec
- IHon of the internal revenue taxes for
e fiscal year ending June 30. 1920. or
bout ,one half of 1 per cent. .- The total
st of operating the Internal revenue
Ice was $29,647,439.71. Oregon s share
ofNthe tax paid during the period 'men-
ned was $27,569,223.46, and the cost of
collecting was about 54 cents per $100.
Miller further, explained that t was
the purpose of his office to extend alt
courtesies and assistance possible to the
"general public, but that on account of
the lack of deputies he could not reach
as many points In the state as he would
like, nor' leave his deputies so long as
' he desired in each place, the reason for
this being that his field force was too
mall to meet all the requirements or it. I box to the frying pan. the visitor was
He said that his office was doing the best i forced to resort ; to "the practices of the
It could. ' I "aourflough," In ' which class she lists
SALARIES NOT EXCESSIVE . I herself, and behind her dogs Bhe covered
UNEMPLOYMENT IN
PORTLAND SHOWN
4
dp
sec
. ' . ,-:f if--;'. ;
S S i
iili v I , ; H 4
t m i h
IN FALSE LIGHT
In spite of figures included in the
monthly report of the Twelfth dis
trict federal reserve i bank at San
Francisco, the "unemployed" situa
tion in Portland is vastly better than
in any other city ion , the Pacifc
coast and far above any important
city in the nation, according to state
ments made Saturday by A. "VT
Jones, director of .the free empIoyT
meat bureau.
The federal reserve bank is reporting
11,000 men unemployed in Portland, but
omits any estimate of the situation at
Seattle and Tacoma. The facts are that
not more than 2500 men and. women- in
Portland who want work cannot find it.
And by apparently the same system
of figuring, Portland Is not admitted
to be a port by the federal reserve bank
In Its current monthly report. Press
wires have carried out of San 'Francisco
long stories about the scope of un
employment m Portland as shown by the
federal bank and ha vo. tailed to lind
in the report the slightesreference to
condition that is three tirhfes as aggra
vated in Seattle. Yet the same report
finds Space to review the condition , of
foreign commerce at Seattle and San
Francisco - but cannot , crowd Portland
Into its imagination, as a port.
FACTS CONTRADICT REPORT
The facts In the case would seriously
reflect against San' Francisco and
Seattle and would credit Portland with
more 'business than either of the other
ports would like to admit. r
The San Francisco bank's report on
the unemployment figures submitted by
the Branch bank here is based on that
bank's own conception of the facts as
presented in a statement given to the
local branch by Director Jones of the
free employment office. j
' When the statement was published by
the bank It disregarded the facts set
forth and used a misleading 5 gross
figure, which, as & matter of fact; s
said by Jones not, even to intimate the
local situation without many qualifica
tions which he had Included in his re
Port. In denying the truth of the San Fran
cisco report, Jones explained that Port
land is more nearly free of an un
employment problem than any city in
the nation and that if there are 1000
unemployed, here there are 30,000 out of
work in Seattle. ,wlth a similar propor
tion holding true as to Tacoma, '
IDLENESS IS VOLUNTARY
"There are ''actually about 10.000 per
sons idle. in Portland at this time." Jones
said today. "Nearly 7000. of that num
ber are voluntary idlers they are the
lumber camp operators and woodsmen
who. come to Portland every winter and
wouldn't work if they could. - The win
ter season, is their vacation period ; they
all have money and every last .one of
them is an .asset rather than a liability
to the city. They are no more un
employed" than the thousands, of tour-,
lets who gather in California, in the
winter.
"As an extreme estimate, counting
every head, there are not more than
2500 persons in the entire city who can
not find work There is no reason why
figures on the situation in Seattle should
not be available, unless they fear up
there to reveal the facta. The facts
would show at least three times as great
a 'problemVas exists here.
LOS ANGELES HIT HARD
:w ''San Francisco is in better condi
tion than Seattle, but not nearly so good
as Portland. Los Angeles is in a bad
way. The figures that were submitted
for the federal reserve bank report were
qualified as to voluntary and Involun
tary unemployment, but the bank ap
parently . has not chosen to admit the
qualification and has used the deceptive
gross figure which tells nothing.
"There is no comparison between the
situation here . today . and that of the
years between 1912 1 and 1915. In fact,
regardless of the number unemployed,
there are 'actually more men and women
at work In Portland today than there
were a year ago, '
"Some Idea of the comparative situa
tion in Portland and Seattle Is to be had
from the report of a railroad brakeman
In this office a few days ago. He brought
Into Portland on orte ireightf train from
Seattle 171 workle men, who paid no.
fare for their passage. They were com
ing to Portland to seek work or to idle
on the Btreets because they ' will not
work. ' We are taking care of a large
part of Seattle's migration, and still have
less than a third of the unemployment
problem existing there,
MATS Y ARE - EX-SERVICE MEN '
"There are many - floaters here. At
tracted by the widespread knowledge
that more work is' available here than
anywhere else. There are many, former
service men here out of work. , In a re
cent survey, upon which these figures
are based, we found that Bot 1 per cent
of the former service men now unem
ployed were Portland or Oregon men.
They are coming to Portland from all
parts of the United States." : . ?
As to foreign commerce the federal
bank report saysi, ; . :--
"The effect of recent successive month
ly declines in the total Value of the for
eign commerce of the .ports of this dis
trict is now reflected in the totals of the
years 1920 and 1919, and statistics for the
first 11 'months of each year show that
the 1920 exports decreased 13.S per cent
as compared with those of 1910, and that
imports fell off 4.8 per cent. December
exports and imports at San Francisco
and Washington (Seattle), the two prin
cipal ports of the district,, each show de
creases of over SO per : cent compared
with November figures."
WHY PORT IS IGNORED - '.
Portland can point, out to the federal
reserve bank at San Francisco where it
has apparently directly and Intentionally
avoided admitting Portland as a port be-H
cause its showing would make San Fran
cisco and Seattle records for exports look
sick. and would pull them from - their
places as "the principal ports of this dis
trict" ' "
The fact that Seattle and San Fran
cisco port business has suffered a. de
cline does n6t reflect the same condition
in Portland, Vhere last year 42,000 tons
more of .cargo were dispatched than
were sent from San Francisco. In 1920
Portland exported 612,574 tons as against
570.386 tons from San Francisco, .
The above figures were available to
the San Francisco bank, and could have
been obtained either direct from the
Chamber of Commerce or through the
branch bank here. The figures showing
Seattle's unpmployment situation .to be
three times as great as Portland's "prob
lem'' could have been obtained through
similar channels at Seattle. i
Be',,, merciful in your judgment; you
can't tell how soon you rnay wish the
samekkind of treatment.
DAN CUPID
MARCH;
STEAL
ON FRIEIICI
United
h
oiaies district JAitor
Lester V, flumphreys nd his v ,
who was Miss Kvangeline Bard, .
Saturday "afternoon, are "going :,
have a busy week answering tl
question, "Why dldnV you tell v on
put by their1 friends. 7-
fc-or Lester Humphreys left his "b '",rt
hurriedly, saying something about
t"golf game,; and. with Miss Bard. Ai
to Vancouver Saturday -afternoon .-,7 so J"
got married. "000
Newspaper men . and friends of
thte plans which culminated in the" i
mony. -v,V.
- "Did they elope?" WilLH. Bard. 1.. t
ney of 968 Kast Couch Btr'eet; fathe 'V
the bride, was asked" Sunday. r
"It "was premeditated," responded .
new father-in-law.
Lester Humphreys succeeded
Haney in 'his present office.. During .
world war he was a major 1-
Ninety-first division.
Mr. and Mrs. Humphries
home after February
tnorne avenue. 1
; "' . . - I
I..
, 4iteh-
nphries will
15 at 1087i 1' -3
Spokane Draws Conventions
Spokane, Wash., Jan. 31. Klsht Nor -west
conventions have , been booked
Spokane by the Chamber of Commc
according to Major U. A. Laird, din
of publicity. - v ' ' ' -..
If' "
Miss Nellie Cushman, on
"Heading south" for a vacation.
Miss Nellie Cushman is in Portland
after traveling more than 480 miles
of Alaska's most frigid domain by
dog team as the first step In a trip
that will take her to Bisbee, Ariz., to
visit relatives. ; ;
To accomplish the climatic change that
will, figuratively, take her from. the ice
The impression seems to prevail among
many people that the salaries paid these
deputies were- far In excess of what they
really are. . Miller stated that the aver
age salary for his entire field force was
only a little over J1700 per annum. The
total amount of delinquent taxes col
lected by these deputies for the past cal
endar year was $439,423.55. or about
J 17.000 per man. In other words, every
dollar expended in salary for these field
deputies returned $10 In delinquent taxes
rightfully doe the government.: '
He told the convention that many ob
jections were raised to the law, some
-people objecting to one feature of it and
some to another ; that It would be very
hard to pass any tax law that would
please everyone. He spoke optimistically,
declaring that the condition of this coun
try was far superior to . that of any.
other r -that we were the "richest nation
in the world; that our indebtedness did
not exceed 11 per, cent" of our wealth
while that of England was 8 per cent of
her wealth, that of France more than 78
enowfields that have many times felt the
runners of her sleds and held the imprint
of her new shoes.
visit here from Alaska
She ..has virtually; covered Alaska by
dog team, on snowshoes or in canoe, and
when : spring arrives in Arizona, she
promises to be "heading north" . again.
The long trek, over the snows that the
visitor holds was a mere incident in the
trip "out," took her from the Koyukuk
district to Fairbanks.' Miss Cushman
has been in Alaska much of the .time
since 1874 and there became the owner
of claim No. 19 on Bonanza creek at
Dawson, from which she took out more
than $100,000 in gold. She was among
the first to go to 'Fairbanks when gold
was discovered there. . t
MIbs Ciishman recalls her meeting
with Ben W. Olcott, now governor Of
Oregon, at Fairbanks In 1904. , ,
per cent, that of Italy 80 per cent and
that some of the European countries
were absolutely bankrupt.
30 Chemists 'Meet
At Reed College
Portland was a mecca for chemists
Saturday " -when the Oregon section of
the American Chemical society met at
Reed college. Thirty of the state's lead
ing chemists, representing various Ore
gon Industrial concerns and educational
Institutions, after spending the afternoon
inspecting municipal terminal No. 4 and
the Portland Gas . & Coke company, as
sembled in the Reed chemical laboratory
wnere papers were, read by E. L. Hall,
general superintendent of the Portland
Gas & Coke company, and Dr.' R. K.
Strong, head of the Heed college chem
istry department.
A new automobile lock that cuts off
the gasoline at the carbureter Is locked
by pulling a button on the dashboard
of a "car; but requires lifting of the
hood to unlock with a key.
WATT!
LEVITTS FAMOUS ROUND-UP
SALE BEGINS WEDNESDAY
' , 8EB TUESDAY JOURNAL !
in 'OWt -x TT7
ELlL
"The avrage person handle thousands
of dollars every year which is his own
money temporarily. The; trick is to
make more of this money stay with you.'
Let this bank help you form
the habit of saving Money
more easily than spending it,
:' ;''--.''.'-tV-V. ;'..'-.' '.':. ;.'; ' '
. $1.00 opens an account.
ASK FOR MRS PH1LUBER
Oldest
-rathe :
Northwest
V lil
Savings Dept. Open Saturday Evenings 6 to 8
If flfl vQ J 4.
,-..-. -.
ae
o
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1M
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A
32 Brilliant Meier & Frank
Show , Windows- ancl As Many
Departments Illustrate 'the
Truth of This Assertion
Yes, the distinction of being the first store to make any con
sidable display of the new-season things "rests as surely with
Meier & Frank's as does the leadership in value-giving' ex
pressed in the oft-quoted truism : "It Always Pays to Shop at
xvieier oc rranKs. - .
4
5:
This advance exposition and sale of Spring,
1921, arrivals is remarkable for two main
reasons.
First, it emphasizes this store's early readiness with tfte new
season things, and, second, it calls attention to ihe noticeably
lower prices at which they are to be had NOW at Meier &,
Frank's. , - ' .
: : V !.".-'"' ' :
' 4 ' "-"'""''-.
It is made possible on the fine scale that it is
being done by reason of our buyers early trips
to the Eastern fashion centers to select new mer-
chandise for spring. Some of them have re
turned to Portland, and some are now in the
market for the second time.
Some of the new things are:
SUITS FROCKS '
WRAPS . SKIRTS
GLOVES HATS
SHOES ' SILKS
COATS.
. BLOUSES .. .
NECKWEAR
COTTONS
All are of the BEST, qualities at the LOWEST prices . You
are cordially invited to see the displays.
SKETCHED BY
OUR ARTIST
THE QUALITY STORE
OF PORTLAND
' '.'
- I ' 1 17 nrPTfum rt
. i 1 till nttD . -a rrl c -
WASHINGTON
AT THIRD
II
ITT 1