The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-09-24
CURRENT AFFAIRS
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and it will be necessary to levy new
taxes in order to tide over. Strange
to say, nobody is 60 patriotic that be
is anxious to be taxed any more.
When it was proposed to double the
tax on beer there was great squeal
and now the devotees of beer are
writing in to Washington declaring
that if their uipple is taxed then pop
beer, soda water and other beverages
must also stand their share of the
burden or there will be trouble.
1t was hoped the tax question
could be postponed until after the
November elections as il was feared
the voters might vent their spleen
at the polls if they were told that
the tax screws were about to be
given another twist. But the reve-
nues have now dribbled down to
such a point that it became neces-
sary to take them by the forelock.
or is IL fetlock?
AS President Wilson explained
in the course OF personal appeal to
congress OH the subject, it is very
necessary that this country, in the
present great crisis, should leave no
doubt about the ability and stabil-
ity of the U. S. treasury. He went
on to say that conditions have a.
risen which no man foresaw;" he
said that the war had caused such a
slump in trade that the income from
tariff duties had fallen off nearly
81, 100000 in August. and that if
this kept up it would mean deficit
of $50. 100000 to $1OO,OOO,OOO for
the year.
He disclaimed the idea that the
reduction of the tariff was to blame
for this shortage; it is due, he said
to the war and though this occas-
Ion is not of our own making" he
urged that the country must respond
to it bravely. The people of this
country are both intelligent and
profoundly patriotic; they are ready
to meet the present conditions in the
right way and support the govern
ment in generous self-denial," he
declared. I'VE shall pay the bill
though we did not deliberately in
cur it" he added.
More money must be had, and it
is better to raise it by taxation than
to borrow it, he said. 1t was his
feeling that the country is able to
pay just and reasonable taxes with
out distress" He accordingly put
it up TO congress to pass the neces-
sary tax legislation.
The house ways and means COM
mittee has been working away hard
at this matter of deciding where to
put these taxes so that the extra bur-
den will cause as little complaint as
possible. All sorts of things are
being suggested for taxation, such
as matches, (not the MATRIMONIAL
kind); railroad tickets; theatre, base
ball, chautauqua and moving-pic-
ture tickets; checks, notes and docu-
ments of various kinds; medicines;
playing cards; Oh all freight receipts;
salaries of public officials: newspap-
ers; chewing gum, soap and other
Injuries; gasoline and automobiles;
silk stockings, etc.
If all the different tax advocates
were listened to we would soon be
taxing everything in sight as they
do in some parts of Europe, though
no one yet has proposed a tax on
windows. 1t is likely however that
the main portion of the new tax will
be collected from whiskey, beer,
wines and tobacco, on the principal
that these articles are pure (more
often impure) luxuries.
The Democrats realize that the
situation is very ticklish one for
them and already they have had to
listen to much criticism of their pol
icies from the Republicans and pro-
gressives. The critics declare that
the Democrats made blunder when
they reduced the tariff and that tile
business like way would have been
to provide for reasonable surplus
of revenue so that the treasury
could tide over any emergency.
They charge the Democrats with
failing to reduce government expen-
ses or the high cost of living az
promised, and assert that the party
is now to make the people pay up
in extra taxes for their mistakes.
They also argue that the Demo-
cratic policy of free-trade has closed
up American factories and made us
dependant on the foreigners for our
supplies, so that now when trade
from other countries is cut off we
are being made to help pay the