Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-15
WARNS AGAINST
EXCESSIVE TAY|
William A. Law, Bank,,|
Calls for Justice and
Clear Thinking
HEAVY BURDEN RtJ1Nor.

'SV0
warning against the danrer. =.
excessive war taxes on Vres, nvg
corporation and a plea for c,.a. vi /
Ing on business matters in thss. g uu
all business Is being adjusted 10 rrss. " ~
an early peace or the continuare' w.
costly and destructive war ars S,Ut} "
William A. Law. president of ths r,sa rsn y
tionai Bank, OF this city today, in S.,lNss Ns
Of the country. ''uaua
Unsettled business conditions. sooo,.,..
to Mr.. Law, have been broueh, sSu
the feeling Of uncertainty due IN ~
able effect OF Government priec.a,,ssI IN
threats to place heavy load, in M ~. -
of war taxes. on the shoulders 40 ~. ~
porations. Heavy war taxes. ne sr,rss~> ~
will spell financial ruin in big corrossssS
and hundreds of small investors ~. -
placed their entire earnings in stocl, ~ ~
bonds Of big business.
MR.. LAWS STATEMENT
Mr.. Laws statement follows. "a
Uncertainty over the effects Of ~. -
ernments price-fxing campaign ana I,ssv ~.
ity of business men to tell what nrora.4 rr
Of their profits the Federal authorit,.s =.
take In war taxes have been the con,,.s
ling factors making for uneasiness IN ,'Io' Ivy,
H.
| increased, sentimentally at least bv NJ
| utterances of the radical Senators AZ Wa
| ington who apparently desire IA 49,
under the guise of war taxes about r,.s
| tenths Of the profits cleared last vs,. ~ y
the great Industrial corporations.
ut is easy to see IL SUCH a pror...,
| we're to prevail, many of these concs-..
| would not only be crippled fnancisllv y.
that the incomes OF both individuals ~
| institutions hntdtnO ho ~
companies to whose property had bean ~
confiscated by the Government, woulS y
! so curtailed as to materially reducs ~.
Governments revenue from income tav -,
lections. Furthermore were the proncsss
burdens to be imposed the potential mar
for new Government loans would be s',S
| ously impaired. Even greater injury vcr,s
result from the reduction in the countrys
Industrial output which prohitbitiys =,
would bring about at time when ~
world is calling for American material a
unprecedented quantities.
JUSTICE TO INVESTORS
War always means increased tarst,..
but there Is no justice In the claim thai ~
Government should take from one rrouu y
taxpayers the lions share Of the saynn
| accumulated in their best year Of bud
ness. These great industrial properties rao
resent the investments of several mllIca
shareholders and bond holders-the lit i
longer today than ever before--whose in
savings have been put into these securius
in the belief that the companies would b,
! permitted to earn fair profit. In this vsy
the levying of n ruinous tax upon heavly
capitalized corporation might easily I'm
peril the bread-and-butter income Of many
thousand people who are already subject i
the most burdensome taxes they have ev9
paid.
Every corporation Is forced each yuf
to utilize a portion of It's earnings for The
purchase of new plants, machinery, aA
equipment, and to provide In addition fof
the accumulation of a 'rainy-day fund
which of all times Is most needed whsn
the world Is at war. The close corporatoa
is largely a thing Of the past In the Unitsl
States, as q glance at the list Of share.
holders will show. The ownership Of ths1o
concerns has been broadly distributed hncc
the world war began and one has only 4
look at the volume of business done BY "a
odd.lot houses to realize that the oecufi'
ties Of many Industrial properties are noft
widely distributed among little investors-'
those having only five or ten shares each.
than were the securities Of the Unitse
States Government before the last Libsru
Loan was fioated.
CALL FOR CLEAR THINKING
"In every period of unsettlement ths
mole-hill is apt to loom as large as ins
| mountain to the man whose mental VISION
is obscured by the perplexities OF his own
business. The situation calls for cleai
thinking and the sort of intellectual pq'ss
that makes a man realize that a mole'n'u
after all cannot be anything more than
mole-hil in the wealthiest country on earl1
whose annual income would paw for twenty
Liberty Loans. All business Is being read
justed to the possibilities OF an early peac'
| or the continuance of q destructive war
The Presidents reply to the Pope's peac'
note will rank high in the list OF rsa
State papers which this war has prooucea
It stated the case for the Allies about =
clearly as the friends OF lecency couia n0p
to have it stated and, Furthermore.
pointed the way to permanent peace. ultl
mate good must come from it, as ever
hardship suffered In the territorN thar
ruled by the coterie who believe that mug
makes right emphasizes the frightful CO..
of nationalized deviltry. =
There are better times ahead. sstpaek
in a war period are inevitable. Caution
ness Is in the ascendant, whereas yea
ago much of our business seemed to ,
done on the theory that the blue-sky nn
had no limit. A few days Of high mons
in Wall street or a violent decline IN a
New York bank surplus. although zen
porarily troublesome, is really heipiu
showing the country that old standaro,
longer prevail and that the thing 70 ~
at is the ratio of lawful money reserves
the deposit liabilities Of the Federal =
J serve banks. This is about double W..
) the law calls for and shows that " y
American money market, despite penom
Government demands, is about as wen ~
guarded as any war market mas Deen
! the worlds history" tt