Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-09-28
MEETING OF AMERICAN REFORM
ASSOCIATION SHOWS PROB.
LEN is WIDESPREAD.
SECRETARY DAWSON BRINGS
REPORT FROM MEETING
Nation Wide Increase Of Cost Of stsfd
and City Government. Revealed
Public Expenditures Increasing More
Rapidly Than PopuIaton-Remsdis.
/ Being Sought.
no rimes-Republican.

Des Moines, Sept. 2S.-A. H. Davi-
son. secretary of the executive council.
who has long been member of the
American Tax Reform Association.
brought back from the Denver national
| convention an interesting report which
has features of interest to every one in
Iowa. The report has relation to the
general features of taxation reform,
j\not in any one state but all states and
in the nation, and in smaller units
Mr.. Dawson found at this great gath
ering Of tax experts and taxation stu
, dents that the tax reform subject is
| a live one in practically every state.
that the troubles of the Iowa people
which have been disturbing them the
past dozen years are small as com
pared with those of residents of other
states, that the taxation situation as
it relates to national affairs is attract
ing units it is far more acute than else
where. in many of the eastern and
southern states the taxation question
is decidedly serious. but everywhere it
is QUESTION how to get at the pre-
vailing desire to effect substantial re-
forms. I'm many states the matter has
been shhnted off by the effective lob
bying Of affected interests. like in
Iowa. and reform has been kept back.
In only 8 few has anything been really
done Ibwa has made perhaps as
great pfogress as the average state.
Government Costs More.
The report which Mr. Davidson Sc
cured was that of a committee on in
crease il public expenditures, made
by committee headed by T. S. Adams,
tax commissioner of Wisconsin and in
Guiding the chairman of the Idaho tax
commission, the director of the Chica-
go bureau OF efficiency, the Santa Fe
railroadEtax commissioner. and the
secretary of the civil service commits
sion of Los Angeles. t
The report declares that the last fiji
teen years have witnessed striking
expansion in the functions and cost of
government, that public expenditures
have Increased more rapidly than
wealth pr income" and that certain
it is that taxes have become not only
a source of irritation and ineonvience
but a serious handicap to industry and
a noticeable deterrant to enterprise
and investment" 1t Is also pointed
out that scarcely a decade has passed
in the last century and half I'M
marked by revolution or serious politi-
cal protest against the increase In
functions and cost OF government; yet
the protestants when ushered into Of
flee and political control. found them
selves unable to stem the tide Then
there Is discussion Of the reasons for
this .increased cost of government.
which are many and varied. and then
o--f1ir ~
I'm this connection it should be
pointed out that the burden imposed by
increasing public expenditures is ag-
gravated by the methods Of taxation
employed by the federal, state, and
local governments. The indirect taxes
imposed, by the federal government
may be- both necessary end on the
whole desirable form of taxation. If
this be true, however, the federal gov
eminent. should take pains to ascer-
tain and make public how this burden
affects the different sections of the
country and different classes of the
To impose hundreds OF
millions Of taxes without knowing
where they fall at least in an approx
mate and general way. is 10 invite the
errors that follow upon Ignorance and
Misrepresentation. Secondly our state
and local taxes on business fall upon
the successful and unsuccessful alike;
weigh nearly as heavily upon the new
enterprise whose future is uncertain
as upon the established business whose
success is reasonable assured. All this
arises from the American practice of
taxing investment and realized wealth,
rather than income"
Saving Is Possible.
The committee summed up by de-
claring that the testimony is practical
ly unanimous that. enormous savings
may be accomplished within the lines
of government as now organized. 1t is
necessary to overcome the existing in
difference of the electorate. Congress
should be urged to direct the census
bureau to publish annually for Sc
lected group of states counties, towns.
villages and cities, statistics of eN-
penditure. taxation, public debt and
wealth, including in this group those
states and political subdivisions whose
financial accounts are published
and in such form az will per-
NIT of consolidated statement. Every
state, legislature should ne urged to
publish annually brief statement
the increase or decrease in
expenditures, receipts taxes, and pub
lie debt. There should re properly
equipped bureaus of efficiency for the |