Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-08
In Other Lands
Side Lights on What Is Prans-
plring among the Near and
Far Nations of the Earth.

Far Nations Of the Earth.
BY a sweeping turn Of the taxation
screws the British ministry diverts at
tention from the phantom fleets OF the
German invader and centers popular inter-
est on the proposed attack on the Eng
~llshman's home by the English taxgatherer.
The bill of expense and the means of rails
ing it detailed in the budget sharply brings
home to the lingo element the fact that
Increased armies and navies means In
creased expenses, for which additional
revenue must be had. The pressure of
popular sentiment, systematically worked
up, forced an increase in the army, and
the fear of invasion almost drove the
government to doubling the number OF
Dreadnoughts deemed necessary to main
tain the two-power standard. Last year the
army and navy budget totaled S2QS. 900. COO
Ten years before the total was S215, 100000.
an average annual increase Of about IS
O0,OoO a deficit Of s O.OO0.O 900 is apparent
this year, divided equally between the
needs of old age pensions and Increased
ornaments. The proposed ways Of raising
the additional revenue is what jolts those
who have property subject to tax, and pro-
vokes widespread wrath. The ministry
N'''A'A UNIT Alt tdSbl IL n Wal
budget Existing forms Of revenue rails
ing are continued, Increases made in sew
eral, and new forms of taxation created.
Income taxes are raised all round. the
highest rate being S33 per cent on incomes
Of 100000. Inheritance taxes are advanced
In proportion to the value of estate. the
top rate being 10 per cent. The new forms
OF revenue raising strikes m
owners. stock brokers. takes 70 per cent
OF the increment Of land values due to
the growth of a community and 10 per cent
of the value of expiring leaseholds. Two
thirds of the burden falls on the well-to-
do, the remainder is to be squeezed out
OF the liquor trade. In it's political ASPECT
the budget scores heavily on the House of
Lords. and the privileged classes it repre-
sents 1t puts the load on entrenched
wealth by a measure which the peers are
not permitted to amend, and by an in
crease in liquor licenses accomplishes bv
indirection the reform embodied in the
licensing bill rejected by the lords last
year.
The young Turks learned at considerable
cost the lesson that a reform administra.
tion must put reformers on guard. That
which the progressivcs failed to do last
year they are now doing with astonishing
vigor. Followers of the fortunes of Abdul
Hamid are going with p vengeance. The
sultan is a prisoner. Two of the three
members Of his private cabinet met violent
deaths, the third is hiding in London. The
palace has been swept clean Of reactlonary
rubbish. Even the sheikh-ul-Islam who
signed the order dethroning Abdul has been f,
supplanted by one who will recognize the |
will of Allah when shown by the re-
formers. Mehmed VS. assertion that 4 is
not his intention to rule. but to render
services to the nation conveys an impress
sive truth, borne oIt by the fact that all
palace functionaries, from guards to
servants, have been chosen by the young
Turks committee. Moreover, the estates
hitherto controlled by the sultan have
been taken over by the state, the palace
revenues and expenditures are to be con-
trolled in like manner, thus making the
state supreme and the sultan a figure
head.
DR.. Morrison, the correspondent of the
London Times at Picking, says that the re-
port on the workings of the imperial
Chinese postoffice i'm 1903 shows an unpre.
cedented expansion. The Improvement OF
the organization, the facilitatiOn OF inter-
provincial communication and the accel-
Grafton Of delivery by a courier service
working day and night. are all noteworthy
features. The postal routes now cover S.
OC miles, of which $1,000 are courier lines
II is plain that the postal secretary and
the small body of foreigners scattered over
the empire who are training the Chinese
clerks have been doing efficient service.
For the sake OF his large family and his
job, it is hoped that Mohammed Ali Mira.
shah Of Persia, shadow Of Allah. king Of
kings. etc, will make note of what hap /
pened TO Abdul Hamid when he attempted
a surgical operation Of the Turkish con-
stitution. The shadow Of Allah resembles |
his eXtinquished neighbor. He regards a
constitution very much as an American
railroad vicws rate regulation-an assault
on the divine right II kings. and fit only
to adorn a junk pile, Abdul entertained
similar sentiments. Where is Abdul now9
Ali Mira dumped a constitution some
months ago, and though he has not been
o~vertaken as swiftly as Abdul. he has
started p ruction that refuses to down.
For the present his majesty appears to be
in the lead, but the approach of the Rus
sian relief expedition is expected to change
the aspect Of the rebellion. So far the
visible effect of the struggle for a consti-
tuition Is the orening Of several new grave !
yards.
The policy ~ indefinite naval expansion
upon which Germany is entering does not
command the general approval of the Ger
man press. Disapprcval is notable I'm many
quarters. The conservative Kreuz Zeitung
OF Berlin says that III is no longer neces-
saly merely for the sake Of prestige tn .
maintain an attitude Of reserve toward
E~nsiands wishes, which are clearly for