The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1918-05-27

greatly enlarged budget to which
we must Immediately look forward.
We cannot in. fairness wait until
the end of the fiscal year is at
hand to apprise our people of the
taxes they must pay on their earn
ings of the present calendar year,
whose accountings and expendi-
lures will then be closed. We can
not get increased taxes unless the
country continues what they are
to be and practices the necessary
economy to make them available.
Definiteness, early definiteness, as
to what its tasks are to be is abso-
lutely necessary for the successful
administration of the treasury; 1T
cannot frame fair and workable
regulations in haste; and 1t must
frame its, regulations in haste IL it
= is not to know It's exact task until
the very eve Of its performance.
The present tax laws are marred,
moreover, by inequities which
ought to be remedied. Indisputa-
BILE facts. every one; and we can
not alter or blink them. To state
them is argument enough.
Unfair to Wait Till 1919.
And yet perhaps you will per-
nit me to dwell for a moment upon
the situation they disclose. Enor-
nous sums freely spent in the
stimulation of industry of almost
every sort produce infiations and
extravagances, which presently
make the whole economic structure
questionable and insecure and the
very basis of credit is cut away.
4 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 industrial system
free of speculation and waste. We
shall naturally turn, therefore,
suppose, to war profits and In
comes and luxuries for the addi-
tional taxes. But the war profits
and incomes upon which the in
creased taxes will he levied will be
the profits and incomes of the cal
endar year 1918. It would be
manifestly unfair to wait until the
earthly months of 1919 to say
what they are to be. II might be
difficult. / should imagine, to run
the mill with water that had al
ready. gone over the wheel
Moreover taxes of that sort
will not be paid until the June OF
next year. and the treasury must
anticipate them. 1t must use the
money they are to produce before
II Is due. II must sell short time
certificates of Indebtedness. In the
autumn a much larger sale Of long
time bonds must he effected than
has vet been attempted. What are
the bankers to think Of the certih-
Gates II they do not certainly know
where the money is to como from
which Is to take them up? And
how are investors 10 approach the
purchase Of bonds with any sort Of
confidence or knowledge OF their
own affairs II they do not know
what tavcs they are to nav and
what economies and adjustments
of their business thev must cf-
feet? y cannot assure the country
Of successful administration OF
tho trcn sury IN 1918 II tho question
Of further ta~ation Is to he left
until 1919.
All Other Things Trivial.
THE consideration that domi-
mates every other now. and makes
every other seem trivial and negli-
gible. 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 IL. Hundreds OF
thousands of our men, carrying our
hearts with them and our fortunes,
are in the field, and ships are
faster and faster TO the
ports OF France and England with
regiment after regiment. thousand
after thousand, TO join them until
he enemy shall he beaten and
brought to a reckoning with man
kind. There can he no pause or
The great enter
prise must. on the contrary. he
pushed with greater and greater
snergy. The volume of our might
must steadily and rapidly be aug
ncnted until there can be no
question Of resisting a. II that is
o he accomplished. gentlemen.
money must sustain II to the Mt
most. our financial program must
70 more he left II doubt or suf-
cred 10 lar than our ordnance pro-
,ram or our ship program or our
program or our program
or making millions of men ready
These others are not programs in
Iced. hut mere plans upon paper.