The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-11
A RADICAL VIEW OF
 THE ENGLISH BUDGET
Criticized So Widely in England As Socialistic, An American Writer Be- ileves that the Budget Is Not Radi- cal Enough.
Exclusive Service Survey Press Bu-
 reauO
Mary Brown Summer.


 Gsxclusive Service Survey Press Bu-
 reau)
 On April 2s the chancellor of the ex- chequer, David Lloyd George. brought April. 1903. to March, 1910. For, the deficit in the treasury. amounting to about e16.0OO.O0O. due to expendi- lures for the extension of the navy and for old age pensions. Lloyd Georges proposals for meeting this extra expenditure were of such a character as to bring on his party the charge of having abandoned their old liberalism and embraced the prin- ciples of socialism.
 The ordinary sources of taxation in England are stamps and licenses. di- rect taxes on land and house. income and inheritance, and indirect taxes on motors. tea, sugar. spirits and to- bacco. In order to meet the increas- ed demands on the treasury, the bud get proposed to steepen all these taxes. except those on tea and sugar. to impose a super tax on incomes ov- CT G5.0OO. a tax on motor-spirft and two new forms of land tax. namely, one-half penny in the pound on unde- veloped land and twenty per cent on the unearned increment- of land in transfer by sale. Though numerous and very considerable concessions have been made on all the direct taxes since the budget was first introduced. the new principle of land taxation remains unchanged This principle is what the liberals call fitting the burden to the broadest back" what the conserva- tives call socialism pure and simple. and what the Labor Party. in the words Of Keir Hardie, calls the first step to- ward the, absorption by the conlmuni- ty for the use of the community, of all unearned incomes whether derived from land or capital"
 The conservative use of the word socialism deserves little consideration It is simply a bogey used for cam paign purpose to win over to their alternative revenue producing scheme of tariff reform. both those capitalist liberals who can be made to fear that their unearned increment will be att tackled next and those old-fashioned persons to whom. in the words of Lord Roseberry, socialism means "the nega- ton of all-faith. family. patriotism"
 To the liberals. the leaders as well as the rank and file. the budget Is. at best. but one of that series of so- cial reforrs of which the feeding of school children and the old age pen siOns are the best known
 If there is no socialism in the bud Eet": if Keir .Hardie's interpretation of the land clauses was too optimis- tic what then is there in the new bin to interest the wage-earner2 There is a great deal. and of the most vital interest. When the contention was made by the conservatives. on the third reading of the land clauses. that the principle of the taxation of un- earned increment should. consistently, be extended by the government to cover all property. the lord advocate. MT Cre. replied that the government was not out for socialism but, for money; was not out for land nation alization but for taxation" That is the core of the whole matter. The government is out for as much money as possible from as many classes of tie friction as possible Some friction was inevitable. and it seemed expedi- ent to bear the protest of the landown- CTS on the imposition of a light bur den. in order toconciliate the workers represe natives. and under cover of the admission of a principle. to impose upon their class a burden "tenfold that of the landlords" The "broadest back" to which Lloyd George referred turns out to be in the words of Phil lip Snowden. labor-member for Black burn ''the combined backs of all the workinE-class-"
 It will be necessary to go into some detail in order to make the distribution or the new OuTuGn CltdT. AOOuL nIIy per cent of the total wealth of Eng land is paid as income to fourteen per cent of the people. Most of the di- dect taxes fall on this class of peo- pie and the amount of these taxes is estimated as fifty per cent of the whole burden of taxation The new were designed to main tain this proportion Six months of debate in the House has. however. whitfield away the direct taxes con siderably Not only is agricultural land to the amount of million acres exempted from the increment tax. but the increment on all other land is to be reckoned by ten-year/ pfriods. and land sold between the re0konings is free from the tax for the current ten year period. The state has. further more. agreed to relieve the landowners of the expense of valuation. thus cut ton by E2O0.O0O. The tax of one-half penny in the pound on undeveloped lana is entirely remitted. if the owner can show that he is spending t&l pounds a year on Improvements" Other concessions have been made on these two taxes as well as on the land and house. income and inheritance taxes. The final result. is according 10 Phillip Snowden's estimate. that the direct taxes do not now exceed forty eight per cent of the whole. 2.
 The difference must be made up on the indirect taxes. Four-ffths of these taxes fall on the working class. that eighfy-six per cent of the population among whom the remaining fifty per ~arr% nf fha national wealth raumf he