Evening journal., 1914-04-27
Editorial Opinion
THE WAR SHOULD MEAN END OF
WAR ON BUSINESS.

WAX ON BJSiNEoos
, From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
There are sterner things than the
batting Of success to command the
energies of the eminent statesmen
who. for more than a year have been
straining their mental processes to
devise ways and means whereby to
harass business and strangle indus
trial initiative. An external enemy
has been discovered and it may be
that the domestic victim will have
time to recover from it's wounds and
even to re-establish its virility
The adequacy of the revenue has
been doubtful for some time, as the
customs receipts have steadily fallen
off. On the income tax the Treasury
has been depending, in the hope that
It would vindicate the estimates and
be sufficient in the aggregate to com
pensate for enormous losses in the
customs. Meantime the prodigality of
Congress has been such as to warrant
grave fear Of a deficit and the opera
tons in Mexico cannot be carried on
without recourse to bonds or a very
material increase in taxes, which may
take the form of new imposts.
1t is imperative, therefore, that the
business of the nation be restored
rapidly to a normal condition and that
it be relieved Immediately from the
uncertainty which has been the con-
sequence Of legislative threats. 1t is a
good time to abandon the plan for ad-
ditional antitrust legislation, particu-
larly as the text writer's have been
utterly unable to write definitions
which are not 50 absurd in the uni
versatility of their Prohibitions as to
challenge ridicule. There are a score
Of inquisitorial bills on the calendar,
for the most part unnecessary and
crude, but so designed as seriously.to
affect industries which cannot make
/ progress until assured of the future
& conditions of operation. There are the
government ownership proposals,
which are not without support, and
plans for the regulation of practically
everything under the sun. Many bills.
unimportant enough by themselves,
make up the aggregate that keeps
business on the rack and postpones
/ the revival which monster crops and
the natural recuperative power of the
nation would otherwise have brought
about long since.
Two major operations have been
performed within year and neither
has proved successful as yet. The
threat Of a succession OF minor opera
tions. any one of which may be seri-
Gus, has kept business in tremor Of
apprehension. 1t may be that the
statesmanship which has directed do
mestic policy is far more efficient than
that which has crumpled up in the
conduct of our foreign affairs. but the
nation will not be convinced until
time has tested the new policies.
Meanwhile a persistent and increas-
ingly. aggressive public opinion de-
mands that the policy Of "watchful
waiting" which has been abandoned
in Mexico be made the dominant fea-
ture of our domestic program. Our
energy has been misdirected. Had the
vigor which has marked the attacks
on success been the inspiration of our
foreign policy and had the patient de-
liberateness which has characterized
our foreign policy been the key to
the corrective purpose of the admin
istration. the Mexican problem would
have been solved before now and no
salient reform in the conduct of
business or of the finances of the
government would have been ne
elected. In the existing crisis. while
all men support the government. they
expect that the government also will
permit them to support themselves.