Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-06-15

SOS HSAN WV
of taxes laid upon property that
was not made valuable by such
service. And is not the evidence
of this deterioration of character
as plain as the fact of the unearn-
ed incomes? The nation faces a
great crises that must be met by
the sacrifice of life and property.
Men by thousands have placed
their lives at the disposal of the
Government, and millions more
will make the same offer. But how
many of our enormously rich have
made asimilar offer of their wealth?
There are many thousands who
have incomes that they cannot
possibly spend in Legitimate ways.
There are many incomes from
which a million dollars-of even
several million dollars-could be
taken without deprivingtheir own
ers of a solitary comfort or pleas
ure. If they made a free offer of
their entire fortunes their sacrifice
would still be less than that of the
man who gives his life. But they
do not offer so much es their sur
plus income--the part they cannot
spend, but must re-invest. In
stead, they .haggle about the rate
of taxes, and send Hobbies to
Washington to have Congress tax
the necessities Of the poor, rather
than levy upon their own incomes.
Aud when a very few rich men
recently appeared before the Ways
and Means Committee offer.
ing their incomes to the Govern
ment, and begging the Members
of the Committee to incorporate
their offer in the new law they
were looked upon as curiosities.
This is not to say that all large
incomes are u%nearned, or are de.
rived from values created by gov
eminent service. But SO many
have their origin in the private
ownership of valuable city lands,
in forest and mineral lands. in
waterpower and rights of way
all community-created values
that they have given color to all
the rest. Their owners, living as
they do upon unearned incomes,
and receiving service from their
fellows without rendering an equi-
valent in return, are withon9 the
fine edge of self sacrifice, and have
lost as DR.. eliot so we'll says, ''the
self-respect and those sturdy, in
dependent, honest and just qualities
which alone beft freemen.o
These qualities must be restored.
If our country is to survive, if
America is to make the contribu-
ton to civilization that she has so
fondly dreamed of making, her
citizens must return as quickly as
possible to that condition wherein
each contributes to the support of
the Government in proportion 10
the benefits deriyed from the Gov
eminent. And the present system
of taxation that first lev!es upon
the citizen for the cost of a public
improvement or service, and then
requires him to pay a second time
for the service in higher rent, must
be replaced by system of taxation
that covers into the public treas
ury the annual values created by
the public. That done and there
will be ample revenue, without
taxing labor products. for all or
binary expenditures. And when
that has been done, can any one
doubt that our people will take on
those fine qualities of citizenship
sxtolled by DR.. Eliot, which will
enable the rich to meet a national
crisis such as the present by offer
ing their fortunes on the altar of
their country as freely as the poor
offer their lives. DR.. Eliot is alb
solutely right in warning his
countrymen against the enervating
effects upon moral character Of
receiving service without rendering
an equivalent; but he is slightly in
error as to which are the victims
and which are the beneficiaries.
Word has been received of the
death Of MI. Eugene Mosher, at
Toxic, North Dakota, on the 3rd
inst. MI. Mosher was the father
LnG naas A~m.e. Ia. AAL.