Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1917-09-13
E D o IRA
sCoNscRIPTIoN OF WEALTH"

"CoNsCRIPTIoN OF WEALTH"
That is a great cry which certain interests have y successfully
raised to save themselves from contributing to their country in war
times more than a small percentage Of the excess profits arising from
war conditions.
The United States senate, without hesitation, can conscript our
boys, and rightly so, for the preservation of the nation; it can take
hen from the pillow and the factory, from the bank counter and the
dry goods store, from the machine shop and the linotype machine
where they are commanding wages ranging from sixty to one hun
dred8 and fifty dollars a month and put them into training camps
and fighting trenches where they draw thirty dollars instead, as it
has the power to do and as it is proper to do under the stress of
necessity 1T can clothe the food control department with authority
to commander, if necessary, all the foodstutfs of the land; it can
legislate to fix the price of the farmers wheat; it can do all things
war profits the great body of United States senator's throw up
their hands in holy horror and @run to cover, like frightened
%iackrabbts.
A AND among those who thus flee in terror before the banner on
which "Conscription of Wealth, is inscribed are the two senator's
from South Dakota, Messrs. Sterling and Johnson!
What Senator Hiram johnson of California and a mere handful
OF senators proposed to do was to tax war profts-not ordinary
profits, not vested rights, not invested capital, not business, not
LABOR, not wealth as such, but just profits arising directly from wars
condihons-to the extent Of fifty to eighty per cent, IS Great Britain
has has been 9l doing for two years and as it is doing today. Gr.at
Britanm imposes a tax Of eighty per cent. on war profts-and yet no
British industry has been crippled because of the tax.
" was not proposed to touch capitalization or to impair in the
least working capital or to hinder or harras the operation of !
single business IN America, but rather to take half or more of the
excess profits: ~ g those. that may be traced directly to conditions
poratlon tax which was applied before the war, and leaving also a
part Of the war profits.
Retail establishments throughout the country are making no
LAWYERS and the doctors and the preachers are sreaping no greater
ratio Of profit than they were getting three years ago. The millions
&IAAiAonS1 - id1oiiuS iucA DIRT SdfIuS uO u0Tp CT
Were saving before the war began. The salaned men, s. a class,
are not making relatively more for themselves and their families
than, they We're making IN 1914 The newspapers are actually max
ing less profit.
But the steel trust and the powder trust, and divers other inst.
tntlons, without investing an additional dollar, are doubling and
treDnng and quadrupling their profits. They have been doing so
not 50 much on account of the increased volume of business done as
because Of the arbitrary and unnecessary increase in the price Of
what they have sold.
a mere handful Of senators proposed, that the government
should Aeonscript, i considerable portion IF these additional profits,
#hHeE permitting the concerns affected to retain their ordinary earn
lngs plus q proportion OF the excess arising from conditions Of war
u was this proposition which frightened about ninety Der cent
OF The United States senators into the paipitation Of the heartl
Even 50 dear and soulful q man as Senator Lodge Of Massachusetts
gasped when he heard the suggestion. What Conscript WEALTH.
Neyerlai The powder trust and the steel trust might turn their
plants INTO junk and then how'd we ever continue the war!
Well Ilt We're g matter OF conscripting wealth as such, The
Saauraay News might stand with the distinguished senators from
massachusetts and New York and South Dakota, but 1T ISM. al is
merely g proposition to absorb a part of the excess profts-nothing
more, nothing less
Jtis true that We cannot afford Is cripple any of oursindustrial
en1erprisesa w would be folly to- tax capital, or business. til such
AN extent AS Stoaeurtail production below the necessities "a Tia SIN
uatlon or an such way i unfortunately to affect tho future
sBt lf the imposition of II tax approximating fifty Der cent. On
SSdistinctiyely war profits would drive the steel trust and the copperl
j Trust and sthe poWder trnst and q few Of the other trusts nut Of
Spaslnsss' 81 3 Time when patriotism " the supreme test sof citizen
SNIP tas about time tor these institutions tD cease to existl
sS@MsYhesbran $of loyalty that demands, III effect, these excessive
aprontsa Aasr sMg implied threat Is quit i deprived of them IS thss kind
ne eonntryaean WNl4 afford to dispense with
Germany may invade VIE greater proportion pf Russia and aM
Nak naehts hayeab slight effect upon the result of theWar. Two years
seowsHbeg ais 81 hearr thats Hill issue Sc theswarw would be FOUGHT out
an hnes zfssternA frontHN England and France ana the United Statesl
a3gasnes aSosa khss number 81 troops aboat 81 u sents there there, sI
Nm \. b ss1s u ssz ~. " ssssAss Is ! ssasasIs IS ssa "a s.I|sstsssss
IsA65 sstss sas apsa ls ssss fsssEsa ~ 10 ss s1sss M B PSss
lsBl. ! Il 1l| 81 la1 sas s assl1s| ne 4 4 ssgssa aHss 1as1 81 'sR7sl