The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-03-21

ployment Service, which might have
been the means Of saving us from
something worse than a war in Eu-
rpoe-Bolshevism in America, for in
stance-was ruled out of order!
The drunken sailor even then. has
the best OF It over the spendthrift
administration, for 1t is his own mon
ey he is throwing away, not millions
and billions for which he is trustee,
and his largeness of view, reckless
ness of consequences and princely
contempt for money or its uses is
born of an alchohol crazed brain. But
no drunken sailor, however prodigal,
has ever flung money broadcast with
the reckless abandon with which bill
/ lions have been and still are being
spent by the present trustees of the
nation.
Dollar Hatcrs.
Americans often are accused of be-
ing dollar worshippers, but their ad-
ministrations at Washington appeC r
to hate the sight of money Judging
| from the manner with which they
throw it away and try to get rid of II.
II is due to this riot of imdiscrimi-
nation and unexampled spending that
the American people at the present
time are the most heavily taxed ma
tiou on the globe.
The II easurer of the United States
estimates IL will cost American tax
payers l 200 million dollars a year
for the next quarter of a century to-
pay off our net war debt, less the
amounts lent to the allies.
This means we must be taxed every
year for 25 years to raise 765 million
dollars annual interest To be paid to
bondholders Also for an additional
AZ millions a year To go into n sink
ing fund in order to pay of the pri'-
cipal.
In other words TO lift this debt on
the installment plan--and we nov
can lift it in no other wayne must
pay 80 billions of dollars to square
a debt of Is billion dollars.
1t is estimated that our total ev-
peuditurcs COR the war Itself will ag
gregate 80 billions, or 10 billions
more than the combined resources OF
the twelve Federal Reserve banks.
For a standing army of 10000
men $1,C7O.0oO,O0O would have been
appropriated had Congress been able
to reach the bill. That ought to give
us an army OF 1850 major generals
instead of soldiers.
No country in the world ever sDen.
so much money on its military arm ir
time of peace as these appropriation
for our army and navy. The naya!
appropriation alone exceeds the com
bined annual naval budgets of the
world's three greatest maritime pow
ers preceding the war. Added to
this, 626 millions more are appropri-
ated and turned over to the shipping
board and the Emergency Fleet Cor
poration and others.
The new warships will he obsolete
before there can be another great
war They will be rotting hulks long
before half our war debt can be paid.
In my humble judgement we are in
much more danger of going into ma
tional bankruptcy than of going to
war between now and the time this
dearly bought war junk would have
to be sent to the scrap heap even If
the world fails to achieve a perman-
ent peace.
One OF the first things the new
Congress should do is to establish a
budget for the government. state
and national budgets mean scientific
peoples money, instead of the "every
thing goes" prohigacy of the spoils
system. They reduce expenses. They
cut graft and "pork" to the minimum
Here is a reform THAT is COMPUn
sorry.