The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-28
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 structure questionable and insecure, and the very basis of credit is cut away. Only fair, equitably distributed taxation, of the widest incidence and drawing chiefly from the sources which would be likely to demoralize credit by their very abundance. can prevent imitation and keep our in- dustrial system free of speculation and waste. We shall naturally turn, therefore, suppose. to war profits and incomes and luxuries for the ad- ditional taxes. But the war profits and increasements upon the taxes that would be levied would be profits and incomes of the calendar year 1918. It would be manifestly unfair to wait until the early months of 1919 to say what they are to be. It might be difficult, should imagine, to run the mill with water that had already gone over the wheel.
 Moreover, taxes of that sort will not be paid until June of next year, and the treasury must antici- pate them. It must use the money they are to produce before 1t is due. It must sell short-time certificates or indebtedness. In the autumn much larger sale of longtime bonds must be effected than has yet been at- tempted. What are the bankers to think of the certificates if they do
 hn VyNn is to come from which is to take them up? And how are investors to ap- proach the purchase of bonds with any sort of confidence or knowledge of their own affairs If they do not know what taxes they are to pay and what economies and adjustments of their business they must effect7 l cannot assure the country of a successful ad- ministration in 1918 if the question or further taxation is to be left unde- cided until 1919.
 The consideration that dominates every other now, and makes every other seem trivial and negligible, is the winning of the war. We are not only in the midst of the war, we are at the very peak and crisis of it. Hundreds of thousands or our men, carrying our hearts with them and our fortunes, are in the field, and ships are crowding fast CT and faster to the ports of France and England with regiment after regiment, thousand after thousand, to join them until the enemy shall be beaten and brought to reckoning with mankind. There can be no pause or inter- mission. The great enterprise must, on the contrary, be pushed with greater and greater energy. The volume of our might must steadily and rapidly be augmented until there can be no question Of resisting it. If that is to be ae- complished, gentlemen, money must sustain it to the utmost Our financial programme must no more be left in doubt or suffered to las than our ordnance programme or our ship programme or our muni- tions programme or our pro- gramme for making millions O. men ready. These others are not programmes, indeed, but mere plans upon paper, unless there is to be an unquestionable supply of money.
 That is the situation, and it is the situation which creates the duty, no choice or preference of ours. There is only one way to meet that duty We must meet 1t without selfishness or fear of consequences. Politics is ad- journed, The elections will go to those who think least of it; to those who go to the constituencies without explanations or excuse, with plain record of duty faith- fully and disintcrestedly per formed