The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-03-28
WAR PROFITEER )
PUBLIC NUISANCE
No Extortion to Be Tolerated, but
Liberal Disposition Toward
Business Needed.
Shrinkage Of Values Would Cur.
tail Capacity to Provide
Sinews of War.
transcription Of Men. CONSUMPTION Of
Money" Analysed.
BY OTTO H.. KAHN.

sible sounding contention that be
cause a certain portion Of the young
manhood Of the nation has been con.
scripted, therefore money must also be
conscripted. Why, that is the very
thing the government has been doing.
It has conscripted a portion-a rela.
lively small ~portion-of the men of the
nation. 1t has conscripted a portion
a large portion of the incomes Of the
nation. Capital and business pay more
than four-ffths of our total wal taxa,
ton directly and a large share of the
remaining ffth indirectly.
Ii he government went too far In
conscrfpting men the country would be
crippled. If 1t went too far In con.
scripting incomes and earnings the
country would likewise be crippled.
Results Of CONSUMPTION Of Capital
l would ask those who wou;a 20
further and conscript not only incomes
but capital, to answer the riddle, moi
only In what equitable and practicable
manner they would do 1t, but what the
nation would gain by it,
1t IL true that a, few years ago q
capital levy was made in Germany, but
the percentage of that levy was SO
small as to actually amount to no more
than an additional income tax and that
at q time when the regular income tax
In Germany was very moderate as
measured by the present standards of
income taxation.
Only a trifing fraction of a mans
property IL held In cash. II they con.
script, a certain percentage of his pos.
sessions in stocks and bonds, what
would the government do with them2
Keep them1 That would not answer
its purpose. because the government
wants cash. not securities.
Sell them7 Who IL to buy them when
every ones funds would be depleted?
II they conscript a certain percent
age Of a mans real estate or mine or
farm Of factory, how Is that to be ex.
pressed and converted into cash7
Are conscripted assets t be used az
q basis for the issue of Federal Re-
serve bank notes7 That would mean
gross imitation, with all its attendant
evils, dangers and receptions.
Would they r%epudiate a percentage
Of the national debit Reputation ia
no less d~ishonorable In a people than
in an individual, and the penalty for
failure to respect the sanctity Of obli-
cations Is no different
The Thrifty Would Be PenaIlzsd.
The fact 10 that the government
would gain nothing in the process Of
capital CONSUMPTION and the country
would be thrown into chaos for the
time being. The man who has saved
would be penalized, he who has wasted
would be favored. Thrift and construc-
tive effort. resulting in the needful and
fructifying accumulation Of capital,
would be arrested and lastingly dis
couraged.
I can understand the crude notion Of
the man Who would divide all possess
sions equally. There would be mighty
little coming to any q by such distri.
button, and It ID, Of course, al utterly
impossible thing to do, but 1t 10 an I'M.
derstandable notion. But BY the con-
iscation Of capital for government use1
neither the government nor any indi-,
vidual would be benefited. /
4 vigorously progressive income tax
II both economically and socially
sound. A capital tai 10 wholly unsound
and economically destructive.
II may nevertheless become neces-
sary In the case Of some Of the belliger.
ent countries to resort to this expedi-
ent, but l can conceive Of n situation
likely to arise which would make Il
necessary Or advisable In this country.
More than ever would such q tax be
harmful IN times Of war and post-bel-
lum reconstruction. when beyond IL
most al other things It Il essential 70
stimulate production and promote
thrift, and when everything which tends
10 have the opposite effect should be
vigorously rejected 40 detrimental 70
~ nations strength and well-bsinS.
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