Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-03-12
| 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, conscrIption Of
Money" Analysed.

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sible sounding contention that he
cause "a certain portion of the young
manhood % The nation has been CON
scripted. therefore mooney must also Toe
couseripted Why. Jhay is the very
thing the government has been doing.
IL has conseripted portion reln-
lively small portion--of the men 80 The
nation q has cons,riptrd a portion
a large portion Of the incomes of The
nation Capital and business pay more
than four-hfths OF our total war taxa
ton directly and large share OF the
remaining NTH indirectly
n the government went too far IN
couscripting men the country would ne
crippled. II IL went too far in con
scrlpting incomes and earnings the
country would likewise be crippled.
Results Of CONSUMPTION Of Capital
l would ask those who would 20
further and conscript not only incomes,
but capital, to answer the riddle, not
only in what equitable and practicable
manner they would do it, but what the
nation would gain by it?
II is true that few years ago a
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 time when the regular income tax
In Germany was very moderate as
measured by the present standards of
Income taxation.
Only a trifling fraction of Il mans
property is held in cash. If they con
script certain percentage of his pos
sessions in stocks and bonds what
would the government do with them?
Keep them? That would not answer
its purpose, because the government
wants cash. not securities.
Sell them? Who is to buy them when
every ones funds would be depleted?
If they conscript a certain percent
age of a mans real estate or mine or
farm or factory, how is that to be ex
pressed and converted into cash?
Are conscripted assets to be used as
basis for the issue of Federal Re
serve bank notes? That would mean
gross imitation, with all its attendant
evils, dangers and receptions.
Would they repudlate a percentage
of the national debt? Reputation is
no less dishonorable 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 PenaIized.
The fact is 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, lie 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.
/ can understand the crude notion OF
N ~ ;.-fH oil $780,
sions equally. There would be migh.s
little coming TO any one by such disiri.
button, and it is, OF course, an utterly
impossible thing to do. but it is an nm
derstandable notion. But by the con
fiscation of capital for government, us.-
neither the government nor any indt
vidual would be benefited.
A vigorously progressive income ta>
is both economically and socially
sound. A capital tax is wholly unsound
and economically destructive.
1t may nevertheless become neces-
sary in the case of some of the beliiger-
ent countries TO resort to this expedi-
ent, but 1 can conceive Of no situation
likely to arise which would make ii
necessary or advisable In this country.
More than ever would such a tax be
harmful in times of war and pOst-bcl-
lum reconstruction when beyond al.
most all other things it is essential to
stimulate production and promote
thrift, and when everything which tends
to have the opposite effect should be
vigorously rejected as detrimental 10
the nations strength and well-being.
There is an astonishing lot of hay
thinking on the subject Of the uses Of
capital in the hands Of its ownera