Well, when it came up in the Senate, one of the Gag or Title Men says,
“I got an Idea; instead of this just being a joke, and doing away
with the Saloons and Bar Rooms, why I will put in a Title here that
will do away with everything.” So they sent around to all the Bars in
Washington and got a Quorum and released what was to be a harmless
little Comedy--made over into a Tragedy.
Then they put out a Production called the Non-Taxable Bond, or “Let the
Little Fellow Pay.” Well it had a certain Vogue for a while with the
Rich. But it flopped terribly in the cheaper priced Houses.
Another one they put out a lot of you will remember was called the
Income or Sur-Tax. It was released under the Title of, “Inherit your
money and your Sur-Tax is Lighter.”
The main Character in this one was a working man on salary, with no
Capital investment to fall back on, paying more on his income than
the fellow who has his original Capital and draws his money just from
interest. That Production has been hissed in some of the best houses.
They started to put on a Big one that everybody in America was looking
forward to and wanted them to produce called, “The Birth Of the Bonus,”
or “How Could You Forget so Soon!” But on account of Finances they
couldn’t produce that and the “Non-Taxable Bond Production” both, so
they let the Bonus one go.
They have been working on two dandies. One is called, “Refund, Refund,
I am always refunding You.” It’s principally for British Trade.
Then they got a Dandy Comedy; well, it’s really a serial as they put it
on every year. Everybody in the whole Studio is interested in it and
get a share of it. It’s really their yearly Bonus in addition to their
Salary. It’s called, “Rivers and Harbors,” or, “I’LL GET MINE.”
They got some of the funniest Scenes in there where they take 56
million Dollars of the People’s money and they promise to make a lot of
Streams wide enough to fish in. Now I saw a Pre-Release of it and here
are some of the Real Titles. In Virginia, their Gag Senator has thought
of a River called the MATTIPONI. In North Carolina, their Title writer,
Overman, thought of a name, the CONTENTNEA CREEK. But the funniest
Title in the whole Production is the CALOOSEHATCHIE, in Florida. It’s
located right in the fairway of a Golf Course and Congress must move it
or in two years it will be filled up with Golf Balls.
Then they have a scene applying for funds to dredge TOMBIGBEE CREEK,
and the BIG SUNFLOWER, in Mississippi. Well, that’s money well spent
to do that, as they may find some of the missing population.
And there’s the CLATSKANIE in Oregon. Now what I am wondering is how
our Navy is to make the Jump from the Harbor of Tombigbee to the
Docks in Oregon on the Clatskanie. Of course, that’s a different
appropriation or production, and will be arranged later.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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