GREAT BRITAIN: Modest Proposal

Author Robert Cedric Sherriff (Journey's End) had a modest proposal for the British Treasury. Sherriff, whose new play, Home at Seven, was netting him £3,600 a year, had just had an offer of £10,000 ($28,000) to write a script for

Hollywood. Sherriff sat down, did some quick calculating, figured that Socialist Britain's income tax would take all but £500. Said he: "It didn't seem worth while putting in four or five months of very hard work for a sum I could make as a jobbing gardener—or collecting refuse in cans, for that matter."

Two weeks ago Sherriff approached the Treasury, offered...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!