The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-01-27

etlclency is the result OF the govern
ment owning and controlling all It's
own munition plans as well as all
transportation.
While Colonel Roosevelt praises
Germany highly for her military eff
ficiency, he warns the people that
Germany is a revamped Roman en-
pire and is likely to invade the United
States in ten days or less. Get ready,
prepare, the revamped Roman empire
is at. your door.
In all this talk of preparedness we
have not seen any proposals for the
government to build its own ships or
manufacture its own arms. There
have been one or two weakly, sick,
stunted, dwarfed proposals of this
kind, but such bills so far have died
aborning The Swiss system or the
efficient system of the Germans will
not meet the approval of the advo-
Gates of preparedness. There is not
enough money i'm it for capitalists and
the speculator, and, by the Great Horn
Spoon, their patriotism is only reach
ed by the glitter of gold.
There was a recent proposal to meet
this expense for preparedness to put
stamps on checks. drafts, notes and
other commercial paper, but it was
quickly learned that big business
would not stand for it. The poor
man writes very few checks and ne
uses very few drafts and the rich
man would as soon take the smallpox
as take his note. No, indeed, the
stamp act won't work
There is another proposal under
discussion to raise the revenue and
this is to put tax on the munitions of
war we are manufacturing. but both
Democratic and Republican Congress-
men are very leary about this pro-
posed bill. They fear it will kill the
incentive to progressive industry. The
man who believes this has a bad case
of softening of the brain. They fear
they will not have the support of the
money power at the next election.
There will be, very soon, measure
urged in Congress by an organization
of tax experts, headed by +. G. Howe,
Amos Pinchot, Byron Holt, George l..
Record and others to meet the eX-
pense of preparedness by a rapidly
progressive income tax The income
tax. these men assert, should produce
seventimes the revenue it produces
now. These tax experts shed some
brilliant light upon taxation. Here is
what they have TO say about the pres
ent system of taxation: Three
quarters of the cost of government is
secured by direct suitable taxes,
chiefly borne by the workers" Yes,
there are lot of people who have be-
lieved this for years, but they never
have yet had to the courage to get to-
gether and tell their legislators, Con-
gressmen and Senators what they
wanted, and as long as you register no
kick you keep on paying three-quar-
ters of the cost of the government,
until some day they will give you a
delightful change and let your gener-
ously pay the other quarter. If these
tax experts are correct, is IL not time
for some one else to bear the burden
of taxation? And if market quotations
are reliable, it will not be hard to
find who is the most able to pay the
cost of preparedness.
We have before us a list of stocks,
and will give the prices of a few.
Bethlehem Steel, 4971a; this cor
poration this week paid a dividend
on common stock of 3715 per cent, re-
CARELESS that like all other corpora
tons, the earnings of common stock
are supposed to be put back into the
plant after all expenses are paid. At
lantic Refining stock rejected at Cos.
Firestone Rubber Company, bid $50.
Miller Rubber Company bid PA,
Goodyear Ruber Company. bid 343.
Chemicals have advanced in the last
six months in some lines as much as
900 per cent. Leather goods of all
kinds have gradually advanced. Cop
per has advanced since last July from
IL cents to 27430 cents. Foodstuffs
of all kinds have reached a point be-
yond the earning capacity of unskilled
labor.
Is it any wonder that tax experts
are trying to devise some way to meet
the extra and enormous cost or pre-
paredness? We have an idea that Mr..
Wilson can interest the great masses
of the common people more by telling
them where the money was to come
from to pay for preparedness than he
could be telling them the necessity for
preparedness.
The laboring man must not only
furnish the tools of war, but he must
also do the fighting in case of war.
The rich manufacturer, the bloated
bondhOlder, the stock gambler and the
money sharks will stay at home and
take the profits.
II we must have preparedness de-
mand of your Congressman that he in
troduce and vote for bill for the gov
eminent ownership of all munitiOn
plans, government ownership of all
navy yards and the absolute control
of all transportation
Government ownership in this will
bring you honest preparedness. II
will also cool the war fever in the
veins of the most radical advocate of
preparedness. To tax the output of
munition plants, to further tax in
comes might tighten the burden of the
working class to some extent, but as
their taxes increased so would the ne
cessities of life be increased to you.
Now is the time to put the grafers
out of business. w. II. NJ.
The Boone's Creek Sunday School