The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-08-15
Solons Trying to Discover a
Painless System Of Taxation
Do Not Like the Farmers
Proposal to Limit Incomes.
BAER KEEPS WATCH.
Setting a Living Wage for
Workmen - And For the
DrOuth %Stricken - Wilson's
View of Mob Rule IndOrsed.

with a background of crimson
tapestry, like a solemn court, the
members Of the house committee
on ways and means are trying to
agree upon the war revenue bill.
Chairman Kitchin reports to the
public at the end of each days
sitting, and tries to discover,
each morning, q new source of
easy and painless taxation. OF
course this new taxation must
be neither radical nor must it
discourage production
One Of the courteous develop
ments of the past few days has
been the declaration by Cover
nor Brumbaugh Of Pennsylvan-
ia in favor Of the drastic plan of
taxation proposed by the Farm
ers National Committee on War
Finance, of which Benjamin C..
Marsh is secretary. This plan
calls for the taking Of all per-
sonal incomes above 100000,
and for a war profits tax of at
least 80 per cent.
Representative John M. Baer
of North Dakota, who is watch
ing the work of the ways and
means committee, continues to
point out that it would be a
much more sensible procedure
to stop profiteering than to tax
the profiteers.
He says that if profiteering is
an evil, then the only logical
treatment of it is it's abolition.
He believes that the cost of en-
forcement Of anti-profteering
legislatio n laws that would
leave something in the pockets
Of the producers of food and 9TH
er goods of the country-would
be far less than the cost of COL
1ecting into the treasury part
of the money taken from their
pockets by extortionate prices.
And when the mass of the peo-
pie are not bled white by pro-
fiteers, he urges, they will be
mighty glad to pay an income
tax that will fill the treasury.
y Taxation of speculative values
Of land held out of use will not
be attempted in this bill, due to
the usual constitutional difficult
ty. Inheritance taxes will be
tuned up a few points, but not
enough to make our oldest mil
ionaires refuse to die. Con-
gress is still a long way from
wanting to put the millionaire's
sons to work.
The Right to Live in Comfort.
We may as well prepare our
selves for the charge, which will
be made in due season by the
big busines press, that the ma
tional war labor board is becom-
ing the American soviet.
This board, Of which William
Howard Taft and F. p. Walsh
are point chairmen, and in which
five trade union officials and five
representatives of employers
associations are the other mem
bers, is settling the industrial
disputes Of the whole nation. It
is the court Of last resort in
American industry. And day by
day broader and broader con-
siderations are being brought
into the settlement Of the issues
before it. The question Of the
wage necessary ito maintain a
mans family in health and com
fort" for example, is being de
cided, in order to set q minimum
wage for common labor. For
two weeks the board is to dis
cuss the possible elements ii the
American idea Of family health
and comfort. They are talking
Of education, Of music, Of enter
tainment outside the home, Of
vacations, Of the quality and
variety Of clothing, Of q hun
dred things which come to the
family that looks up from its
daily toll 70 take q part ia THE
Lite of = modern community.
Mr. TAFT q reported to BE u
eager tossst this stand Nh high