The Washington times., 1917-06-14

1t is not so many years
made in America on the Demo
cratic charge OF extravaganza be-
cause q Republican Congress had
spent $1,000. 1000, 900. That was 81
900 .OOO. 900 for the life Of a Congress
two years. Mr.. Reeds reply that this
, is a billion dollar country" satisfied
most people. but even those most will
| ing to accept this explanation might
reasonably have been startled II they
could have known that in much less
than a generation the appropriations
of a single Congress in time Of peace
would reach $4,000. OOO, 900. The War
| Congress now in session will Of course
vastly exceed all these figures.
The United States is not the only
country that has faced this fact OF
amazing increases in government costs.
So recently as 1897 the United King
dom's revenue was roughly $3.50. 0O0.-
I 900, while for the year 1901 IL near
/ ly doubled this figure. The war has
brought an expansion OF the public
revenue such as no financial authority
could have imagined possible. For the
year 1928 the United Kingdom's
revenue was just about 5000. 00O, 900.
! For the FIRST full year OF the war,
that is, the year ended March, 1915.
the revenue was approximately
81 SOC. O00. 900. and for the year ended
March 10. 1917, II reached the stu
pendous total of $500 .Ooo, 900.
Revenue From Taxation.
It must be understood that this ST.
500. 000, 900 was the revenue coming
from taxation. in one form or another,
to the treasury of q country with
considerably less than half the popu-
Istion Of the United States. On the
same basis the United States would
have raised something like $4,000, ooO,-
| 900 in a single year without resort to
loans. The receipts from taxation as
thus stated are very different from
the total receipts OF the British gov
eminent for the year ended March,
1917. During that year from taxa
ton and from loans Of all sorts the
governments receipts were approx
mateIy S23. OO0, OOO. 900. Once more. on
the same basis per capita the Govern
I fnenI OF InG OhlAeu CNaAN1
have TO spend nearly $4,000, 600, OoO
in a year TO keep pace with the Brit
ish governments cost in war times.
II Is doubtless perfectly true that
England is eating up her capital; but
It Is also true that the nation is
demonstrating a capacity to do bust
ness under distressing circumstances
to dig UP revenues, to carry burdens
such as no nscal authority on earth
would have suspected could be dis
played under such a stress.
Last years revenue. aside from
loans, was nearly $3.50. 0OO, 900 more
than the chancellor OF the excheQueI
! had estimated in the preparation oil
his budget Almost all the important
items exceeded the estimates. One
OF the most remarkable instances Of
this was the excess profits tax. This
was a new form OF taxation, and the
chancellor OF the exchequer was nee
essarily cropping when he attempt
ed to make up his estimate; the best
guess he would make was that the
excess profit charges would produce
about s425 900. 900; but when the
years balance sheet was made up II
showed that this single item of excesl
profits had actually brought into the
treasury only q trifie less than $780,.
900, 900.
Income Tax Revenue.
In preparing the new budget thi
year the chancellor has been guided
by what now seems a REASONABLE,
presumption that the feverish ant
unnatural prosperity OF war time
will continue. and so has presumed
TO demand still further contribution
from the public. Nobody seems u
doubt that he will get them. SOM
new duties have been imposed. SOM
taxes have been increased, some read
Justments have been made. but tn,
general effect is a frank acceptanc,
OF stHI larger burdens and a conf
dent expectation that they will b,
met.
The British income tax for the fla
cal year 1915 brought In just abou