The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-07-05
Washington Letter.

| SSiSoioecu DuHhSI I'LL LAY CllS year
by holding their primaries. In the
Pine Tree State there were few con-
tests in the dominant party-none at
all for any high office. Maine has re-
sumed the Republican habit, and with
II comes harmony. In Minnesota,
however, there was spirited contest,
not so much between men as between
principles. The present Republican
Governor was opposed for the renom-
ination-which he had earned and
which he won-by a member of the
Non-Partisan League, that monde
script organization which, true to its
name, plays the part of the cuckoo in
trying to lay it's eggs in the nest
which seems most likely to hatch
them out. The Leagues candidate
sought the Republican nomination;
and it is to the credit of Minnesota
Republicanism that it rose and rent
the presumptuous office-seeker.
The Republicans of Michigan,
speaking through their State chair
man, say that President Wilson's en-
try of Henry Ford in the Wolvering
Senatorial race will make no differ
ence with Republican plans. Those
plans look for the nomination of a
straight patriotic Republican, one
who never was pacifst-before or
since the war begun-one who never
contributed money to pay for Demo-
cratic advertising, one who has voted
more than once in the past twenty
years, and each time voted the Re-
| publican ticket
The first enrolment of New York
City's women voters has just taken
place and 279,566 of them have for
mally taken on party affiliation. Nat
urally, the Democratic party, which
is the ascendancy, takes the larger
share, gaining 164,722 to the Republi-
cans 96,749. Whether this means the
continued domination of Tammany
Hall or whether the new voters will
exercise their privilege to the purg-
ing of the Democratic organization re-
mains to be seen.
| The suggestion that Secretary Lam
sing run for Governor of New York
on the Democratic ticket is one that
constantly creeps out, but we do not
look to see it adopted. Mr.. Lansing
is an estimable gentleman, but he is
not exactly the stuff of which politi-
cal heroes are made.
We have yet to hear President Will
son inviting Medill Mccormick to run
on the Democratic ticket for United
States Senator from Illinois, or of his
suggesting that Governor Edge he
nominated by the Democrats of New
Jersey. These things would make us
really and truly believe that politics
is adjourned"
"My friend, the difference between
an internal tax and an import tax is
this: Suppose you and I are engaged
in the same line of business in this
country, anything that we may be
producing, no matter what it is, we
add to our cost of production our
taxes and insurance and all overhead
expenses. Your tax is the same as
I mine on the internal tax, or war-pro-
fits tax, or the consumption tax, or
any other kind of internal tax that is
imposed upon the article that you
and are producing. We must add it
to our cost, and your cost is, the same
as mine, and consequently we both
add it to the cost, and the consumer
must and does pay that added cost.
There is no argument against that.
Now, then, suppose you are engaged
in producing an article abroad, simi-
lar to an article | am producing here
in the United States, and your raw
material and labor cost is below my
cost. My good friend, we must i'm
pose an import tax on your product;
otherwise you will undersell me and
put me out of business; and the min
ute you put me out of business, up
goes the price and you control the
market; and under such circumstan-
ces the consumer then pays the tax,
and none other. There is no compari-
son between an import tax and an in
ternal-revenue tax."-Representative
Fordney, of Michigan, on the pend
ing revenue bill.
Through the information vouchsaf-
ed by the Department Of Justice in
the cases of graft in the quartermas-
ter's department is very vague, a
highly suggestive train Of thought is
set in motion by the statement that
the commissions which have been il
legally paid and which were added to
the price which the government paid
for the goods ran as high in some
cases as twenty per cent. Assuming
the average to be half this sum, if
the commission practice was as wide
spread as is indicated, the money thus
taken from the taxpayers is very
great. 1t came from the proceeds Of
Liberty Bond sales and from taxes.
Yet, not very long time ago, some
superserviceable agent of the De-
partment of Justice which is now
pluming itself upon its successes was
limiting that an individual or a news