The Taxpayer Giveth . . .

A retired wholesale grocer in Fayetteville, N.C., named Guy Madison Brock, 73, wrote out a check for $1,000 as his contribution toward paying off the national debt, which is now $493 billion. "I'm not a crackpot," Brock declared. "I just wanted to do something for my country."

Brock is not the only American who has taken it upon himself over the years to do what he could to ease the nation's financial burdens. A dozen or so unsolicited contributions are received annually by the Treasury Department from individuals or their estates. In the 1960s, an 83-year-old spinster in Huntsville, Texas, left some valuable cotton and cattle land to the Government. The land has been sold, and the money is being paid in installments ranging from $11,200 to $124,365. For the past six years, one man has been sending in checks for what he calculates is his fair share of the debt: they average about $75. A man in Seattle makes a gift every year that matches his age. His birth day is Feb. 11 , and next month the Treasury is looking forward to receiving a donation of $78.

In the last fiscal year, all of the contributions to pay off the national debt added up to $417,933.25. Says Treasury Official James Spahr: "We're very appreciative, and we always write a personal letter of thanks."

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