Evening star., 1915-11-14
POST DEPRECATES
MILITARY SPIRIT
Assistant Secretary of Labor
Proposes Preparedness With
Manual Training.
TAX ON INHERITANCES
AND UNEARNED INCOMES
Thinks peace at Any Price, Man
Is Not 70 Be Condemned-Speaks
to Missouri Society.

Proper military preparedness for the
United States, to consist of an army
system providing for vocational in
struct1on for the citizen-soldiers who
| may wish to follow civil life, together
with government manufacture of all
munitions and supplies of war, the
| whole to be financed by a tax on large
incomes. inheritances and unearned
| incomes. is the scheme advanced
by Louis F. Post, assistant secretary
Of the Department of Labor. speaking
at the first meeting of the season of
the Missouri Society at Rauscher's
last night.
Il am not arguing for preparedness"
said Mr.. Post, but asking you to
think, while the time Is yet open, what
KIND of preparedness we shall have.
am among those who hope the ne
cessity may never arise. But we may
have to have it.
Urges Right Thinking.
I'VE are living in the midst of seri-
Gus times. We here on this side of the
water are about to have our whole at
tltude changed, perhaps. by new prob
US. men and women, to be careful in
these times not to stir up STRIFE, to be
exceedingly careful, and also to think
honestly, with good faith and goou
leellng about this question Of pre-
paredness
Let US assume that preparations
are to be made. l am wondering II it
IS not possible that even if 1t is in
form military preparedness. it may
possess a civic tenoency, instead Of
feeding the ambitions of some who
want preparedness for the sake of
war"
Mr.. Post spoke a good word for
those known as peace -any-price
men," declaring that in the end they
VIII prove as worthy as 'warat-any-
price men,
Can we not have a military pre-
pareaness that will satisfy the most
spirit and aid IN letuns the military
spirit die out?" asked Mr.. Post, con-
tlnuIng. Il wonder if we could not
| make better the military spirit. Instead
group Of men. actuated by the military
spirit, with few officers and many
men their serfs, could We not have a
true citizen soldiery, say. 75,uUO or
100000 men, in which all the men
would be SO trained that there would
be not one Of them who could not
command in case of need?
Soldering and Trades Both.
And 1 can see many times 100000
men, under such a system. being
trained in other than military ways
curing four years of service. Why
couldn't those trained soldiers be
taught trades at the same time? Sec
retary Garrison has demonstrated that
1t takes only year to make trained
soldier. AS it is now, three years are
spent to make mere feudal serfs to
some West Point graduate ii.
Such a citizen-soldiery would be
mobiliZed not alone for defense-I hope
the time will never come-but it could
be modified all the year round to per-
form public services. working for tne
good and glory of our country.
And wouldn't we be getting rid of
an influence that isn't good if we
could make our own methods Of de-
fense, have our own shops. and make
our own munitions. clothing and SO
forth?
How to Raise Funds.
Where is the money for all this sys-
TEN coming from? That is point more
serious than any other. If We are going
to have preparedness. let's tap the
right source of revenue. The masses
of the people in this country have been
standing the burden long enough.
Taxes levied on the merchants for the
thousand and one articles needed in
every home today but throws the bur-
den on the consumer. Should the great
mass of the people who are to fill the
ranks of the army bear the expense?
Why not put taxes on incomes by a
graded process? When you tax the
breakfast table and the dinner table
you are letting the rich escape. We
must have absolute abandonment
of the method of raising money by indi-
rect taxation.
There are three billions of dollars of
inheritance in. the United States. A
graduated tax on the highest Of these
could yield billion dollars year to the
governmen mt, with nobody the loser Then
there might be sur-tax on unearned
incomes, as distinguished from earned in
comes, on incomes earned in the sweat
of some one elSe'S face as distinguished
from incomes earned in the sweat of
ones own face. Some who are now shout
ing loudly for preparedness might get
cold feet at these propositions, but that
is ALL
In conclusion, Mr.. Post issued a warn
ing against too much dependence on mill
tary experts. declaring that while they
had their place in the conduct of mill
tary system, as such, the question of
whether or not there should be prepared
ness, and all pertaining thereto, is a ques-
ton not for military experts. but for
the people of the republic to decide for
themselves.
Willard N. Holmes presided. Musical
numbers were rendered by Howard Cook,
Mrs. w. c. Stierlin, c. H. Howard and
Miss Hazel Conklin.
Those Present.
Those present included:
Mr.. and Mrs. O. w. Wyatt, Mr.. and
Mrs. w c. Stierlin, Mr.. and Mrs C. H.
Harwood. Walter S. Harwood. Miss
Alice S. Trefts. Miss Mary E. Ragan,
Miss Hazel Conklin. Mr.. and Mrs. Ar
thur Briscoe, Mr. and Mrs. L. p Shidy,
Miss V. T. Shidy. Mr.. and Mrs. D. w
Peters, Miss Mildred Long. Mr.. and
Mrs. Otis ]. Rogers, Miss Ethel Rogers,
Dr. and, Mrs. E. L. Whitney, Miss
Beryl Ingram. Miss Mary H. Lowden,
Mr. and Mrs. John F. Beal. A. W.
Mitchell, Miss Mabel Underwood, Miss
Julia Underwood, Miss Frances Bran
min, Miss Mary Beckham, Mrs. Emily
Broadbent. Miss Alice Broadbent,
Miss Idelle Kesler G. ]. Zimmerman,
Mr.. and Mrs. E. H. Andrew, Hubert
Newsom, Mr.. and Mrs. w. NJ. Holmes,
Mrs L. c. Dyer, Mrs. E. S. Hyer G. A.
Leayitt, A. NJ. Dockery. R. c. Horne, H.
n. Marmaduke DIR. R. H. Hovey, Elmon
V. Carr. Mrs. Amy Leavenworth, Mr..
and Mrs E. L. Hutchison. Jean Hutchi-
son. Mr.. and Mrs. Br!ce Edwards. Mr.
and Mrs. r. M. Thomas. Howard o.
Cook. Horace ]. Phelps. Mrs. E. L. Sill
ter. Charles L. Ebaugh. Mr.. and Mrs |
F. ]. Reiss, Mr.. and Mrs. D. Wulfert.
Miss Margaret Wuffert. Mrs. c. A.