Judge — July 15, 1922 — page 30: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“24 Hours a Day” Just Off the Press The utmost in “work- ing value” of secur- ities explained. Read how it is pos- sible to double income and profits without extra cash or risk. “Financial Success” “The Current,” issued weekly, is bringing financial success to our customers. An invaluable service that you will need always if you try once. Ask for 133DD NOW DUNHAM &G Investment Securities Established 1911 43 Exchange Place, New York | ee | IF INTERESTED IN BUSINESS AND FINANCE, keep informed by reading the Bache Review, a ten- minute weekly summary of the business and fini cial situation. It focuses and interprets curren: to-day and indicates their trend. nt to business men for three months, without charge. Jj. S. BACHE & CO. 42 Broadway New York City For eve-y owner DODG: BROTHERS MOTOR CAR HOW, de you know what accesory equipment ‘will best serve your purpose in adding to your comfort and enjayment in the use of your car? data of real 32 pages profusely illustrated, bouns stock. It deserves a place with you formation.” Your copy of this book will be 25. sent postpaid on receipt of coin or stamps. WILLIAM GREEN, Inc., 627 W. 43d St. N.Y.C. No charge is made for this service. telegraph. Address all inquiries to stamp should always be inclos giving full name and ezact street address. Muddling Along in Taxation AXPAYERS whose business tran- sactions and income are at all com- plicated will aver that the Federal revenue law is intricate, obscure, puzzling and maddening. The average citizen who does not employ counsel, but- strug- gles personally through his income tax statement, helped by obliging clerks at the Collector’s office, has less reason to blame himself for stupidity than he may think. For even the Government's sup- posably capable servants occasionally misunderstand and misapply the acts. Proof of this is found in one of the items of the Deficiency Bill, recently reported to the House at Washington. The measure carried an appropriation of over $28,000,000 for refunding overpayments of taxes demanded by Internal Revenue officers. The taxpayers’ protests against the excessive levies were sustained by the courts and the Treasury must return the cash which it should never have received. This particular refund covered 1921 alone, but there have been big mistakes by the tax gatherers in previous years. Compared with the wealth and the income receipts of the entire nation the sum named is not large, but it was cash withdrawn from business channels—a freezing for a time of needed capital and to that extent a detriment to in- dustry and trade. In individual cases exaction of the money may well have wrought hardship and loss, Really a Government which insists on burdensome modes of taxation should at least have regulations that can be interpreted easily. This would save trouble all around and prevent needless disturbance of the busi- ness situation. THESE instances of injustice are being corrected, but a more serious matter remains still to be adjusted, with nobody as yet taking steps to that end. The question has been raised whether we have not been paying off too rapidly the big national debt incurred during the war. It has been reduced from a total of $26,- 000,000,000 to $23,000,000,000 and the reduction has been possible only through heavily taxing the people. It has been brought about mainly by purchases in the open market of Government bonds, selling below par, and partly by redemption of Victory Notes at par. The Victory Notes might better have been ‘refunded than redeemed, for that would have lessened the taxpayers’ bur- den. It is not just to the business men and wage-earners of this generation to 28 INVESTMENT BUREAU ConpucTED By THEODORE WILLIAMS Subseribers to Jvoce are entitled to answers to inquiries on nancial questions, and in emergencies to answer by All communications are treated confidentially. A two-cent postage the Financial Editor, Juve, 627 West $id St., New York, Anonymous communications will in no casc be answered. require them to pay off the entire debt within the space of twenty or twenty-five years. The debt was contracted for the benefit of posterity, as well as of present- day Americans. Moreover, our de- scendants will have been spared the suffer- ings inflicted directly by the conflict. Liquidation of the debt should therefore be slowed down to ease the strain on ex- isting taxpayers. True, it is a fine thing to pay debts promptly and fully. But too drastic a policy of this sort tends to retard the return of prosperity. It would have been easier to pay $1,000,000 or more of interest yearly than to pay #3,000,000,000 of principal in so brief a time. It IS justly complained that surtaxes are still so high as to paralyze business enterprise. A less precipitate redemp- tion of the nation’s funded obligations would make feasible considerable relief to the hardest hit taxpayers. Some day Congress and the Administration will have to face and solve this problem. The immense annual amounts of taxes exacted from corporations whose issues are widely distributed exert a depressing effect on the securities market. Many stocks would show higher quotations to- day were not the net earnings of the con- cerns issuing them so materially de- creased by enforced contributions to the Government. Answers to Inquiries M., Hevea, Mont: It is rather too late to question t ion of the directors of the Metropolitan 5-50c Stores which has been indorsed by the stockholders. Apparently you must either conform to the reorganization plan or sell'your stock. ‘The reorganization ‘apparently is the only step that can be taken to secure the stock- holders. The success of the enterpri of course still uncertain and nobody can wax enthusiastic over it. ISFIELD, CaL.: Southern California Edison regarded issues of merit, American Tel. & Tel. being the better of the two. . Puwavevrnta, Pa.: The cheapest railroad mort- irket at present are the Seaboard lidated 6s of 1945. These bonds have id their interest regularly and the outlook for the road is latterly improved. At recent sontation the bonds made c* direct yield of over 10 per cent Mass.: Callahan Zinc-Lead had ividends since December, 1920. ‘There was a deficit in earnings in 1920. The outlook is said to be somewhat improved of late, but the stock is too specu- lative to be des M., Oman. of your city’ stock for man; The Nebraska Power Company paid dividends on outstanding preferred years. If the new issue of preferred is make dividend requirements exceed net earnings, ‘the shares are a good business man’s purchase. P., St. Lovrs, Mo. “the outlook for Island Oil & ‘Transport is rather gloomy. The protective committee is planning a reorganization and holders of notes have befun suit for foreclosure. Whether the reorganization will save the company or net is uncertain, but it seems to be the stockholders’ vay be ope Bismarck, N. erman municipal bonds probably are ii no. wise. ‘aitected by the reparation de- mands made on the, national government nor can they be affected directly by an international loan. Each com- munity stands on its own fect, and the value of its bonds not so large