The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-06-02

out N$1OO.b0 when the tax collector
comes around unexpectedly and calls
for It.
This. however, wouldn't be any ar
gument against the tax IL the man
with the $2.996.20 income were taxed,
In proportion to his means, no more
than other people. But az q matter
Of fact he and his class are taxed a
great deal moro heavily than others.
Poor men-those with incomes Of
less than $76S-pay no tax at all. And
the very rich ones pay, considering
their means, practically nothing. The
middle class Briton's income is in
plain sight. He Is on salary or makes
his living by some business or pro-
fession which 1t Is easy enough for
the collectors to Investigate. He can
fool nobody. But the capitalist in
vests his money abroad. has his pro-
fits paid into foreign bank and
draws his personal check against it.
He tells the assessors nothing
about these investments and there is
no way by which the assessors can
find out about them. Moreover, there
10 q pretty general suspicion that the
assessors do not even try to investi-
gate very energetically.
In the case Of the middle class Eng
lishman w take nothing for grant
ed. II Y Ss the slightest doubt Of
the accA '& his statement awk--
ward queh u, =, asked and some
times even b A examined. But
when the man I'm the assess
ors are dealing h. ~ Il influential
they accept what hEW them un-
questionably. At leaseSSH., se pop
ular belief. X
All this means that u, .Aiddle
class. which includes nearlyNall the
most intelligent workers in England,
bears practically the entire burden of
the income tax. This tax, 1t may be
remarked, constitutes something more
than one-fourth of Engiand's total
revenue.
Nor does it stop at that. The mid
dlea class also pays its proportion Of
thes other taxes. As compared with
the avery rich, 1t pays more than its
proportion, for the middle class Eng
lishman eats as much sugar. figs,
chicory and other taxed food as the
rich one and it not a. we'll able to
pay taxes on 1t.
Rich Not Satisfied.
ed that Chancellor Lloyd George is
going 80 far in removing the burden
of taxation from the poor men that
he is about to take it of altogether.
The middle and the upper classes say
they think, in justice, that the poor
man really ought to pay little.
An analysis of the situation shows
that there is really more or less in
this argument. England's taxes on
the poor are levied now through the
imposts on tea. coffee, sugar, cocoa,
ratsins, figs. currants, plums chicory
alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The
chancellor proposes to abolish all.
these fmposts except those on alco--
holic beverages and tobacco. II the
poor man neither drinks nor smokes
he pays no taxes at all.
It is true enough that the poor Eng
lishman is poorer than he ought to
be but this not because the govern
ment takes his money in the shape
of taxes. 1t Is because the govern
ment system permits the riclr to take
his money out Of his pocket and put
it into their own. The government
never gets it.
Lloyd George indisputably means
to correct the defects in the govern
mental system SO that the rich man
cannot 60 on robbing the poor one.
So far as that goes he has the support
Of the best public opinion in Eng
land. But In some respects, the way
he is going about it promises, his crit
les argue, to crush the life out of the
middle class. He may benefit the
poor and he may put q check upon
the rich. But the man in moderate
circumstances will be reduced to pow
.erty. So, at least. his critics say.
Chancellor Lloyd George is getting
daily, by the way, probably more
threatening letters than any public
man in the world. There are doubtless
more people who would like to kill
the czar than there are who would
like to kill Lloyd George, but not
many Of the threatening letters which
may be addressed to the car actually
reach his imperial hand. Lloyd
Georges are actually delivered to
him.
Lloyd George is not a nervous per-
6OA dAu h0 WfouSuo az tuCoO COluuIuAls
cations, but some of his fellow min
listers are afraid some one of the
crank writer's may actually attempt
to execute his threats. After repeat
ed efforts to induce the chancellor to
arrange for guard they finally took
the matter in hand themselves, quite
without his chancellorship's approval,
or even consent. a couple of plain
clothes men from Scotland Yard
watch over his house whenever he
Is inside it, while one of them never
lets him stir out Of his sight as often
as he walks abroad.
BAD WEATHER
Too Cold for Nearly Every Crop Ex.
cept Cotton Last Week.
Washington, June 2.-Unfavorable
for corn, too cool for spring wheat
and generally favorable for cotton was