The Marietta journal and courier., 1918-03-22


selves. The "war profteer," as the
term is generally understood, is pub.
lie nuisance and an ignominy. Extor-
tionate profits must not be tolerated,
but, on the other hand, there should
be a reasonably liberal disposition to-
ward business and willingness to see
it make substantial earnings.
For, taxation presupposes earnings.
Our credit structure is based upon
values, and values are largely deter
mined by earnings. Shrinkage of
values necessarily affects our capacity
to provide the government with the
sinews Of war. q 81!
The Conscription OF Men.
Reverting now to the subject of the
conscription of men, know speak
the sentiment of all those beyond the
years of young manhood when say
that there is not one of us worthy Of
the name of a man who would not
willingly go to fight if the country
needed or wanted us to fight But the
country does not want or call it's en-
tire manhood to fight. 1t does not
even call anywhere near it's entire
young manhood. 1t has called or in
tends to call in the immediate future
perhaps 25 per cent. of it's men be-
tween twenty and thirty years of age,
which means probably about per
cent. of it's total male population of all
ages. But it has called from incomes,
business profits and other imposts fall
ing principally on the weIl to do, ap'
proximately ninety per cent. of our
war taxation, not to mention the con-
tributions to the Red Cross, the Y. NJ.
G. A. and other war relief activities
Let me add in passing that the chill
dren of the well to do have been taken
for the war in proportionateIy greater
numbers than the children Of the poor,
because those young men who are
needed at home to support dependents
or to maintain essential war Industries
are exempted from the draft.
Our Laws Favor Sons of the Poor.
The draft exemption regulations dis
crininste not, as in former wars, In
favor of the rich mans son, but in
favor of the poor woman's son.
1 realize but too well that the bur
den of the abnormally high cost Of
living, caused largely by the war,
weighs heavily indeed upon wage earn
ers and still more upon men and wO-
men with moderate salaries. | yield
to no one in my desire to see every
thing done that is practicable to have
that burden lightened. But excessive
taxation on capital will not accom-
plish that; on the contrary, it will
tend to intensity the trouble.
Taxation must be sound and wise
and scientific and cannot be laid in
haphazard way or on impulse or ac-
cOrding to considerations of politics,
otherwise the whole country will SUI
fer. History has shown over and over
again that the laws of economics can
not be defied with impunity and that
the resulting penalty falls upon all
sections and classes.
The question of the individual is not
the one that counts. The question Is
not what sacrifices capital should ana
would be willing to bear if called upon
but what taxes it is to the public aa-
vantage to impose.
1 do not say all this to plead for
reduction of the taxation on wealth OF
in order to urge that no additional
taxes be imposed on wealth if neeu De-
There is no limit to the burden when
in time of stress and strain those
must be willing to bear who can al
ford it except only that limit when .
imposed by the consideration that tax
alton must not reach a point Where
the business activity of the country
becomes crippled and its economic
equilibrium is thrown out of gear, De-
cause that would harm every eletneN'
of the commonwealth and dlmlhl'i'
the war-makIng capacity Of the paa0H'