The Washington herald., 1917-05-22
------- IiiE WASHINGTON HERALD. ruEspAS' MAY
OTTO II. KAHN CRITICISES
THE WAR TAX PROPOSALS
The Consrphon of Men and of WeaA Tax Incomes Pre-
tered to Tax on Business -Engands Exampe-Ihe
Position Of the Wel-toDo in Nation at War;
By OTTO II. KAHN.
In the New York Times.)

! On the New
(Ihls article was written before the
| recommendations of the Ways and Means
Committee of the House of Representa-
tiyes were reported.)
IN time of patriotic exaltation and of
nnikersai ,nnlse a. oniigation and readiness to
Just and righteous war TO a successful
conclusion, the voice of sober argument
ana matter of fact considerations is apt
10 CRATE upon the ears of the people.
! 5hat Ihat voice is all the less likely to be
PopIlar When the arguments 1t puts
forth may easily, lend themselves to the
sollcitous care for selfish interests.
The writer is fully aware that by pub
llshlng the following observations he is
exposing exp himself to that Interpretation
am anu 70. 20 ,Gritlcism OF. and attack upon,
ms motives. Yet, seeing that certain
measures now under consideration
threaten to take shape in a way which,
IRON and MS ms practical business experience
pound 10 regard as faulty and as indeed
hdrmtut 70 the country, he believes it
Si 20 De Tight and proper to contribute his
/ smbisct % @ In9 public discussion OF the
sIoJecI Tor whatever they may be worth.
can only hope, then. that in what
am going to say I shall be given credit
i'1 tor e1ueaVorlng to speak conscientious
~ ana TO the best of my knowledge and
Judgement from the point of view of the
wehafe OF the entire country and not of
sbslI bs "el5Sre add merely of the well-to-do. l
SsSect ~a1Gess s1d IS myself to the practical
quesuon and shall not attempt to enter
INTO the economic theories and the
Dr1Iaaer ,nI'sr and deeper considerations in
l shall assume in my argument that
Mt Mndt congress is seeking to accom-
fan;ivois pllsh is to impose taxes soundly. ef-
sire ~ ana scientifically. with the de-
, 70 ulsluro the country's trade and
commerce as little as possible and TO
sno aS much as may be the evils of
FnahGiai that dislocation. 1 shall assume
mat II is not the purpose and intent of
congress, under the guise of the neces-
sLtleS OF the war situation, to embrace
ener ene ooGtrines % socialism. Our present
Iof Weaifb syistem, Sistsn, our present method
Mealth distribution may or NAV not
stand IN need of change; the fact re-
nfSsnt 'nSt congress has no mandate to
se6Sera tum9damental m change. The CON
froLe OF such change would be so
Immensely .I far-reaching that no govern
u uent mas the right to sanction stems 10
fuIiV disc1o ii ABOUT until the subject has been
Is bearings and the people have pro-
9ounced judgment through Presi-
oehtlai or other election.
ought not to be done:
noa5 J lake It that not many words
tSe ieeu oe used to expose the faIIacy of
snriptnSS Ee arSSument: IF men are to be con-
scripted., "ealth also must be con-
Men will be conscripted to the extent
Sdl Sndl II IS wise and just and needfIJI,
co;,ntISl. anu no other, should wealth and the
scrpted. -' general De con-
And are not the children of the we'll
Sr SST-uo CohScripted equally with the chill
aren OF the poor? Indeed, the propor-
tlon OF the sons OF the well-to-do on the
actual lighting line Is bound To he a
PPTSo4lnsting pre- M one, because vast mum
oeLS OF wage workers in the Industries
and on the farms will necessar riIv bsvs
70 De retained at their accustomed voca
tlohs In order to maintain the output Of
our factories and farms
% There appears to prevail among
not Few people the strange deIusio1
| lhal americas entrance into the war
was tomented by moneyed men, in part,
at least from the motive and for the
purpose OF gain. Were there any such
men no, public condemnation Of them
G0TiI womSd be be os TO severe no punishment
tain that no such hideous and dasfardiy
calculation found lodgment in the brain
OF any American' rich or poor.
moreover, is 1t not perfectly manifest
that any rich man in his senses must
nave known that his selfish interest was
best promoted by the continuance Of the
CONDITIONS OF the last three years in
which America furnished funds and sup
plies to Europe at huge profits, while
our entering the war was bound to
diminish those profits very largely Qn-
to interfere with business activity in
many lines and to compel the imposi-
ton Of heavy taxes on wealth? 1t is to
the credit Of our rich men that, though
fully realizing the extent of the none
tary loss and sacrifices which war be-
tween this country and Germany must
necessarily bring to them, there were
but very few of them who supported the
Peace-at-any-Price Party or favored the
| avoidance of America entering into the
war when 1t had become plain that our
participation in that war could not be
! avoided with honor and with a due re-
| gard for our duty to our own country.
or to the cause of right and liberty
throughout the world
| Yet, somehow, the paCifsts seem to
have singled out the rich as mainly re-
sponsible for the war. 1t may be due,
sulting feeling of resentment that the
| proposal to conflscate during the war
all incomes beyond a certain figure is
actively promoted by leading pacitists-a
! proposal based upon ignorance Of or dis
regard for the laws of economics. teach
ings of history, and practical considera-
tions. If any such scheme were to be
adopted, the consequences to the coun-
try at large would be far more serious
than to the victims of the proposed con-
| iscation.
even take wing to other countries, for
| instance to the country at our very
| door, Canada. where there is no Fed
eral income tax at all and hardly any
cease flowing into constructive use and
would instead confine itself largely TO
municipal, State and Federal tax-exempt
securities Enterprise would be seri-
ously hampered and in some respects
| brought to a standstill entirely. Many
| thousands of workmen would be thrown
| out of employment. Many businesses
and shops would close -
| There would ensue, as natural con-
| sequence and without any conscious de-
| Termination, a nation-wid strike of con-
| structfye activity and enterprise in COM
merce and finance, because men will not
| look upon it as a square deal' If they
are to take all the risk and responsible
| ity, all the hard work and ceaseless
| strain and care of business effort, while
the government would needlessly take
| from them an unduly large share of the
! fruit of their labor. let alone all Of it
except an arbitrarily fixed sum-
| saw "needlessly" because, were 1t
: really needed, business men would will
| ingly sacrifice their entire income for the
| country's cause, They would work for
| patriotism, without any recompense
whatever, Just as hard and harder than
they do for gain or for ambition, IL the
| occasion required 1t.
| But. of course, every one knows that
nothing remotely approaching such dras-
| tic taxation is required in this country.
It is absolutely right to proclaim and
/ to enforce by legislation that no man,
| as far as it is possible to prevent it,
| shall make money out of war in which
! his country is engaged but there is all
| the difference in the world between this