Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-09-22
Socialism and War Taxes
May Defeat Germany

Outraged and go elsewhere, and the state
will suffer.
Finally there is the very lowest stratum.
of the ne'er-do-wells and incompetents, 10.
per cent. living always just about at tho
starvation line. You can not add greatly
to their burdens. If you do they simply
starve a little more and die a little faster.
To increase their numbers is ruination.
The people who can be made to pay are
the larger middle class. the worker class
so-called, the day-wage and the farm
population. These comprise 60 or 40 per
cent of the whole, and it is on them that
burden falls.
are strong and will work. and they will
get along ii they can.
Now, this great worker class can not
gain much from war. Their wages do not
much increase. and at any rate the cost
of living goes up faster. Obviously they
cannot save more under war conditions
than in peace; and in times of peace-out-
side of that largest form of saving which
Is represented by the increase of the pop
u~lation-their savings amount to little.
On the other hand war almost invar-
iably means paper money and imitation.
and this means a corresponding rise In all
kinds of real property. a fictitious activity
! In business, and tremendous chances for
the capitalists and the enterprisers. For
u many types ~
profiting enormously by this struggle, and
1T is to be noted the bonds OF Germany
have already begun to sell at a consid-
! cradle discount, and ii the war keeps up
these. and the bonds Of other nations as
we'll. will probably sell down to a 10 or
IL per cent basis, just as did our bonds in
the civil war. Why? What is the risk ?
These nations are solvent and would be
perfectly able to pay for a five years
war.
The risks are two: Reputation, and
socialism-which would probably mean
the same thing. This is the specter which
always overhangs any huge issue Of OBJ
legations. The people who have the least
to gain in this war and the people who
will pay for the war are in the tremend-
GUS majority. They can rise up and say:
This is a capitalists war. as all wars are.
We have been ruthlessly saddled with a
colossal debt, for which we have received
nothing. We will not pay.
The question is, how soon will the pinch
come to force this great class to a real
~ization of the facts? At the present time
a maniacal state. Millions Of people in
Germany still believe that the Fatherland
was attacked and 'in danger" They
would regard the proposal of disarming as
monstrous. And whatever may be the
rights or wrongs Of the case, 1t is certain
that Germany's huge lar and her
supposedly invincible military power were
mighty factors in bringing on the war.
Practically, then. the duration of the
wal depends on how long the German peo-
pie will support their Junker militarists
In prosecuting it. The present expenditure
means. for Germany alone. in the neigh
borhood of $500, 5000 o q year in interest
charges. The ante-bellum government ex-
p%enditures of Germany were below $1,OO0,-
900. coo and this represented not very far
from 10 per cent of the national income.
! Will the German people, when they see
that any hope of war indemnities. or any
kind of a victory, is futile, stand for an
additional 10 per cent for war taxes? In
other words. will they stand for q three
years war? This Is possible. but 1t seems
rather doubtful.