The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1918-03-14
THE rich MANS WAR
A HATEFUL CALUMNY"
American Business Men Ready to
Make Sacrifices With
out Stint.
TAXES HERE AND ABROAD.
American Taxation the Most Demo.
cratic in the World.
BY OTTO II. KAHN.


and business men had everything to
gain by preserving the conditions which
existed during the two and half years
prior to April 1917, under which many
of them made very large profits by fur.
nishing supplies, provisions and finan-
cial aid to the allied nations. Taxes
were light, and this country was rap
idly becoming the great economic reg
ervoir of the world.
Nothing is palmer than that any sane
business man in this country must have
foreseen that, if America entered the
war, these profits would be immensely
reduced and some of them cut off en-
tirely, because our government would
step in and take charge; that it would
cut prices right and left, as, in fact, it
has done; that enormous burdens Of
taxation would have TO be imposed, the
bulk of which would naturally be borne
by the well-to-do; IN short, that the I'M
precedented golden flow into the Golfers
of business was bound to stop with our
joining the war, or, at any rate, to be
much diminished.
But 1t is said the big financiers Of
New York were afraid that the money
loaned by them to the allied nations
might be lost If these nations were de-
feated, and therefore they unanswered
to get America into the war In order to
save their investments,
Proof That the Charge Is Absurd.
A moments reflection will show the
utter absurdity of that charge Let US
assume, for arguments sake, that the
allies had been defeated. Let US make
the wildly improbable assumption that
they had defaulted for the time being
upon these foreign debts, the greater
part of which, by the way, is secured
by the deposits of collateral in the
shape of American railroad bonds and
stocks and of bonds of neutral coun-
tries, aggregating more than sufficient
in value to cover these debts. Let US
assume that the entire amount of al
lied bonds placed In America had been
held by rich men in New York and the
east instead Of being distributed, as it
is, throughout the country.
Is it not perfectly manifest that a
single years American war taxation and
reduction of profits would take out of
the pockets Of such assumed holders a
vastly greater sum than any possible
loss they could have suffered by de-
fault on their allied bonds, not to men
ton the heavy taxation which is bound
to follow the war for years to come and
the shrinkage of fortunes through the
decline of all American securities in
consequence Of our entrance into the
war?
Not only Is the "rich mans war" an
absurd myth; the charge is hateful
calumny.
Business men, great or small, are no
different from other Americans, and
we reject the thought that any Ameri-
can, rich or poor, would be capable of
the hideous and dastardly plot to
bring upon his country the sorrows
and sufferings of war in order to en-
rich himself. Business men are bound
to be exceedingly heavy financial losers
through Americas entrance into the
war. Every element of self-interest
should have caused them to use their
utmost efforts to preserve America s
neutrality, from which they drew so
much profit during the two and half
years before April, 1917. Every CON
sideration of personal advantage COM
manded men of affairs to stand with
and support the agitation of the peace
at-any-price" party. They spurned
such ignoble reasoning; they rejected
that utilization; they stood for war
when it was no longer possible, with
safety and honor, to maintain peace,
because they are patriotic citizens
first and business men afterwards.
Our Income Tax and Taxes Abroad.
a. The largest incomes are taxed
far more heavily here than anywhere
else in the world.
The maximum rate of income taxa
ton here is 81 per cent. In England it
Is 42h per cent. Ours is therefore 80
per cent. higher than England's, and
the rate in England is the highest pre-
vailing anywhere in Europe. And in
addition to the federal tax we must
bear in mind our state and municipal
taxes.
(2) Moderate and small incomes on
the other hand, are subject to a far
smaller rate Of taxation here than in
EnoIopd