New-York tribune., 1918-04-07


Mr.. Rockefeller's and every one knows
exactly how his money was made and
how his wealth" is being employed
) We refer to Mr.. Henry Ford.
In his especial line Mr.. Ford has prob
ably a greater monopoly now than Mr..
Rockefeller ever enjoyed in his. He has
made his money a great deal faster prac-
tically all of it in the last eight or ten
years. There probably never was in this
or any other country quite such an ex-
ample of "swolen fortune" as Henry
Ford's.
Who wishes it taken from him?
TO begin with, between so per cent and
60 per cent of Mr.. Fords possible in
come from his factory will be collected
by the excess profits tax. We do not
know how Mr.. Rockefeller's investments
are distributed, but probably something
Of the same thing is true of him also.
Then of the balance large part
from 40 per cent to 60 per cent of their
incomes--wil be taken by the income
tax.
What more does Mr.. Record ask? An
additional 20 or 80 per cent?
1t would pay our way in the war for
from about ten to fourteen hours
All the excess profits tax and in
come taxes will not pay one-third of the
cost of the war for the current fiscal
year, nor probably one-siXth of the cost
next year.
Nv +1,;r y
so he would conscript all fortunes in ex-
cess, say, Of half million.
What good would this do? Suppose
that Mr. Rockefeller and Mr.. Ford both
turned over to the government every cop
per of their wealth." say, to make nice
round figure, 100000 What
could the government do with it? 1t
could only get the income from Mr..
Ford's factories and Mr. Rockefeller's
refineries, or sell them to somebody else,
to get the cash.
TO whom would they sell?
Overnight the government could con-
script every dollar of Mr. Records "sur-
plus wealth." and what could it gain?
Practically 80 per cent of the popula-
ton has no Surplus wealth." and there
fore no money to buy all the 'surplus"
factories and refneries and oil wells
and steel mills and railways and all the
rest of the wicked riches which Mr..
Record wants confiscated.
And though it is an idea that runs
sadly counter to all our feelings and no
tions, if all this "wealth" were confis-
Gated every man, woman and child in the
United States would suffer in conse-
quence. Why? Because it could not be
managed with anything like it's present
efficiency, and because practically speak
ing every man, woman and child enjoys
90 or 95 per cent Of the fruits or income
Of all this "wealth" now
This is the fact that men of the tvpe
of Mr.. Record never seem to understand
or appreciate. Beyond childish pride in
ostentatious display, the rich cannot en-
JOY their riches alone and selfshly be-
cause. in a broad way, they cannot find
enough things to spend their money on
enjoyably, and because the mere fact that
they are rich and have this money re-
VeaIs the enjoyment they take in it's mere
possession And the only way they car
get any enjoyment out of this-except in
the form Of blind miserliness-is to put
it in the service of others.
This instinct, this enjoyment in mere
abstract possession, has largely created
the United States and the modern indus
trial world as it is. For this stored-up
capital has built our railways, our steel
mills, our oil reGneries, our automobile
factories, supplied the capital to develop
our farms and plantations. 1t may be a
strange and unlovable human trait to
save and to hoard; so, if you like, we
may call, it the goose that lays the gold
en- egg
Mr. Record and his like are the kind
who believe that we can kill the goose
and 90 on enjoying the eggs That. is
to say, he believes that we can confis-
cate or "conscript," seize the boards of
these perhaps unlovable and unenviable
people, and still-as it were-expect
that they will go on laying.
What he cannot realize is that we
practically enjoy the use of all this hoard
now, and that government seizure could
only mean a change Of management.
Do Mr.. Record and his like believe
that the type of men usually successful
in politics, often men who have not sue
ceeded in other fields, men of little un
dcrstandng of business or of economics
and finance, could manage these prop
critics more efficiently than the greatest
business geniuscs in the world, selected
by The Damoclean test "to do or die?
This is the real pivotal question con-
cealed in MI. Records communistic ideas.