The sun., 1918-08-07
Remember the Taxpayer'

We have nothing TO say just now
npainst the action Of the War Indus
tries Board in ordering various re-
auctions in the size Of newspapers.
These reductions are said to agree In
the main with the recommendations
of the Newspaper Publishers Com
mittee, who must know what the
business Is able to stand. The real
place for making this saving In news
print paper is In the swollen pages OF
miscellaneous magazine matter in the
Sunday numbers. The logical place
for the cut in the weekday numbers
is in the advertising columns rather
than in those which carry the essen
tial news and necessary comment OF
the day. But there is broader u.s.
pect of the proposed regulation to be
considered here. Lest the growing
tendency on the part Of the Govern
ment to restrict business activities
may go beyond reasonable bounds, we
desire again to warn the Admins
tration of the danger Of unduly re-
ducing the taxpaying power of the
American people.
Money and money in vast quanti-
ties must be raised by taxation to
carry on the great war. However
willing in spirit, even the most pa
triotic people in the world cannot pay
taxes unless they are permitted to
earn money with which to pay them.
This means that they must be allowed
to carry on business under conditions
which shall enable them to realize
profits. Their profits must not be cut
down to a mere living wage. If they
are, there will be nothing left with
which to pay taxes to carry on the
war. 1t may be said that these are
mere truisms. So are the Ten Com
nandments. They are truisms, how
ever, which cannot prudently be ig'
nored.
Whenever scarcity of any partic
ular article is apprehended, the policy
of the Administration seems to be to
cut down the consumption. This Ii
oil very well in some cases, but Is II
not being carried too far? Might moi
an increase Of production sometimes
be encouraged by the Government
leading to the earning of profits ap
plicable in part at least to the pay
ment of war taxes?
This much is certain. You cannot
extract blood out Of Il stone. Yor
cannot collect taxes from people who
have no money to pay them with
You will enlarge the class who labor
under that disability precisely to the
extent that you decrease the posi-
bilities Of profitable business. The
financial policy Of the Government /.
bound to be failure IL 1t pursues {
course which continually reduces thu
number of people who make money
enough to enable them to pay taxes
The multimillionaires whose purses
can be "mllked" by radical financier
at Washington will not last forever
A system Of graduated taxation will
some day exhaust their supplies; ant
the war taxes, If they are to be pait
at all, must be paid by business mel
who are doing business at a profit
Such men, If they contribute thei
share to the support of the Govern
ment in the prosecution Of the wa
are not to be denounced as prof
iteers" but rather to be regarded a
patriots whose business activities ar
essential TO the successful prosecution
of the war.
At the conclusion Of the order 70
the reduction Of the size of news
papers it is rather amusing to rea,
that the paper and pulp section o
the War Industries Board has rule,
that during the war no new news
paper shall be established. Consid
ering how justly sensitive the Amerl
can people always have been con
corning any governmental Interior
ence with the freedom of the press
would 1t not have been more sensibl
and more tactful to let this DANCE
take care of itself? The times do no
tempt intelligent persons to under
take new journalistic enterprises jus
at present.