Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-16

pension Of final action by the British House
OF Common on the budget. The interven-
ton of King Edward with a view to secur-
ing favorable action when the finance Dill
reaches the House Of Lords next month has
not produced immediate results, But this
does not foreshadow failure. The issues
are too sharply drawn and party passions
too strong TO be harmonized in a day or a
week. II the king succeeds In effectlng a
compromise in any form between the re-
bellious peers and the commoners he will
have bridged the most dangerous political
chasm that has developed during his reign.
The liberals apparently are fully determined
to stand by their guns and have challenged
the peers to do what they have been threat
ening for months. The sentiment Of the
ministry was forcibly expressed by Pre-
mier Asquith in his reply TO the criticisms
Of Lord Rosebery last month, Amend
ment by the House of Lords Is out of the
question. Rejection by the House Of Lords
is equally out of the question. That way
lies revolution" With equal emphasis,
Lloyd George, chancellor of the exeheduer,
a week ago declared: I'VE are going to
send the bill to the House Of Lords and
get all the taxes or none. The lords may
decree a revolution, but the people will di-
rect 1t. II 1t is begun, issues will be raised
that are now little dreamed Of, the an
swers to which will be charged with peril
for the order Of things which the peers rep
resent" Winston Churchill, president Of
the Board Of Trade, in a speech last FRI
day. emphasized the views quoted above,
showing substantial unanimity among the
ministers in resisting compromise or amend
ment. Unless King Edward secures some
concessions before the budget is disposed
Of by the House Of Commons, the i~rritated
peers must choose between a dangerous
fight or inglorious retreat.
Spokesman for the entrenched interests
and buttressed privilege in the British
House Of Lords strive to cover the cause
of their angry opposition to the finance
bill by denouncing certain taxing pro-
visions as "socialistic' and revolution
ary." The latter designation conveys some
truth, though not In the sense Intended
by the arlstocracy, The bill is revolu-
tionary in It's comprehensive scheme for
reaching the tax shirker. Therein lie the
| teeth that cut int the cuticle OF the land
lords. other interests are equally pas
| slonate against the taxing provisions or
the bill because Of increased taxation, But
the landlords, the dominant class In the
House of Lords, are touched to the quick
by a real revolutionary scheme Of deter
mining land values. for the double pur-
pose of direct taxation and the tax on
increment. Originally the provision pro-
vided for assessing the cost of deter
mining the value of all land In the British
isles on the owners. This plan was aban-
doned. As Il now stands the government
proposes to spend SO 900 900 in making a
complete record Of lands, owners and
values. 1t would not matter much to the
landlords II the record could be kept out
OF reach Of county and municipal asses
sors. These minor functionarles will have
access to the record for their respective
localities and must accept such valua-
ton as the minimum valuation for local
purposes. While in the United States tax
lodging is confined in the main to per-
sonal property. in Great Britain land af-
fords the best means and the landlords
are past masters in the art. The scheme
embodied in the finance bill strikes these
eminently respectable tax dodgers a solar
plAxus. and the knowledge Of what is
coming to them accounts for the extraor-
binary rage among the titled idlers OF
the kingdom.
The drift of population from the farms
to the cities noted in Europe and America
Is a marked feature Of the changing life
in Japan. Henry George, jr, writing TO
Golfers Weekly, notes as q result Of per-
sonal observations that the youth Of the
country are driven to city workshops and
factories as the only means Of escaping the
heavy and increasing burden Of taxation
imposed on the products OF the soil. Rural
industry is also menaced by intensifying
competition. higher standard of living and
the cutting off Of responsibility Of over
lords. $50" he writes, ''out of the misery
of the farming poor, land speculation in
Toxic, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe. Nagoya
and other cities p~rofited enormously. In
all these places populat'on made amazingly
rapid Increase. While there is considerable
scattered sentiment in favor Of a small
land-value tax. the political power OF the
country is eentercd in the hands of a com
paratively few, and the landed class can,
for the present at least, hold things as
they are.
While the youthful shah OF Persia, now
in his thirteenth year, is growing up 20
his ~erowning age OF sixteen, the govern
ment OF his troubled country will be In the
hands Of a regent, Assad-ul-M ulk, q
bearded prophet Of the Ka1ar tribe and an
emlnently honest man, "a somewhat rare
| character in Persia" adds a correspondent
of a London weekly. The deposed shah
has been given a liberal pension on condi-
tlon Of his taking himself out of the coun.
try. The youngster. meanwhile, is fitting
himself for the Job Of governing under
skilled trainers, and may be pardnned for
occasionally mumbling in the lingo Of his
tribe, Everybody works but father."
sss
Chinese dupllcity appears to have made
short work OF the opium prohibition legisla-
ton, and from an account of the working
Of the scheme in Laohkow China, published
in the North China Daily News, 1t seems
probable that the attempt to break the peo-
pie OF the opium habit will prove unavail-
ing. P"roclamations were issued by the dis
trict magistrate recently 70 close all opium
dens, the keepers paid a bride, put the
lounges behind a screen and continued busi-
ness as usual. A deputy official was APP
pointed TO look after the opium consump-
ton and 10 register the dealers In opium
and the smokers. The deputy and the dis
triCt magistrate issued a Joint proclama ion,
saying that all smokers must be registered.