The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-01
EXPENSE REDUCTIONS
GHRMAUY IS FORGED TO EcoNO- v MIZE.
FlaE Ia Drawn tO Gradually Reduce
 the Annual Budget for Naval 5it and Military
HY RERNARn FIaCHER.

| I54lr % 5s
 BY BERNARD FISCHER.
 | Berlin. oct. 3t Prince Buelow has
 communicated to the Imperial Secreta- ries of State and to the Prussian Min isters, memorandurn suggesting va- rious directions in which economies
 can be effected in the administration.
 The memorandum Is said to be the work of the leader of the Free Con- sAfyatlveS In the Reichstag, Baron won Camp. who was induced to draw it up as a result of conversations with lead ing representatives of the other Bloc
 parties Baron von Camp has come to the conclusion that only about one- twentieth of the sum of over $1 ,000,- 1 0o0, ,000 to which the imperial debt
 amounts can be justified upon princi- ples- of sound finance. With regard to
 the future. he suggests that very con- siderable economies can be effected in
 the administration of the great spend
 ing departments. and he declares that
 the Bloc parties are not only not dls-
 posed to entertain any fresh proposals
 fin. the near future for the expansion
 of armaments but are of the opinion
 that. in the case both of the army and Of the navy, the cost of carrying out
 the existing programs can be materls ally reduced. He further suggests
 that the stan of departments like the
 postofice is excessively costly and un-
 scientifically organized, and he Illus trates his contention by declaring
 that officials with a public school ed-
 ucation are doing work which might
 easily he performed by women clerks. IsSimiiarly he considers that it Is a su- periu0ug luxury that in town like
 Berlin letters should ba delivered twelve times a day. The organization | and equipment of the Prussian State
 railways are also described as . being Unnecessarily luxurious. Baron von Camp beiiel ,s that q great number of | these and similar economies could be l efGeeted if the Emperor William were kept adequately informed with regard | to the existing state of affairs The I fact that the Secretary of State for the Imperial Treasury, Herr Sydow, has
 advocated a return to the old Prus- sian traditions of economy" in the | work of administration invests Baron von Camps proposals with something | more than purely academic interest
 An UnenviabIe Position.
 | There are few Finance Ministers I whose lot is at present less enviablC Il than that of Herr Sydow. He has tc face two formidable probiems--that oi l reforming and readjusting the reIa-
 lions between the financial systems oi the Empire and of the separate states and that of hpding means to diminish the wide and increasing gap between | the imperial revenue and expenditure | and So far 1t does not appear that hS l has made real progress in discovering
 a satisfactory solution for either Il is generally admitted that the existing method of "matricular contributions. | whereby the deficit in the revenue oi the Empire Is. in theory. met by as. sessments on the federated states ir proportion to population. will have tc be modified or abandoned. It has nev' CT worked we'll. and for some years can scarcely be said to have worked l at all, since several of the states have
 been unable to pay their proper quota But the question of finding any effect- i've substitute for it presents diflcul' ties which seem insurmountable. None l of the Federal governments Is at all inclined to surrender to the imperial l authorities the measure of control over l their finances which would be implied in the levying of direct imposts for
 imperial purposes; and yet unless such
 control be conceded. it is practically l impossible to palce the finances of the 1 Empire on a really sound footing. It has been established by the painful ] experience of a long series of annual deficits, and of the necessity of repeat
 ed loans for the balancing of the bud get, that tho resources now definitely I AllOCALG0 10 meet IUpCEi6A Nh&A EVE 1L ' | altogether inadequate for the purpose | New forms of taxation must be de-
 yised. and as to what shape they are | to take there is al present no sign Of
 agreement among financial experts.
 l The ARrarians and the protectionisi
 manufacturers are strongly opposed to | any considerable resort to direct tax | ation, because they see in such a policy | A possIbie first step towards the prin- | cfple of a tariff for revenue purposes 1 They would undoubtedly prefer an in- | crease of customs duties. which. wheth- l CT or no 1t yielded more revenue to
 the State, would strengthen their grip | of the home markets. But 1t Is noto- | rious that the artificial enhancement | of the cost of living caused by the ex- | istinE tariff has already been pro- ducive of great suffering and conse- ! duent discomfort among the poorer | classes. and any further experiments | in that direction would be extremely l hazardous. Apparently Herr Sydow will try the combination of new forms of excise with additions to direct tax
 ation already outlined.
 Outlook is Distressing.
 The financial outlook in Prussia is | depressing in view of the prospective | increase of the income tax, not only | for imperial purposes. but also in or- | der to make good the probable deh- l clency in the returns from the State | railways It is an ominous sign of the | times that 23,294 rate-payers moved out of Berlin during the months of | April. May and June. and that only | i7.7s7 new ratepayers were registered, | With regard to the various classes of | taxpayers and ratepayers. it may be mentioned that only in the lowest class, which comprises persons with incomes | of S225. has the number of taxpayers | increased. whereas only three per- sons with incomes of over s12.500 have moved into the city in the place of twenty-five persons who had been as-
 sessed on this basis. Of persons with