Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-03-14
1.-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.
TAXES HERE AND ABROAD.
BY OTTO II. KAHN.

BY OTTO II. KAHN.
Nothing is palmer than that business
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 f1nan-
cial aid to the allied nations. Taxes
were light, and this country was rap
idly becoming the great economic res
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 1t would
cut prices right and left, as, IN fact, 1t
has done; that enormous burdens or
taxation would have to be imposed, the
bulk of which would naturally be borne
by the well-to-do; in short, that the un-
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 it 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 ls 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, aggregati ting more than sufficient
in value to cover these debts. Let us
/ assume that the entire amount of al
i 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 a hateful
calumny.
Business men, great or small, are no
different from other Americans. and
we reject the thought that any Amerl.
can, rich or poor, would be capable OF
the hideous and dastardly plot to
bring upon his country the sorrows
and sufferlngs 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-interes,
should have caused them to use theil
utmost efforts to preserve Americas
neutrality, from which they drew sc
much profit during the two and hall
years before April, 1917. Every con
slderation of personal advantage com
a manded men of affairs to stand witt
, and support the agitation of the peace
at-any-price" party. They spurne(
q such lgnoble reasoning; they rejected
: that affiliatlon; they stood for wal
a when 1t was no longer possible, witt
safety and honor, to maintain peace
: because they are patriotic citizens
. first and business men afterwards.
d Our Income Tax and Taxes Abroad.
n a. The largest incomes, are taxed
a far more heavily here than anywhere
j. else In the world.
l. The maximum rate of income taxa
l. ton here is 81 per cent. In England /
3 Is 421a per cent. Ours Is therefore 81
IN per cent higher than England's. AM
, the rate in England Is the highest pre-