Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-11-30

Kahns exceedingly low opinion of
the patriotism of American business
men, | do not doubt his own patriot
ism. Notwithstanding the fact that
it is only Il few years ego since he
proposed 70 renounce his American
citizenship and become a British sub
ject, and even went Sc far as to get
nominated and actually started run
ming for parliament, / do not doubt
Mr.. Kahn's loyalty. But that is Meth
er here nor there (as, indeed one
might have remarked of Mr.. Kahn;5
citizenship at that time).
more effectively than any other
prominent member of the business
fraternity, Mr.. Kahn has written
against large war taxes; but there is
in his reasoning Gas in that of many
rich men, some of them senators and
congressman always an isolation
from the human value of the situa
ton. Let us illustrate. Since the
war began Mr.. Kahn has built HIM
self an enormous Fifth avenue palace,
costing several millions, and on Long
Island he has constructed for his use
perhaps the most magnificent country
place in America, subject of very
just pride to the architect.
Certainly there is nothing wrong
or illegal about building eighteenth
century palaces with $50 rooms and
30 bathrooms. Although the ladies'
auxiliary defense committees might
possibly be justified in sending
notices to the rich asking them not
to build palaces at the same time
that they send bulletins to the poor
telling them not to overeat. But
do not believe any man could do this
who felt what the war meant to the
people. No doubt, it gives work to
thousands, though work unproduct-
i've of the things we need in war. Yet
the fact that thousands of school
children a few miles away in New
York are unable to maintain their
grades on account of malnutrition,
the fact that the cost of living has
gone up 80 per cent since the war
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than 20 per cent and the further fact
that a people, already attacked by the
advance guard of war misery, must
feed themselves while they fight Ger
mny; these things, 1 say, make it
evident that one must have a certain
degree of detachment from the reali-
ties of the case in order to choose
this as the appropriate moment to
fight war taxes on wealth, and at the
same time introduce into the United
States a scale of luxurious living I'M
equaled since the personal---very.
days in France.
GAS another instance of this cur
ious point of view common to wealth
in war time "a point of view which
assumes that great wealth for the
few and grinding poverty for the
many is the right and inevitable or
der of things, against which 1t is folly
to protest) we have the war adver-
Using of the American Bankers As
sociation, which consists of 1900
representatives of important banking
houses. Not long ago these gentle
men bought space in daily papers.
and told the poor how to get on dur
ing the war. Their advertisement
was headed in great black type. God
Bless the Household That Boils Po-
tatoes With the Skins On This,
impossible as 1t may seem, was not a
Joke; our friends. the bankers, were,
in their way, far too patriotic to in
dulge in levity. If you doubt 1t, look
up the files of the New York Ameri-
can. With quite an astounding COM
placency, these gentlemen, to most Of
whom the war has brought only ad-
ditional competence, sit back in their
easy chairs and advise the poor to
eat potato skins and crusts, both for
their own good and that democracy
may not perish.
There Is column after column of
this slush, to be read by anybody
whose stomach will stand it. And,
after all. there is something to be
gained by reading it: for, whether the
reader goes forth to purchase five
cent brush or not, he will at all
events have got glimpse at our best
peoples psychology in war time. I
notice, by the way, that at one of the
luncheon clubs frequented by mem
bers of the American Bankers Asso-
citation, they have not yet reached the
flve-cent brush STAGE. However, we
must give them credit for doing their
bankers bit. On the bill of fare we
find marginal note to the effect
that, in order to conserve the nations
livestock supply during the war, baby
lamb and sucking pig will no longer
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