The Washington herald., 1917-12-17

| Many people or the country appear
| to be obcessed of the notion that this
| war is not being properly financed. and
that somehow or other the rich peo-
pie are not paying their just share of
| the cost.
The idea gained prominence, and un-
| questlonably was given momentum,
when the excess profits fight was
| waged In the Senate on the war reve-
nue. bill. and when La Toilette. Hiram
johnson and others made a somewhat
determined stand for excessively high
| tax rates against the industries of the
| country-particularly those industries
| which are furnishing arms and ammu-
milton and other equipment needed di-
rectly in our fight against the German
| government.
The situation Is, therefore. some
| what misunderstood by the country.
Tax rates are higher than they have
| ever been before. And businesses
| which are thriving now as they have
never thrived before will soon be COM
| PEELED TO make accountings TO the tax
| gatherers, which will mean payment
| Of huge sums of mon y.
| There will be no escape from this
| taxation. The pins have been set to
| collect every cent of it-and the fact
that some of the great concerns are
| beginning to vince means that at the
same moment some people are COM
planning they have little to pay. the
firms heads themselves are insistent
that the payments are outrageously
| excessive.
There is no question but that GER
tain provisions of the war revenue bill
were conceived in legislative iniquity.
But the provisions are I'm the bill, for
the present at least. and the only way
out of the tax payments is to go
through with them. The most Glaring
inequality Is in the postal rate pro-
visions as applicable TO second class
matter. for there appears to be neither
precedent nor a fair measure of COM
mon sense exhibited in the framing OF
/ this provision.
| For the present the country will
have to stand for the bill. newspapers
and magazines and all, however. The
hope Is that while obviously ill-con-
ceived principles in the bill may be
modified and amended. the general
principle will prevail of laying some
| toll upon every interest and every in
dividual who is at all capable of pay
i ing 1t.
| The guiding principle of taxation is
that all sums shall be levied according
| to the ability of the citizen to pay
taxes. This ability can be determin-
ed, so far as both citizens and cor
| poration are concerned, by their in
come. There are two classes of in
come-that which is made by the
sweat of the brow, and that which in
| vested money makes for Its owner.
The. rates naturally should be differ
| ent. The salary list should not be as
| hard hit as the stocks and bonds list.
| In a general way the war revenue bill
is designed to meet this principle
but there are several times in the
measure when Congress swerved from
the manifest highway to ramble In OBJ
scure and remote bypaths. But the
willful avoidance of taxation has not
been suggested to the minds of any
| considerable number of the members.
basis. There Is no ground for the
| contention that any interest is pro-
tected in tho present bill.
As to the. statement that longtime
bonds should have been issued, in
stead Of present-generation evidences
| of indebtedness. there is room for
argument on both sides. Wars in the
| past have been financed that way.
| and the people have always been
| burdened at times when those bur-
dens threatened to weigh them down.
| This country can bear the burden in
the present generation and the future
will be left to use its money in other
desirable ways. Moreover, utilization
| of its money to the one big national
| purpose which we have in mind lust
now means a more closely-knit ma
tional unity behind that purpose. A
veritable prostitution of our resources
would be continuing at this time,
without question, II we spread the
burden of war out over years and
years. and did not elect to throw
ourselves into the fight at once with
| all our men and all our resources.
The times demand that We do our
financing Just as we are doing it. 1t
would not be possible to do it any
other way, and at the same time
attain such results as we hope to at
| tain. Congress hopes to be able to
impress this upon the people of the
nation as the war wears on.
The Future Voters.
| 1t has been pointed out in this col
umn before what Is likely to be the
] makeup of future legislative bodies in
thfn, country. parffcularly ConRreng. IT