The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1917-04-11

TRANSFORMERS WAX.
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Instead of borrowing money and issuing bonds,
President Wilson has suggested to congress that
the war revenue be Sustained by the present
generation" The words were nearly lost in the
recent message to congress, but it did not take
long for Wall Street spectators to notice them
and take fright.
A veritable nightmare has seized some OF our
most efficient spectators, especially when two
of the leading financial journals seized upon the
idea and unreservedly advocated it. This has
been a blow from which "the street. is finding
it difficult to recover.
The idea of a "pay-as-you-enter" war is to tax
big incomes unrelentlessly. The tax being spoken
of in the cloakrooms of congress ranges all the
wav from five to fifty percent on incomes from
$50, 900 a year up, and the bigger the income the
heavier the tax. Incomes down to $4,000 a year
would also be taxed, of course, but nothing like
the heavier ones.
In a situation like the present it is doubtful if
anyone would risk national obloquy and condem-
nation by attempting to take such legislation tor
a trip through the courts if it were enacted. The
present income tax law has already been held
constitutional, and additions to the tax in the face
of national stress would not meet with much OPP
position, it is believed.
The poor and middle classes are already taxed
II llIllJ u y IL 3 SooI VI 'iA
of bonds would load additional taxation upon
these classes for generations.
There is only one way out of the dilemma, and
that is CONSUMPTION of wealth-the wealth OF MIL
lionaires, who are best able to bear the burden OF
war. Wall street and the rich class that fattens
on financial and bond transactions will not like 1t
but thew would risk the charge of unpatriotism and
disloyalty if they attempted to put anything IN
the way Of such legislation if attempted.
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This is a bad time of the year for a farmer to
be in jail.
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RECRUITS AND RECRUITS.
q Ra Va p
One of the disquieting features of our recruit
ing is the large number Of young men who are
turned back as physically unfit. Cl an average.
only one out of every six applicants for -" army
- VI navy is accepted by the government.
Universal military service would undoubtedly
tend to focus popular attention on this distressing
situation and create a remedy for future genera
tons, so that a larger percentage of those grow
ing up now will be physically fit when they reach
the time for enlistment.
Our low average of the physically fit is indi.
cative of degenerating influences at work in the
nation. There is no doubt of it. And these inhu'
ences result from habits of life and work.
Our popular schools attend to the education OF
the masses. 1t is time something tangible were
done to attend to the health of the masses. 1t VIC
ever have compulsory service it is certain that
the government will be shocked into doing some
thing on this score, just as nations on the cont,
nent of Europe were shocked into doing years ago
It is significant that in England, where there was
no compulsory service prior to the war, the average
of the physically fit is as low and lower than in
this country, while in France, Germany and Russia
the physically fit average has been high for gener
atoms, merely because compulsory service hao
caused those governments to look into the causes
making for physical degeneracy and bring about
remedies.
Compulsory service is a sort of medical census
of the nations young men all the time. Germany
and France have undoubtedly utilized it as part
of the national system of health supervision. II
this way it is effective and of prime benefit to thu
nations.
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THE CONTROL OF OIL.
There are oil fields and oil fields, but the TIVE
major oil fields of the western hemisphere are il
California and in the Tanapico district of Mexico
The oil fields in Mexico will be of great benefi
to America if the Mexican government should b
favorable to the United States.
Oil burning battleships are superceding Goa
burners. Soon oil burning merchant ships vii
eliminate coal from the seas. At such a time th'
power of oil-producing nations on the world