The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-11-19


lget the Government to investigas
everything else. but practically i'm
possible to get it to Investigate it
Iself Saturday Evening Post.
| The above is a very significant
statement. 1t is sometimes wonder
why the daily press has so little tt
say of public waste and plumber
You have noticed very little about
it in recent Presidential campaigns.
With all that has been said about
1.-THE native and hyphenated German
lit must be admitted, for obvious rea-
sons, that the German Government,
LESS the Kaiser and the throne, is
one of the best in the world. If not
why would not the large element OF
German social Democrats create in
lternal trouble. The answer is that
the German system provides ample
and equitable opportunities among its
citizens. Germany has an expensive
Government, but Notwithstanding its
Ownership of railroads, telegraph
and other public utilities, it is not
near so expensive as ours. On the
Iother hand the revenues cut Ger
Imany's net expenditures down to a
minimum compared to those of the
United States. What is the infer
ence? American extravaganza and
waste.
There would be less objection and
more excuse for the American pre-
paredness idea if, like Germany, we
REQUIRED our soldiers and marines to
be self-sustaining. One of the splen-
did examples of Germanys socialist
, system is the requirement and opera
ton of industries sufficient for each
: soldier to learn and serve at trade
, which saves the cost to the Govern
ment of his military service and up
keep The United States could easily
afford to increase it's army and navy
with a system like this.
But we must go on in the same old
way of creating and extending ex-
pensive, but not always efficient,
public departments without the
proper Government management of
these things. We make no provision
whatever except the same old sys
tenn of burdensome and bungleSome
taxation. The tariff is tax. In
other words, we take the risk of ma
tional bankruptcy to save the po-
litical names of Republicanism and
Democracy, and yet the manner in
which these two parties practice
their creeds it is impossible to tell
what they are There is no necessity
for us to shy at imperialism and So
cialism We have both. The Alas
kan railroad and the construction of
the Panama canal are samples of So
cialism and the Government of the
Philippines is Imperialism. The
Alaskan railroad may prove bless
ing. The Philippines may prove a
curse. The Panama canal is more
than likely one of Roosevelt's fail
ures.
The candidates for Congress and
the Senate are parading over the
country making an exhibit of my
platform" and it's national aid to
almost everything. 1t is a popular
theme, years ago sure sign of Re-
publicanism, but now the biggest
thing you can get aboard. And all
this is Government expense which
involves taxation.
| When are we going to have some
man or party big enough and honest
enough to declare for public econo-
my and financial sanity?
| Or will we keep up a system, which
no competent business man would
either employ or approve in his own
affairs, until the taxpayer finds
that the patriotism and glory of a
proud government is created at the
cost of his peaceful pursuit of life
and happiness, as we term American
citizenship.
When will some candidate for Con-
gress dare to pledge himself for a
public exhibit of Congressional and
Executive expenses. When will
Congressmen let us know why they
are taking from the Government
forty cents mile for railroad fare.
What for turkish baths, Thanking
privileges and other Injuries over
and above their salary and clerk al
llowances When will we have an
investigation of these things?